{"id":128,"date":"2019-03-28T12:47:13","date_gmt":"2019-03-28T12:47:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.lshtm.ac.uk\/depth\/?p=128"},"modified":"2019-03-28T15:17:51","modified_gmt":"2019-03-28T15:17:51","slug":"protecting-thinking-space-our-experience-of-using-calendar-time-blocking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.lshtm.ac.uk\/depth\/2019\/03\/28\/protecting-thinking-space-our-experience-of-using-calendar-time-blocking\/","title":{"rendered":"Protecting \u2018thinking space\u2019:\u00a0our experience\u00a0of using calendar time blocking"},"content":{"rendered":"

In our latest blog, DEPTH<\/a> team members Professor Cicely Marston<\/a> and Dr Alicia Renedo<\/a> explain how we actually get thinking (and writing) done when everyone wants our time<\/i><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Have you<\/i>\u00a0tried time blocking to deal with the endless onslaught of tasks in academia<\/i>? It works for us<\/i>. We\u2019d love to hear about other experiences in the comments too.<\/i><\/p>\n

Universities are sources of endless admin and bureaucratic reporting processes (e.g. supervision contact points for overseas students, online appraisal systems). The ever-increasing managerialism and research-related admin work (ethics applications and funding reporting systems) leave little time for doing research and knowledge production activities. It is very difficult to free up time to engage in in-depth academic activities such as data analysis, and writing.<\/p>\n

To protect \u2018thinking space\u2019 and to manage work overload, we use a very simple tactic:\u00a0calendar time blocking. We use this in two ways:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. To ensure we complete all of our responsibilities (as a task checklist)<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n
  2. To manage our time and energy\u00a0better.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    Calendar time blocking helps\u00a0us\u00a0meet deadlines, but\u00a0also\u00a0helps\u00a0plan for the\u00a0different types of\u00a0knowledge,\u00a0levels of concentration\u00a0and\u00a0time needed for specific tasks.\u00a0For instance, in-depth\u00a0conceptual work\u00a0and theory development, writing, and analysis require extended periods of time\u00a0and\u00a0can be jeopardised by\u00a0interruptions\u00a0such as\u00a0admin requests, emails and\u00a0meetings.\u00a0It works simply by\u00a0treating each task as\u00a0requiring\u00a0an appointment to complete.\u00a0You\u00a0estimate how much time\u00a0you will need to complete the task, and make an appointment accordingly in your calendar.<\/p>\n

    Alicia:\u00a0I block Fridays as\u00a0a writing\u00a0day,\u00a0and\u00a0try to block 2-3 day per week when I need to do\u00a0more intensive analysis and writing. I have chosen Fridays\u00a0as a writing day\u00a0because\u00a0this is when there are\u00a0fewer\u00a0emails and requests for meetings.\u00a0Because\u00a0some admin work requires prompt responses, I leave tasks such as emails and\u00a0form filling\u00a0for times of the day when my brain works less efficiently and\u00a0just before\u00a0a break\u00a0(e.g.\u00a0lunchtime and\/or end of the day before leaving the office). I try to organise meetings around these times too, and when\u00a0possible\u00a0I try to concentrate\u00a0meetings\u00a0on the same day(s)\u00a0of the week.\u00a0For those days full of\u00a0meetings\u00a0I put\u00a0fewer\u00a0in-depth tasks\u00a0in the calendar\u00a0for the little remaining time available.<\/p>\n

    Cicely: I\u00a0increasingly\u00a0block almost every task, even\u00a0fairly\u00a0small ones,\u00a0in my calendar. It\u00a0can be\u00a0alarming to see\u00a0the reality of\u00a0how\u00a0much\u00a0time is used up in management and admin. I\u00a0have several research projects that I am either leading or contributing to,\u00a0so\u00a0I\u00a0need to have\u00a0leeway in my calendar\u00a0for\u00a0unexpected\u00a0or overrunning tasks. For this\u00a0reason\u00a0I only block\u00a0four days (usually\u00a0Monday to Thursday)\u00a0in my calendar \u2013 inevitably I have\u00a0spillover\u00a0into\u00a0the \u2018spare\u2019 day\u00a0and\u00a0it saves me having to\u00a0rejig all the time blocks in\u00a0subsequent\u00a0weeks. In the unusual cases where there have been significant delays that will affect future tasks, time blocking means I can more easily see if I need to rearrange non-urgent meetings or tasks so that I can still meet deadlines, or whether I need to give advance notice that I might be late completing a task.\u00a0I like it when others use time blocking because they can give me a realistic idea of when they can complete a task and I can plan my work accordingly. Writing this blog\u00a0with Alicia\u00a0has made me reflect that I should aim to have a\u00a0weekly\u00a0writing day as well as a \u2018spillover\u2019 day blocked in my diary.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    Calendar time blocking helps\u00a0us\u00a0by\u00a0protecting\u00a0our\u00a0thinking time;\u00a0by helping avoid the situation where\u00a0admin tasks\u00a0interfere\u00a0with the flow of ideas and reflective processes needed for in-depth academic work; and by stopping us\u00a0quickly\u00a0jumping into smaller admin tasks\u00a0at the expense of\u00a0dealing with more painful tasks, such as writing. It is easy to fall into dealing with tasks that can be completed quickly and avoid slower more in-depth ones which produce longer-term\u00a0outputs.<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    Calendar blocking can also bring collective benefits. For instance, it helps when justifying to others why you cannot instantly respond to their requests. It can also help others organise their calendars \u2013 we often set our calendars to produce and deliver papers\u00a0so that we coincide with the \u2018free\u2019 space in our co-authors\u2019 time-blocked calendars. Time blocking also helps students know when they can access our support and this helps them plan ahead to deliver their writing work, with the assurance that we will send feedback on time.<\/p>\n

    \"\"Tip: In outlook, emails can easily be converted into appointments or meetings. Using this means you have relevant details in your time block \u2018appointment\u2019 when you work on the task (assuming you are time blocking using\u00a0Outlook calendar), rather than having to go back and search for them.<\/p>\n

    Do you use time blocking? Any tips about how to do it better gratefully received in the comments!<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    In our latest blog, DEPTH team members Professor Cicely Marston and Dr Alicia Renedo explain…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":736,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[76090,7571,14017,21447,7383,12966,28424,75282,76435],"class_list":["post-128","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-depth","tag-health","tag-lshtm","tag-media","tag-research","tag-social-sciences","tag-strategy","tag-university","tag-work","odd"],"yoast_head":"\nProtecting \u2018thinking space\u2019:\u00a0our experience\u00a0of using calendar time blocking - DEPTH @ LSHTM Research blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.lshtm.ac.uk\/depth\/2019\/03\/28\/protecting-thinking-space-our-experience-of-using-calendar-time-blocking\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Protecting \u2018thinking space\u2019:\u00a0our experience\u00a0of using calendar time blocking - 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