Strategies for busy researchers09 December 2008

Event overview

A Vitae workshop for principal investigators, supervisors and senior research fellows

This is a one-day interactive workshop designed to help you to be more effective in your time management. Being more aware of how you spend your time and how to spend more time doing what you want to do is very likely to pay off in the long run. The workshop will be led by Hugh Kearns, from Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia, who also wrote the Vitae booklet "the balanced researcher".                  

We will start with a 2.5 hour "balanced researcher" workshop which has proven very popular in Australia. This is designed to allow for interaction and engagement. It will explore strategies that thousands of researchers have found useful in balancing the many demands on their time. More specifically topics which will be covered include:

• strategies for coping with email overload
• prioritising work
• dealing with distractions and interruptions
• how to say NO gracefully
• setting boundaries
• looking after oneself
• and many more...

After lunch the focus will turn to encouraging the very best in your postgraduate researchers.  This is based on Hugh's "Creating the Seven Habits of Highly Successful PhD students" and will give you practical strategies to deal with:

• supervisor/student relations
• writer's block
• approach to research
• creating a supportive environment
• researcher's time management
• treating research like a job
• keeping on going when the going gets tough

There will also be plenty of opportunity to network with other principal investigators and senior research fellows from around the country.