As the range of tasks assigned to a Ph.D. student is very diverse, another specific technique that is very helpful is to follow the Eisenhower Matrix. The idea is to put the different tasks that you have to do in 4 different categories:
- Important and urgent
- Important but not urgent
- Not important but urgent
- Not important and not urgent
Let me give you an example; imagine that your supervisor asks you to update the group’s website immediately, and you have a deadline for a conference in two days. At the same time, your friends ask you to join a challenge on social media, and you have registered for an online course on a topic that will help your research. The question is, which one should you do first? Of course, not a social media challenge, even if that is more pleasant right? According to the Eisenhower Matrix, you should do the urgent and important task: the conference paper with the deadline. Someone else can update your research group’s website, so it is better to delegate the task (urgent but not important). Taking the online course is important for your career, but it is not urgent, so better to schedule it later, after you finish the urgent and important task. And as it was somehow evident, you can delete the social media challenge task, as it has nothing to do with your goals and is time-consuming.