Before last February, I used to feel a sort of panic on Friday afternoons, thinking: "Oh no, this is the end of the week, and I have done so little!"
What I changed last February is that I started to make different levels of To Do lists. I used to go with one list, and that worked perfectly fine as long as I was attending school and finishing classes at the end of every semester. With something as vast as a PhD-project, that didn't really seem to work for me though. The list kept growing, and my sense of panic grew alongside it as well.
My different levels of To Do list are the following:
1. General research ideas
This is my little goldmine of research ideas, that might keep me busy for quite some time after I graduate, provided that I can stay in academics/research; or ideas that could work for a master's thesis. There's no timeline attached to these, I just keep this file as a source of ideas.
2. To Do list
This to do list consists of well-defined small projects that need to be done by a certain month or date. It includes for example the deadlines for conference papers which are a few months ahead, or the next few parameter studies I would like to carry out.
3. To Do in Month X
Very clear: the list of what I need to get done this month. I subdivide it in a few categories, and try to be as realistic as possible.
4. To Do in Week Y
About a quarter of the contents of To Do in Month X goes into my To Do in Week Y. I then take my planner and write down per day what I should focus on: testing 1,2 on day 1, testing 3 on day 2 along with reading paper z and so on.
At the end of the week, on Friday afternoon, I review again my weekly and monthly documents, add what I have done, and see what still needs to be done... and usually leave my office with quite a sense of accomplishment.
Day zero project
on Monday, October 4, 2010
Since August, I have my own Day zero project ( http://dayzeroproject.com/ ), which consists of my 101 goals in 1001 days - ending around April 27th, 2013. I've gradually started to accomplish small things that simply make me feel happier and less stressed out. My list consists of 5 categories: home (10 goals), work (15 goals), family (20 goals), finance (15 goals) and myself (45 goals).
So far, I've accomplished 11 goals on my list, and I'm working towards more of them (such as preparing an abstract for a conference where I really would like to go to). One of the important goals in my list is to find a work-life balance. If you'd leave me with enough food in my office, I wouldn't leave it. I can't concentrate at all when I'm hungry, the only thing I can think then is: "Food, now. Food, please. Ow, I need food. I'm so hungry." Granola bars and "peperkoek" save me and my work on a regular basis - I keep a stash of them in my drawer all the time.
Two months, 61 days, into my project I happy to see that I've met some goals:
Home - Goal #10
Rearrange my clothing cupboard in Delft and get a shoe organizing system.
I've rearranged my cupboard and the drawers underneath my bed. The only thing I'm still looking for is that shoe organizing system. The ones at Ikea take up too much space and I am undecided where to look for it since Ikea doesn't have it.
Work - Goal #3
Quit checking Facebook and Twitter during the day.
Well that one was pretty easy, I simply downloaded a tool and blocked these sites from my Firefox. My RescueTime amounts of "very distracting time" have shrunk to just a couple of minutes per week. That's a yay for personal productivity!
Family - Goal #7
Meet my boyfriend's family.
I met them and spent 2 weeks at their place last August. They are at 20 hours of travel away from me (that is flight and lay-overs, not walking hours!)so this goal needed some planning ahead (my mom helped me getting the ticket, if not I would have needed to start saving money way ahead of the actual travel).
Family - Goal #14
Decide where my boyfriend and I will live.
I went to see his home country, and he came to see mine last winter. With that in mind, and possible job opportunity, I've decided to take the big leap and go and live in his country after I finish my PhD. It will be quite a challenge, and few people understand this decision, but all I can say is that I've been thinking this through and through and have decided on it.
Finance - Goal #4
Buy flexi-8s.
I've always wanted these, and never bought them because they are kind of expensive. So I finally decided I can only enjoy them (and the fact that they'll keep my tailbone-length hair out of my face).
Finance - Goal #5
Make an overview of my expenses.
I've been meticulously tracking all my expenses since I started my PhD, so this one was a rather easy goal as well. I made an overview of expenses and savings per month, and decided that overall I'm not doing too bad. My salary is not bad, but having a boyfriend at the other side of the Atlantic makes things a bit more difficult. Still, I've managed to save a little bit of money over the last year, which hopefully I can spend on a well-deserved holiday later on.
Finance - Goal #10
Get the bonus card from the local supermarket.
Really, that didn't take much time, but why did it take me one year before I actually applied for the card? Going to the desk and filling out my information was the only effort it took. I should have done this way earlier!
Finance - Goal #14
Part ways with my Corsa.
Me and my Corsa have spent miles and miles on the road together. He turned into an old rusty boy, and has been replaced by my dad's car (another financial winner, I was expecting to spend a painful amount of money on a new old car).
Finanice - Goal #15
Buy a new pencase and toiletries bag.
