Helping researchers with time management

If your researchers are having trouble managing their time and prioritising, the following model can be a useful one to go through with them, to help get them back on track.

Time Management Matrix from First Things First, by Stephen R. Covey

Urgency is time related, importance is value related, but most people respond to urgency rather than importance. Whilst they can coincide, they are not the same and a key point with time management is to deal with important tasks before they become urgent, as it is easier to do the important tasks well when they are not urgent.

To use the Time Management Matrix effectively you need to decide what sits where and focus on the important tasks rather than urgent ones. Although, in the short-term, you must do the urgent and important tasks first, for more effective time management in the longer-term, it is better to focus on quadrant 2 - the tasks which are important, but not yet urgent.

The core skill in time management is deciding what tasks lie in each square and having the discipline to do them in the right order.

People will often do tasks in quadrants 3 and 4 rather than sector 2, as displacement activities. A great example of this is office tidying, or answering emails, when you have something important to be working on. The key question to ask is, ‘if it is not important why are you doing it?' If it is not important then these tasks can either be dumped, or delegated.

Asking your researchers the following questions, with reference to this model, may help move them forward, by giving them greater clarity on what is really important and urgent in their work

• what are the demands on your time? (categorise them into the table above)
• what will you need to do differently to manage your time more effectively?