This logo isn't an ad or affiliate link. It's an organization that shares in our mission, and empowered the authors to share their insights in Byte form.
Rumie vets Bytes for compliance with our
Standards.
The organization is responsible for the completeness and reliability of the content.
Learn more
about how Rumie works with partners.
"How will I get this done on time? I only have three days to complete this project! How do I balance everything? I don't want to disappoint our clients."
Mariya was stressed and confused. Her manager had asked her to take on a huge clinical research project and she was having trouble figuring out how to do everything on time.
Throughout your career, you may frequently find yourself in a similar situation. There may be multiple, competing deadlines or you may have a huge project with numerous components. What can you do to get through these situations?
Effective time management skills might help! Use these strategies to help you better manage your time for a work project.
What is Time Management?
Time Management Skills & Strategies: Part 1
Strategies you can use to organize and complete projects include:
Organize tasks by the following categories: Immediate, Later, Delegate, and Delete.
In Mariya's situation, she could organize some of her tasks in the following way:
Immediate: Finish Trial A's adverse event reports & submit to sponsor
Later: Respond to emails, data entry
Delegate: Ask team member to collect & ship patient blood samples
Delete: Frozen shipments
"Eat That Frog"
Complete the highest priority task before going on to other tasks.
For Mariya's project, her highest priority task is finishing up the adverse event reports for ten patients and submitting them to the trial sponsor.
Organize and list out similar tasks and complete them all at once.
In Mariya's case, she could collect the various blood samples throughout the day and ship them all together at one time. She could also set aside a few hours to just work on adverse event reports, as the reports have a standard template and workflow.
Time Management Skills & Strategies: Part 2
Some helpful skills & methods:
Create a to-do list or checklist
Set goals
Delegate tasks
Try not to multi-task; do your best to complete one thing at a time!
Did you know?
There are a variety of online tools, such as calendars and file-sharing platforms, that can help you organize and plan out your tasks! Try these tools and see which ones work best for you.
Example: Mohammed's Project
Mohammed's manager just assigned him a client project that is due in two days. He has listed out all of his tasks but isn't exactly sure what to do next. He'd like your advice on how he can effectively use the Eisenhower Matrix method to better manage his project.
Here are some of his tasks:
Start drafting storyboard
Meet with content expert to clarify a few concepts
Finalize project outline document and project management dashboard
Organize client files
Respond to emails
To incorporate this method, Mohammed can organize his list into four categories: Immediate, Later, Delegate, and Delete. By organizing his list into these four categories, he can then focus on the immediate tasks and make a plan!
Quiz
Mohammed's client would like an update on the project's timeline and would also like to see a basic outline. Based on the client's request, which items should Mohammed list in the "Immediate" tasks column in the matrix? Select all that apply:
As the client would like to see a basic outline as well as details surrounding the project's timeline, Mohammed should immediately work on drafting the storyboard as well as finalizing the project outline, as those two items are exactly what the client is looking for at their next meeting!
Quiz
Kara has two competing projects and is unsure how to tackle both at the same time. She tends to procrastinate and work a lot of overtime to get things done. She wants to start using effective time management skills and needs your advice.
She usually spends her day in the following way:
9-11am: Emails
11am-12pm: Meeting
12-12:30pm: Project Work
1-2pm: Emails
2-4pm: Project Work
4-5pm: Emails
5-7pm: Project Work (Over-Time)
Quiz
Which strategies would you recommend she use? Select all that apply:
Based on her schedule, it will be most helpful for her to use the task batching and to-do list methods to organize her day. She can set aside two hours in the day for emails and work on her immediate tasks during the other time slots. The other methods aren't necessarily helpful for Kara's situation.
Take Action
The next time you have a huge project or multiple, competing deadlines, keep the following time management skills tips in mind:
This Byte has been authored by
Zainab Abbasi
Senior Clinical Research Coordinator
B.S.