Time Tracking and Backwards Planning

Earlier I highlighted an article by Moira Allen entitled Time and the Writer.  

Now, Joli Jensen has a "Who Knows Where the Writing Time Goes?"
good post about using "Reverse Day Planning" to understand how you are using your time and how you might be able to find patterns in your use of time. Her post is entitled

During the first few sessions of Agraphia, we usually spend a lot of the meeting time talking about time.  Most people under-estimate how long a task will take and therefore create unrealistic goals for the week.  I ask people to write down their larger goal and then break it down into individual tasks.  For example:

• Reflection paper on class reading (7.30 hours)
• Read and take notes on assigned text (4 hours)
• Pre-write - outline/web ideas for writing (1 hour)
• Draft (2 hours)
• Revise (30 minutes)

Then I ask people to estimate how long each individual task will take and write that next to the task.  Then, as they open their planners, they can schedule in the specific task to get done each day, rather then the overwhelming goal of the entire paper.  Also, by analyzing the specific tasks, their final estimation of time is a little closer to reality.   This also helps writers get to know their personal style.  Some people like scheduling a long time to do all the tasks, others need thinking time in-between reading and writing.  As a grad student, most people have 2 or 3 of these types of papers due each week, so it is important to both recognize and schedule the time needed to complete the work.

As an early career scholar, these skills are just as important.  Backwards planning for a due date will help alleviate last minute submissions.  But, I've learned to give myself an extra week for cushion.  So, if a proposal/paper is due March 3rd, I will backwards plan from February 27th to provide some time for the unexpected interruptions that always happen.  Mini-goals throughout the project will help show progress and success, which is sorely needed motivation.  If I am working with others in a co-authored paper, I've learned that designing a clear, written schedule in the beginning is advantageous for everyone involved. It provides clear deadlines for each person that are supported by positive peer pressure - as one person's deadline impacts the next writer.