This week was again pretty free of meetings, so I had plenty of time to try one of the organisation techniques from Åsa Burman’s book Finish on Time. Burman recommends dividing the day into units, with the aim of completing four per day. A unit is a 45-minute period of undisturbed work, followed by a short break of five to fifteen minutes. I planned my week around this advice, setting aside four units each day for concentrated reading and writing.

Burman distinguishes between A tasks and B tasks. A tasks are those that demand the most concentration, and these went into my daily units. B tasks are the time consumers, such as replying to emails, taking part in meetings, and searching for and managing references, and these filled the rest of my days.

It was an interesting way to work and certainly helpful on days when I was feeling tired or less motivated to get started. Having clear blocks of time along with defined breaks made the days flow much more smoothly. At the same time, I found the structure a little limiting when I was writing and so chose to deviate from it. It often takes a while to get into the flow of producing text and I didn’t want to stop just as I was getting going. Burman emphasises that you should take a break after 45 minutes regardless of where you are in your work, and suggests jotting down a few notes so you can pick up the thread afterwards. The problem is that one thought often leads to another, and before I know it I’ve filled an A4 page with ideas instead of simply continuing with the text.

That being said, I think I’ll keep this structure as a basic outline for the coming weeks, with enough flexibility to diverge from the units when needed, particularly depending on my energy levels.

The one meeting I did have this week was our first doctoral seminar, which was a wonderful chance to hear what everyone is working on and where they are in the process. Four of us are just starting out, while the others are much further along and in the final stages of writing up. I especially appreciated the gift left on each of our desks: a little “pocket of care” filled with items both practical and symbolic, meant to make the PhD journey run a bit more smoothly. If I had to pick one word to describe my introduction to the institution, it would be caring, which was perhaps unexpected given the stories I’ve heard about the competitive nature of academia.

On the writing front, I finally finished the new draft of my research plan and sent it off to my supervisors. The moment I pressed send, I headed straight to the gym to quiet the little voice in my head that was having a mild panic about someone else reading ideas I’ve been living with for weeks. Trust me, it’s very hard to think about anything else when you’re lifting heavy things 😀

Next week is much busier on the meeting front, including a workshop on EndNote, which I hope will finally help me get to grips with it. In the meantime, I’ve been enjoying some reading in a local café, and this evening I’m looking forward to boardgames with friends.