We talk a whole lot about work-life balance, but lately I've been thinking about how challenging project balance is to learn. Knowing when to devote time to different projects is tricky. Currently, I'm working on the manuscript for project 1, lab work for project 2 when bench space is available, totally different lab work for project 3, and helping Awesome Technician with lab work for one of Research Advisor's projects when both of us have time. Ecogeoman is juggling two manuscripts, TAing, and writing one small grant proposal after another. This is nothing compared to all the balls our advisors keep in the air all the time. It's like playing Tetris with projects across time.
I like having several things going on at once. Any of it gets tiresome after a while, so it's nice to mix up computer work with different kinds of bench work. If space or equipment is unavailable I can always do something else, so my efficiency is not at the mercy of other people. Also, I like making progress on several things concurrently. But sometimes, I just want to buckle down and get something done. It takes so long to finish things.
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This is not a trick I mastered yet, and looking at my advisor, some people just make sure to catch the balls that are just about to drop.
I do find it tricky to concentrate on one of my projects while my brain volunteers ideas for another. I loose time to context switching, but I too like to change things up to not get too bored with any of the projects.
On one hand, having only one project at once would be peaceful.
On the other hand, between the projects on which you're waiting for results (some of my experiments run for several day in a row on the computer), the ones on which you're waiting for people, and the ones with which you're so sick that you don't want to hear about them anymore, it's nice to have variety.
Still, I have moments - like today - where I can't move on on any project. Then I try to read some literature, but even though I find it important, it's not as nice as making progress, especially at a stage where reading did not seem that necessary.
I too still have loads to do in learning the skill to switch from one thing to the other. The time when I find it the most difficult is when I go back to my research work after a few days of intense teaching/supervision/course preparation.
I'm with everyone else on this trick. Especially since the importance of any one of the projects I'm working on changes at every moment (or sometimes the whim of Advisor). But this beats only working on one thing... I like variety.
I like variety too! It's been a long long time since I only had one thing on the go (first year of my PhD in fact). In my second year I found that having another project on the go was an excellent buffer for those times when I'd get stuck or just thoroughly sick of the first one. I think the ideal number of projects for me is 3 or 4. Preferably with well-spaced deadlines!
Add me to the "variety" camp. I get bored easily, so having multiple projects going makes things more interesting for me. But you're right--it's hard to make a lot of progress on multiple fronts at the same time.
That's one of my main problems right now: I'm used to juggling several project priorities, grant deadlines, manuscripts...you know, all the stuff you listed...but now all I have to do is work up data and write my stupid thesis. Argh.
I like the Tetris comment. I think that it's a good analogy in that you play one piece at a time.
We'll be getting a cat soon, and I think Tetris would be a great name for a cat. They're so good at folding themselves into whatever shaped space is available. It's been vetoed as too geeky though, along with Clawdius.
You never really master this, you just get a little less stressed out about it.
I like this program I'm using lately called Omnifocus based on Getting Things Done. Although it's not a complete solution, it helps somewhat to organize your time around breaking tasks down into contexts and estimating how long you think each task will take.
Sometimes it helps me just to take the time to think about putting things into Omnifocus to help me decide what I'm in the mood to do next vs. what I think I should do next, which are not always the same thing.
My advice is to just try to stay very attuned to how you feel and follow your inspiration.
For example, I've learned I shouldn't force myself to write just because I'm stressed out. If I don't feel like writing and I'm stressed out, it won't be good.
I know that if I can some distance from the mood of stress, before long I will feel more creative and when I do, writing goes a lot faster.
Lab is the opposite. Most of the time I don't feel like going in on the weekend, but when I do I'm usually glad I went. Usually once I'm doing something at the bench I start having fun. But I have to force myself to start. Knowing that is half the battle.
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