Let emails wait, allocate your time and dare to say no!
It can be tempting to start the day by checking your emails, but careers officer Westin doesn’t recommend it. "Then you’re letting others control your day.”
Doctoral students, researchers and managers all turn to Career and Leadership in Academia for help with finding focus in their day-to-day work. Careers officer Anna Westin gives her top tips on how to find your flow at work.
Career and Leadership in Academia started offering the course “Finish on Time – and feel good along the way” during the pandemic. The course is aimed at doctoral students – a group of young researchers who, perhaps for the first time in their lives, are faced with the prospect of managing themselves.
“The response has been incredibly positive. Those who have taken the course have said that they got more done and gained tools to help them structure their lives. They’ve also realised that they are not alone in finding that difficult,” explains Westin, Skills Development Officer at Career and Leadership in Academia.
However, it is not only doctoral students who need help. Westin also meets other researchers, teachers and leaders at the University for individual coaching sessions. Many people face similar problems; the feeling of being frequently interrupted and rarely having time for the tasks they really want and need to do.
“It’s a question of saying ‘yes’ to things that bring you closer to your goal and not indiscriminately filling your calendar. Keeping busy is not the problem, the difficulty is to fill the working day with the right things,” notes Westin. Photo: David Naylor
Allocating time and finding focus
There are tools available. For example, Westin mentions the batching method, which involves dividing work into A and B tasks. In the first category are the more thought-provoking tasks, such as writing a thesis or an article. B tasks are those that must be done but do not require as much concentration, such as answering emails or making appointments. The A tasks should be done first or when you know you are at your smartest.
This structuring of tasks can be combined with the unit method, which involves dividing the working day into smaller units of time. Each unit is 45 minutes long with a short break in between. During an A-unit, there is a total ban on talking, emailing or checking your mobile phone.
“It’s about creating conditions for yourself to work undisturbed and find your flow. 3 to 4 A-units per day can be enough to make you feel like you’ve gotten a lot done, and that you actually did.”
Westin also suggests agreeing in the workplace on when to concentrate on work and when to leave room for talking. It may also be a good idea to discuss how accessible you are expected to be.
“Let’s say you work best between 08:00 and 10:00. Then maybe you can check your emails at 10:00? Many people think they are expected to be available, but often they can in fact manage these expectations. Maybe you can agree that people should send a text message if it’s important?”
Seek the long-term reward
Checking your email first thing in the morning is not something she recommends, as it allows others to control your day. It’s also easy to spend your most productive hours on emails instead of tackling what you had planned.
“We feel good and are rewarded quickly by ticking off five emails. However, it can take you further away from your goal. You have to look for the more long-term reward here.”
The same applies when it comes to accepting tasks that are not really part of your job description. It’s easy to be flattered and to want to say yes, but it may be worth thinking twice.
“Taking time to think before saying yes can be valuable, especially if you are aware that you want to be accommodating to others. To keep on top of what you’ve said ‘yes’ to, it may be necessary to say ‘no’ to other things. It’s a question of saying ‘yes’ to things that bring you closer to your goal and not indiscriminately filling your calendar.”
Sandra Gunnarsson
The course “Finish on Time – and feel good along the way” is run by Åsa Burman, Docent in Practical Philosophy at Stockholm University. She also founded the company Finish on Time and is author of the book Finish on Time. Photo: Sara mac Key
Share your experiences
What do you find most disturbing in your day-to-day work? What do you do to find focus? Send your thoughts to sandra.gunnarsson@uu.se
Anna Westin's focus-promoting tips:
- Start your working day with tasks that are important to you – leave the emails until later.Pinpoint your golden hours when you’re at your smartest – use them for the work that requires the most concentration.
- Think carefully about what you want to accept and focus on what will bring you closer to your goal.
- Create the conditions to work undisturbed – shut down your emails and put your phone away.
- Allocate your time – set aside time for your own work and decide when you are available for others. Make this clear by adding it to your calendar.