My pencase had giant holes in it and my toiletries bag was -yuck!- 11 years old. I got a very bright and colourful new pencase on my trip to my boyfriend's family, and I happened to find another toiletries bag among my stuff at my parents' place. Having new, freshly smelling and shiny containers for the products I use daily makes me quite happy.
Self - Goal #10
Weigh 58kg.
I caught salmonella a month ago and that made the weight-goal a very easy one. It's been one month since I lost that little bit of bellyfat and I'm still on the same weigth below 58kg.
Self - Goal #15
Start a blog.
Eh, this one is obivious, no?
Self - Goal #16
Write every monday in my dairy.
I've made this an item in my planner for every monday, and now I take the time to sit down and write. I did some good thinking progress while writing today, so this is definately a goal which is very good for myself.
I hope to achieve some more goals within one and two months from now. Bit by bit, goal by goal, I'm working on my work-life balance by placing little sparks of fun and pride in my accomplishments into my lab-dominated world.
So far, I've accomplished 11 goals on my list, and I'm working towards more of them (such as preparing an abstract for a conference where I really would like to go to). One of the important goals in my list is to find a work-life balance. If you'd leave me with enough food in my office, I wouldn't leave it. I can't concentrate at all when I'm hungry, the only thing I can think then is: "Food, now. Food, please. Ow, I need food. I'm so hungry." Granola bars and "peperkoek" save me and my work on a regular basis - I keep a stash of them in my drawer all the time.
Two months, 61 days, into my project I happy to see that I've met some goals:
Home - Goal #10
Rearrange my clothing cupboard in Delft and get a shoe organizing system.
I've rearranged my cupboard and the drawers underneath my bed. The only thing I'm still looking for is that shoe organizing system. The ones at Ikea take up too much space and I am undecided where to look for it since Ikea doesn't have it.
Work - Goal #3
Quit checking Facebook and Twitter during the day.
Well that one was pretty easy, I simply downloaded a tool and blocked these sites from my Firefox. My RescueTime amounts of "very distracting time" have shrunk to just a couple of minutes per week. That's a yay for personal productivity!
Family - Goal #7
Meet my boyfriend's family.
I met them and spent 2 weeks at their place last August. They are at 20 hours of travel away from me (that is flight and lay-overs, not walking hours!)so this goal needed some planning ahead (my mom helped me getting the ticket, if not I would have needed to start saving money way ahead of the actual travel).
Family - Goal #14
Decide where my boyfriend and I will live.
I went to see his home country, and he came to see mine last winter. With that in mind, and possible job opportunity, I've decided to take the big leap and go and live in his country after I finish my PhD. It will be quite a challenge, and few people understand this decision, but all I can say is that I've been thinking this through and through and have decided on it.
Finance - Goal #4
Buy flexi-8s.
I've always wanted these, and never bought them because they are kind of expensive. So I finally decided I can only enjoy them (and the fact that they'll keep my tailbone-length hair out of my face).
Finance - Goal #5
Make an overview of my expenses.
I've been meticulously tracking all my expenses since I started my PhD, so this one was a rather easy goal as well. I made an overview of expenses and savings per month, and decided that overall I'm not doing too bad. My salary is not bad, but having a boyfriend at the other side of the Atlantic makes things a bit more difficult. Still, I've managed to save a little bit of money over the last year, which hopefully I can spend on a well-deserved holiday later on.
Finance - Goal #10
Get the bonus card from the local supermarket.
Really, that didn't take much time, but why did it take me one year before I actually applied for the card? Going to the desk and filling out my information was the only effort it took. I should have done this way earlier!
Finance - Goal #14
Part ways with my Corsa.
Me and my Corsa have spent miles and miles on the road together. He turned into an old rusty boy, and has been replaced by my dad's car (another financial winner, I was expecting to spend a painful amount of money on a new old car).
Finanice - Goal #15
Buy a new pencase and toiletries bag.
My pencase had giant holes in it and my toiletries bag was -yuck!- 11 years old. I got a very bright and colourful new pencase on my trip to my boyfriend's family, and I happened to find another toiletries bag among my stuff at my parents' place. Having new, freshly smelling and shiny containers for the products I use daily makes me quite happy.
Self - Goal #10
Weigh 58kg.
I caught salmonella a month ago and that made the weight-goal a very easy one. It's been one month since I lost that little bit of bellyfat and I'm still on the same weigth below 58kg.
Self - Goal #15
Start a blog.
Eh, this one is obivious, no?
Self - Goal #16
Write every monday in my dairy.
I've made this an item in my planner for every monday, and now I take the time to sit down and write. I did some good thinking progress while writing today, so this is definately a goal which is very good for myself.
I hope to achieve some more goals within one and two months from now. Bit by bit, goal by goal, I'm working on my work-life balance by placing little sparks of fun and pride in my accomplishments into my lab-dominated world.
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