Getting things done, part 3: partitioning

When it comes to getting things done--that is, to finishing things like dissertations, getting papers out for review, etc.--I've noticed that two particular strategies often seem to get people in trouble. The first is what I will call the 'more immediate things first' strategy. Very roughly, the person who adopts this strategy has a long-term goal--writing a dissertation or paper--but they only tend to work on it after they've gotten everything else off their plate: emails, lecture notes, grading, and so on. The problem I've seen this strategy lead to is simple: the person always has so many pressing things to do--with new ones always arising--that they continually push back working on the longer-term thing they need to get done (writing their dissertation or getting a new paper drafted and out for review). In other words, while they may get a bunch of immediate things done, they struggle getting longer-term things done. On the other hand, there's a converse strategy--what I will call the 'big goal first' strategy--that I've seen lead people into precisely the opposite problem. People who adopt this second strategy tend to focus most of their attention on a big project (again, a dissertation or new paper draft), pushing more immediate things off into the background. The problem I've seen here is that can happen is that things start to pile up: by focusing on one big thing, the person finds that they are not getting a bunch of little things they need to get done effectively--such as never getting around to revising old papers, missing revise-and-resubmit deadlines, putting together hasty lectures, and so on.

If you're someone who struggles with either of these strategies, I'd like to offer another strategy as a suggestion: what I will call the partitioning strategy. In brief, the strategy goes like this: you partition a certain amount of time each day for different tasks, both pressing and immediate tasks (email, creating lectures, etc.) as well as less-pressing long-term tasks. Here, in brief, is how the strategy works in practice. This semester I teach only on Tuesdays and Thursdays (from 12-2pm, 4-6pm, and 6-8pm). Because these days are pretty full, there's not a ton that I can do on those days. But what I have done is reserve time in the morning and between classes to grade homework and in-class assignments--so that I don't have to do those tasks on my non-teaching days. What I do on non-teaching days then is partition the day between different projects. So, for example, my normal day is partitioned like this. I take the dog out for a walk at about 8am. Then, between 8:30-9am, I do email. That's email-time, and when 9am rolls around, I close my email and don't look at it again until lunchtime. From about 9am-11:30am, I work on lectures: that's lecture-creating time. Then I make breakfast and from noon to about 2pm, I work on drafting or revising a chapter of my book manuscript: that's book-manuscript time. Then, around 2:30--after taking the dog to the park for a bit--I'll spend the next hour-and-a-half (until 4pm) revising an old paper unrelated to my book: that's revising old-work time. Then, depending what's on my plate, I'll spend the next hour (4-5pm either doing administrative stuff (as department chair, etc.) or writing a blog post for the Cocoon: that's miscellaneous time. 

Here's what I've found to be so nice about partitioning up the day like this. Although I only get to spend small bits of my day on any one thing (only 2 hours on lectures, 2 hours on my book manuscript, 2 hours revising an old paper, etc.), partitioning the day this way helps to ensure that I am (nearly) always making progress on a variety of different things, clearing pressing things off my plate (emails, tomorrow's lectures, etc.) but also making some headway on longer-term projects (e.g. a book or drafting a new paper). By partitioning part of the day to each thing, one avoids the central problem with the 'more immediate things first' strategy: the problem of always pushing back one's big project to later. The partitioning strategy solves this problem by dedicating a clear, pre-planned amount of each day to that larger project. Similarly, it solves the main problem with the 'big goal first' strategy: the problem that, if one focuses most of one's attention on a big project, other little things will pile up in the background. The partitioning strategy solves this problem by dedicating a clear, pre-planned amount of time each day to those smaller tasks. This is why I've found the strategy so helpful in getting things done: the partitioning strategy prevents you from focusing on some things but neglecting others. It requires you to make a little bit of headway on "everything" just about every day!

Now, I've heard some people say they don't think the partitioning strategy could work for them. For example, some people have asked, "How do you switch from one project to another throughout the day? I can only focus on one thing, and it's really hard for me to shift my focus from one thing to another!" It may well be the case that the partitioning strategy won't work for everyone. But, as with a lot of this stuff (especially if you are having trouble getting things done the way you currently do things!), I would just suggest not ruling it out preemptively. A lot of the strategies I'm discussing in this series are not things I ever would have imagined working for me many years ago. By nature, I'm not a 'regimented' person. I like to make things up as I go and engross myself in one thing at time. The problem is, I found--at least in my case--that doing things that way just didn't work: in grad school, it led me to spinning my wheels for two years getting nothing done on my dissertation; and in my first job, it led me to spending my first year focusing intently on drafting a paper but getting absolutely nowhere. Sometimes, things that actually will work are things that seem like they shouldn't, especially if you haven't done them before. So, I would humbly suggest, if you are having trouble getting things done--if you do the more immediate things first strategy but never finish big projects, or you do the big goal first strategy but always have little things piling up that you have trouble getting off your plate--consider giving the partitioning strategy a shot!

A few final thoughts. One thing I've found interesting (and surprising) about the partitioning strategy is that, by giving yourself only a small amount of time to do something (e.g. 2 hours working on a book chapter instead of all day), there's a real psychological incentive to be more efficient--for if you realize in the back of your mind, "I only have two hours to work on this", you may dive into it with more concentration than if you set aside the whole day for it (indeed, I've found in my own case that the times I'm least efficient with things is when I have the most time to do them!). I've also found it surprisingly refreshing to move from one project to another. For example, even if I have a good two hours working on one thing (a book chapter), it can feel good to move onto something else; and conversely, if I have a bad two hours working on it, then I'm even better off shifting to something else. 

But these are just my thoughts. What are yours? Do any of you use the partitioning strategy? Do you find it is helpful in the ways I've suggested here? Have any of you tried it (and given it a serious shot) but found it didn't work? If not, how do you avoid the problems with the more immediate things first and big goal first strategies?

Comments

[Amanda]

haha I wish I could write for two hours at at time! My writing strategy (not kidding) is writing for 10 minutes, then checking blogs and facebook for 20. I can't focus for more than that. I really wish I could get ADD drugs, but it is surprisingly difficult. Alas, I do manage to get quite a bit done this way.

Anyway, I'm curious Marcus, is this a recent change in how you do things? I remember you saying before that you hardly do any research during the year, and you did it all in the summer. But from what you said, you seem to do quiet a bit of research time each day.

[Marcus Arvan]

Hi Amanda: ;). I know a lot of people like that. I only check blogs (including this one) a few times throughout the day, and am otherwise pretty able to focus on things. But I know people who do have trouble focusing for long periods of time, and have heard that there are some useful apps for limiting web time.

Anyway, good question. Yes, I've changed things around a bit this semester. In part, I got lucky with a Tuesday/Thursday schedule, as well as with a course load of three courses that I have mostly prepped before. This has left me with quite a bit more time to do research than I typically have during the school year--which is really fortuitous since I have some important deadlines coming up in several months!

In any case, though, even during semesters where I don't have much time to do research, I still use the partitioning strategy. In those semesters (when teaching and service are most of what I do), I find its useful to partition my teaching and administrative/service duties in a similar manner to those described in the OP!

[Amanda]

Thanks Marcus! I see. Yes that schedule makes a big difference.

[Michael Barkasi]

I am really bad at shifting focus and keeping to a schedule that's not imposed on me. Of course, I take the advice to not dismiss it until you've given it a serious try.

Still, I think I avoid the pitfalls of the big-goals/more-immediate (BG/MI) strategies. My strategy is not to use my rational faculties to *directly* curb my appetitive compulsiveness for BG/MI strategies (and other general time-wasting). Instead, I try to do a really good job planning out my obligations, so that, e.g., I simply don't end up with enough immediate needs to consume all my time and so I always have a pressing immediate obligation which keeps me working on the big project. So, I *indirectly* curb my destructive appetitive tendencies by structuring my external environment and obligations in a way that constrains them. Example: Need to get that big project done? Volunteer to give a work-in-progress talk at your department on one of the chapters, or decide that you're going to submit a 3k word version of a chapter to the upcoming APA meeting. Too many small things taking up your time? Start saying "no" more, let some of them go, etc. Once you've turned that big project into (just other) bite-sized immediate obligations like giving a talk, some of the other day-to-day "immediate" needs suddenly seem less pressing.

[Trevor Hedberg]

It's also worth noting that you can partition at the level of your weekly schedule rather than your daily schedule. I recall completing my MA thesis primarily by designating Thursdays and Sundays as writing days. I work on the thesis for 6-8 hours those days and do virtually no other work. This was a very effective way to lock down on that project since I found it difficult to make any substantive progress in 1 or 2 hour blocks. Obviously, this kind of partitioning is harder to do after graduate school (when you often have a heavier teaching load), but if you luck out and have all your teaching scheduled on just 2 or 3 days a week, then it's still possible.

[happy grad student]

I use a similar partitioning strategy and it does wonders for me. The only change in focus I make is that instead of breaking up my workload in terms of time, I break it up in terms of tasks. I make to-do lists every day and make sure I get a little bit of work done on each of my projects. Of course, I may prioritize urgent tasks and spend much more time on them on some days (perhaps spending several hours on a looming deadline and only spending 20-30 minutes on a long-term project), but I still make steady progress on all my projects. This has the benefit of both feeling that I've accomplished more each day, and reducing overall stress levels (I rarely feel like I'm drowning under the work I have to get done).

I am still a graduate student and don't have as much on may plate as junior faculty members, but this strategy has been instrumental in keeping me on track. I have made steady progress on my prospectus and dissertation, have been able to publish an article (and have several more in the pipeline) and keep up with service tasks and lesson prepping with minimal stress. I've gotten to the point where I can reliably take weekends off and spend more time with my family.

[list lover]

I also use a variant of the partitioning strategy (and started doing so about a year before finishing my PhD). It completely changed my approach to work. I don't have particular hours of the day set aside for projects (though I do tend to put research projects early in the day and teaching late, if I can manage it). I decide each week what I'm hoping to get done, and check in with that list each evening to make a plan for the next day. I also use a timer (Toggl is great!) to keep track of how much time I actually spend on different projects (including teaching). This allows me to check up on myself on the end of each week and see how much time I actually spent on a given project. If a project is stalling, it's probably because I haven't given it enough consistent time, and I'll take that into account when making next week's plan, e.g. by giving the stalled project higher priority.