Time Management is Essential to a Well-Written Dissertation

Time never stands still for anyone, which means time management is essential. Students often learn during college that making time work for them is essential in their college life. How can you make time work for you? It can be done by planning, scheduling, and making goals so almost every minute of the day is filled with doing important things. Time management is essential in writing a dissertation.

The first step in time management in writing the dissertation is making a list of all the steps needed in a dissertation. Once that list is made, make another list of steps that need to be made under it. Sometimes, it is necessary to make a third list of all the steps needed in writing a dissertation. Think about different steps that can be cut down and how these can be added to the list.

Get a calendar that you can carry with you and a calendar that can be hung where you study, and then write down the different steps in the to-do list. Schedule the different steps according to when they need to be done. This requires long-term and short-term goal setting. Make a list of when different parts of the dissertation are required and write these on the calendar. Write down times when you need to visit the advisor or when you need to be at the library doing research. Look at these calendars so you know your plans for each day.

A part of time management is making time to visit with the advisor. Discuss how often and when you need to visit with the advisor. Find out how often he expects to see you and his expectations about different parts of the dissertation. Always make time to visit with the advisor and keep him/her informed about where you are with the dissertation.

Part of time management is learning to say "no" to others. If someone wants you to run them to town and you need to be researching, tell them you have to work on the dissertation. If someone wants you to go to a movie, check your calendars first. If you have time go. If you do not have time then tell them that you are working on your dissertation. It is often difficult to turn people down, but it is a vital part of meeting deadlines.

Sometimes there are so many tests, homework, and assignments that it seems there is no time to work on the dissertation. The key to this problem is spending at least five to fifteen minutes on the dissertation between studying for tests and doing assignments. A few minutes a day adds up to several minutes in time.

Another part of time management is recognition of the best time of the day to work on the dissertation. Some people get up early in the morning and are ready to run a race, while other people function better at night. When do you work better? Plan to work during the best time for you.

A major step in time management is to develop rituals of your day. Make it a habit to spend time working on the custom dissertation. Eventually, it will become a habit that is a normal part of the day. What helps you to study better? Do you need a coke and some chips while you work or do you need an organized desk? Different things are important to different people, but having set rituals when working on the dissertation is important.

Find students who are working on their dissertation and ask for suggestions on time management from them. Often students have learned about different methods that will make a difference for you. Sometimes discussing the topic will lead to tips on research or the writing process.

Scheduling, setting goals, and using calendars are important in time management. However, it is, also, important to take time for yourself. Take a few minutes to relax or go grab a bowl of ice cream and then go back to your schedule of the day.