During your PhD traject you have to take care of a lot of different things. It takes a lot of time and energy and it can be quite difficult to keep a sufficient overview of your promotion. A good time schedule can help you with that.

It can be difficult to make a workable time schedule regarding your promotion. It might happen that things occure that you have not taken into account. Therefor it is nice to have a guideline for your work. In this way you make sure you can hand your thesis to the printer in time.

Do you want to start with a good time schedule? With these tips you certainly will:

Schedule time
Overview of tasks
From back to front
Eisenhower model
Warren Buffet Method
Track progress
Delivery to the printing company

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Schedule time

When you start making your time schedule, it is a big pitfall to plan all of your time. Because if a specific part turns out different than you had estimated, your entire time schedule will fail. That is why it is important to take this into account. The best way is to schedule “only” 80% of your time. You can then use the remaining 20% for unexpected activities and resolve possible delays.

Overview of tasks

It is a fact: you have many tasks that needs to be done. It is important to have clear which tasks you need to do. By mapping this out, you can be sure that you will not overlook any (partial) tasks during the execution.

Each promotion contains different tasks. That is why it is not possible to show a concrete planning already. For example, there are tasks that depend on your research, the institution where you will receive your doctorate and your personal development and life. In addition, each phase of your research also has its own tasks.

From back to front

When you start making your time schedule, it is best to plan from back to front. Look at the deadline and from that point on, see when which things need to be done. What is the date of defense? How many weeks before your defense should you hand over the first number of copies? How much time does the printing company need to produce and deliver your thesis? Take a step back every time and take that into account in your planning. Don’t forget to schedule time for your assessors. They need time to provide feedback to your work. If your schedule is to tight and your assessor is just a little later than agreed, you can get in trouble right away. By working from back to front, you will find out that you need more time for certain tasks than you might think. By thinking about this in advance, you can avoid encountering this during the work process.

Eisenhower model

The American president Eisenhower is also seen as the master of time management. With the Eisenhower method you learn to distinguish the most important tasks from urgent tasks. If you are unsure about what to do, fill in the Eisenhower model first. Then you decide which task is the right one to perform at that time.

Warren buffet-method

Warren Buffet is a multi-millionaire who also knows how to schedule his time. According to him this is a good method:

• Make a list of everything you want to do;
• Start with the task at the top of the list and then move on to the next.
• Cross already completed tasks on your list.

However, it is important to be realistic in your time schedule. So don’t put more on your to-do list per day than you can actually handle.

Track progress

When planning, you have to keep track of your progress. Then you can fine-tune it and improve it if necessary. You can of course keep track of the progress of your promotion with pen and paper. But there are also various apps that can help you with this. For example Trello, Notion or Todoist can be very handy.

Delivery to the printing company

Do you want to have your thesis printed? Then it is important that you submit your thesis in time. You should include this in your planning. At GildePrint we have a handy timeframe that can help you on your way:

Getting your PhD with the help of Gildeprint

We understand that after all your hard work, you would like to successfully complete your thesis. If you have your thesis printed at Gildeprint, you can be sure that it will be delivered in time. Would you like to know more about Gildeprint’s services? Then contact us without obligation.