Session 1: Project Management and Time Planning

In this session, you will explore how to use project management skills to be a more effective supervisor. You will also learn more about how to plan your research effectively. Even if you are good at planning, you can benefit from this session.

In this activity, you will first reflect on your own capacity to manage your time effectively. This should also reveal some of your perceptions about time management and planning.

Which of the following statements are true about you and the way in which you work? (There are no right or wrong answers to these statements.)

1. I find it difficult to concentrate for extended lengths of time.
2. I spend too much time completing administrative tasks.
3. I find it difficult to balance my time between my teaching responsibilities and other academic responsibilities.
4. I find it easy to leave a task for a few days and then come back to it.
5. I am good at planning my week.
6. I develop a time schedule and am generally able to stick to it.
7. I am usually able to meet deadlines.
8. I find that I am usually behind in my work.
9. I am flexible about my time management.
10. I get stressed if I am behind in my work.
11. I like to be spontaneous in terms of my work activities.
12. I sometimes overbook my diary or double book events.
13. I don’t find using a diary useful.
14. I am good at preparing a project budget.
15. I am good at adhering to a project budget.
16. I find it easy to balance my academic responsibilities with my home responsibilities.
17. I get irritated if other people don’t adhere to deadlines.
18. I get stressed if I am going to miss a deadline.
19. I have a system for flagging emails and responding to them on time.
20. I have a system for tracking my postgraduate students’ progress.

Review your answers and reflect on how you:

• Handle deadlines,
• Plan your time,
• Adhere to compliance requirements, and
• Deal with variances in time management.

What else did you learn about yourself?

Work through the PowerPoint on this issue and then use the forum to share your thoughts about managing postgraduate studies like a project.

You might find these videos to be useful additional resources: