Sleep. The Time-Management Equalizer? Or Personal Nemesis....?

OK, really, how much sleep do we need at night? I've heard of people who are totally great after 4 hours a night. (Y'know, those presidents of Fortune-500 companies, millionaires with well-rounded lives, and other mythical creatures...) I've heard as well that you can get your body to get by on less sleep, training it to be more efficient.

Me? I think it's all a bunch of hype. I need 10 hours of sleep. How do people survive on less? Not that I want to get all rant-y on you here, but really, I've been doing 7 hours (average) this semester, and dying because of it. Last night? (Since you asked...) A whopping 2 hours. (And don't think it's because I've got a life. Hah.)

And beyond the physical possibilities, there's the time-management conundrum: If you've got something incredibly important to do (of course on a nearly impossible deadline...), is it better to sleep and be rested to more efficiently finish the remainder of it, possibly running out of time in the process, or to sacrifice your sleep to ensure the job is completed on time? --The latter reminds me of all those war movies where the soldiers urge each other on by saying, "You can sleep when you're dead!" Not entirely comforting. And really, personally, I'd like to sleep while I'm still living.

And of course, if you're like me, and you've got 60 zillion things to do, you're inundated by those things while you sleep. Always fun. Did you ever dream the one where the Calculus professor keeps repeating, "F of x plus h minus f of x, all divided by h. F of x plus h minus f of x, all divided by h. F of x..."

Well, at least for that dream I'm not naked in class. Gotta look at the bright side, here...

Momentum (and its Evil Twin: Break)

Ah, momentum. Easily one of my greatest allies. Or foes, if I let it be.

Case in point: Last week was Fall Break. Was it just me, or was the 'go! go! go!' suddenly turning into 'aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh.....breeeeaaaak...' a difficult transition while still trying to stay productive? I mean, did anyone else basically do absolutely nothing until about Wednesday?

I started out with the best intentions: I had about a 6 page list of things I had been trying to get to - but too busy for - from the last month or so (consisting of items like laundry (yikes), dishes (double yikes) and finally getting a haircut (hippie yikes)), but could I even get out of bed the Saturday starting Fall Break? Ok, well, I did get out to raid the fridge and pop in another DVD. (I think I went through half my DVDs and half my fridge that first day.) I had ZERO motivation to move.

Same with Sunday. No matter how much I stared at that giant list of things I really did want to accomplish, pretty much nothing in the world could get me off of the couch. (Well, at least I moved out of bed.)

By about Tuesday I was thinking, 'This is ridiculous! I want to have clean clothes and a non-toxic kitchen. Why can't I get moving?!'

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My answer? Momentum. (Tricky little bugger.) I've noticed over the last few years that one of my biggest challenges is starting something. Anything. Whether it's a homework assignment, getting to classes on time, or even just getting up to shower (especially on days when I technically don't have any pressing events I have to get ready for).

But get me going on things? I go and go and go and do and do and do until I stop. And stay stopped. It seems to be all or nothing for me. (Probably not the healthiest of approaches to productivity.) Either I'm riding on momentum, or stuck in the 'break of momentum.'

And Fall Break? I reeeeally stopped. Boom. Finished. Caput. Game over, man. Getting going again, even if it was just to get up and say, "Okay. Really. I have no clean dishes left. It is time to wash one at least," was tantamount to moving mountains.

Of course, maybe exhaustion and decompression had parts in keeping me immobile last week, too. My previous momentum felt very similar to plunging-off-a-cliff-can't-stop-now, and yes, stopping kinda felt like smacking the ravine floor at 300 miles per hour.

Anyone else feel like Wile E. Coyote in those RoadRunner cartoons?

Here's a guy who's figured it out...

K if you've got some free time and want to know how the masters do time management...check this out.

It's a NOVA special on Karl Iagnemma, a full-time MIT roboticist who is also an acclaimed fiction writer. Click here to watch or read the transcript:

Profile: Karl Iagnemma - PBS Airdate: October 3, 2006

This guy has time-management down to an art form.

My favorite part of the interview is at the end when his friend is describing how he'd describe himself if he were Karl:

STEVE ALMOND: If it were me, if I was doing this stuff, I would be like, "Dude, I've got a robot going to Mars. What did you do yesterday? And that was before lunch. Then I wrote a great short story in the afternoon. Then I hung out with my beautiful Swedish wife. What'd you do?"

What did I do before lunch today? Hm. Well... I threw out that container in the back of the fridge that was growing fuzz. Does that count? Then I showered. I think that was it. Yeah.

Well, it is fall break - it took an effort, people.

Okay, okay, back to work...

Multi-tasking - Friend of Foe?

So a lot of the sites I've visited list out tips for better time management. And while there is a fair amount of variation depending on your goals, they do all run in basically a parallel path. With perhaps the exception of multi-tasking.

Some sites claim that multi-tasking 'dilutes' your focus on both task, making the time you spend on the two of them that much more drawn out and ineffective. Other sites claim that the best way to get the most out of the day is to not limit yourself to just one task when two are possible.

Now, I don't want to open up a total can of worms here, but there's also the viewpoint that it might be a gender thing. I'm not sure that I agree, but I have heard from many many MANY sources that 'Oh, I can't multi-task, I'm a guy...I'm focused,' or 'How can you just sit there and not be doing something else? That goes against the laws of motherhood!' or etc. etc... But maybe this is a part of the discussion best left for some other blog...

There definitely is something to be said for both multi-tasking and not. If you don't multi-task, you are concentrating your effort on one thing and one thing only. No distractions, no apologies, no excuses, you're on top of that one thing. On the other hand, if you're mind is wandering while you're doing a task, could you fill that wandering with another task? Like watching TV and folding laundry, or walking to the bus-stop and reading a book (um, this may not be advised if you're particularly engrossed. There's cars out there, people...), or playing Halo while you're listening to the last tape of your biology lecture? (Actually, a friend of mine swears by this. I don't quite get it, but to each his own.)

I say I'll try anything once.

(Halo, anyone?)

The 80/20 Rule

Okay, so is the 80/20 rule new to just me? Seems like everyone around me has already heard a version of it.

My sister and I were talking about efficiency, and she said she'd heard (and tried to follow) a rule that says for any project (or study-time for that life-and-death Calculus exam), you should try to be 'focused and efficient 80% of the time, with 20% of your time being set aside as your 'breaks'. That way you are concentrating your focus in shorter periods of time, and consciously letting yourself 'breathe' during the process. In theory, this helps your mindset, because you know the work-time is finite, and my sister swears that this trick helps you keep up the pace of things through, oh...say, an entire semester. Even one that involves a math class.

Hmmm. Very interesting...

There's other versions of this rule out there, too, but apparently a popular one (it's even named for an Italian economist from back in 1906!) is described here:

Management.about.com

It says a lot of stuff in this article (time-management attempters may wish to skip it), but the jist of Pareto's Principle is that typically 80% of unfocused effort generates only 20% of results. And on top of that, 80% of your day is filled with trivial things that should not be wasted with your best efforts. "Of the things you do during your day, only 20 percent really matter. Those 20 percent produce 80 percent of your results. Identify and focus on those things."

Oooh...also interesting. Although I may be confused on the math part. So am I supposed to spend the (most) crucial 20% of of my day with 80% effort? Or am I supposed to be giving 100% 20% of the time? Or does that mean that somehow I should have about 80% of my day free even though I feel like my schedule is 100% against me?

I think I may have to look at this more once I'm out of my math class, which I swear is frying my brain. Or maybe my time management skills aren't ready to handle Calculus and Italian economists at the same time...

Some Really Helpful Places

Okay. So I mentioned how I've been browsing the web looking for advice, right? Well here are some great places to look for help if you're 'Time-Management-Challenged' like me:

• studygs.net (a good site for students)
• ezinearticles.com
• timemanagement.com (better for office management...)
• blog.penelopetrunk.com

(I also started a running list of helpful links at the bottom of this site.)

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And if you've read this far into my blog and aren't sure you're as desperately pathetic as me (when it comes to managing your time), here's a way to find out: Take a Time Management Quiz!

• One simple/quick quiz is here: www.ucc.vt.edu (Out of a possible score of 10, I got 3. Yup, that's about right.)
• Perhaps a better one is here: www.mindtools.com
• Another really a good one is here: www.effective-time-management-strategies.com (And with this quiz I scored an 'Ouch.' Not pretty.)

Actually, you can get some good hints and tips about what you 'shouldn't' be doing by doing these quizzes. ~~Or you can realize that during the time it took to hunt down these quizzes and take them, you could have been accomplishing something of a higher priority on your To-Do list.

Um, I think a light just went on in that dusty brain of mine. Oh, well, while I'm wasting time, at least I've been finding really interesting quizzes online - of all kinds - including this fun little one: The Time-Waster's Quiz. Just enter your first name and then ask yourself...

Your tomato plant begins to grow teeth and claw-like appendages.One day, you notice it chasing the dog around the house. What do you do?

The Big Picture

Last week was horrible. All-nighters to finish homework, last minute cramming for Math tests, hitting the 'Submit Assignment' button on practically the last minute, and feeling as though I could use another 12-or-so hours of sleep... So I thought it was time to start figuring out a better way to do things. First step? Put down my 6 page 'To-Do' list (that I've been staring ineffectively at for the last hour). Second step? Browse the web for advice...

If I was overwhelmed by my gigantonormous 'To-Do' list, I don't think Googling 'Time Management' helped. 430 million results. Sheesh. Well, at least I'm not the only one with issues.

In reading through site after article after blog after everything else, I've come to a few conclusions:

1. Time Management means different things for different people; it's all about where your priorities are and what you're trying to accomplish.
2. Because your own personal priorities may be different from other peoples', a lot of the advice on the web contradicts other peoples' advice. (Some people are pro-multi-tasking, others say it's counter-productive, that sort of thing...)
3. Self-control is a good thing. (Yes I can walk away from Warcraft...)
4. Organization is a good thing. (I can also sort the mail instead of throwing it on the floor. Now if I could just find the file-box that I put my sorted mail in...)
5. To-Do lists are a good thing. But only if you use them right: One must prioritize.

All in all, priorities were the major theme. Are you trying to finish all assignments on time? Trying to have more time with loved ones? Trying to get that promotion? It's important to define what that overshadowing goal is. Then decide what is it that you're willing to temporarily shove to the side in order to make that happen. (Again with the self-control. Sacrifice is a good thing. Dammit.)

Later I think I'll start a list of some of the good sites I've visited. But for right now, I think the thing I need to do is ask myself that one really big question - the one that makes everything else moot without it: "What is my priority?"

(I'll put that at the top of my 'To-Do' list.)