Completing a PhD with a Family (Part 4): Maximizing Productivity

This is installment 4 of a 5 part series

The most common phrase I hear when talking with PhD candidates is that they wish they could be more productive. I wholeheartedly agree! Being more productive not only allows you to complete the PhD in record time but gives you the freedom and flexibility to spend more time with your family.

I discuss three different tasks you can do and how you can implement them to maximize productivity, finish your PhD in record time and, most importantly, free-up more time for your family.

Before we start, I’m going to reference two books to help us:

Finish by Jon Acuff and Deep Work by Cal Newport

As the title suggests, Finish is about finishing things. So many people start tasks with good intentions, but rarely see them to completion. The book is easy to read and full of useful tools to help you finish your dissertation. The Audible version is read by the author with bonus content.

Deep Work is the best productivity book I've ever read. In this book, Newport talks about the concept of focusing on a task with 100% attention to the task, which he calls deep work. He discusses strategies on how to implement deep work practices into your daily life.

Considering the information in these two books--coupled with my own experience--I break up maximizing productivity into a focus on three types of tasks:

Deep Work Tasks

Concentration Tasks

Shallow Tasks

When implemented purposefully, these tasks can be your greatest asset in maximizing your productivity so you can maximize time with your family.

Deep Work Tasks

Deep work tasks include: writing, reading for comprehension, and thinking.

These are the tasks that will take up most of your highest concentration time. Work to perform these tasks alone without distractions of any kind...this includes your phone and email.

Give yourself permission to be selfish with your deep work time.

When you are going to engage in a deep work task, it is best to have that time scheduled when you will not receive any distractions (usually the beginning or ending of your day). Additionally, consider a ritual to enter and leave the task.

Personally, before I would engage in a deep work task, I would listen to 10 minutes of binaural beats with deep breathing…in the dark. When I was finished, I would turn on the light and begin writing. The binaural beats and the breathing calmed and centered me, but the light was the actual trigger.

When I was finished, I would audibly say, “I am finished ______ (writing, reading, etc.) for the day.” This signaled to me that I would not revisit this task in this capacity for the remainder of the day.

Do what works for you but be consistent with your scheduled time.

Concentration Tasks

Concentration tasks include: editing, reference formatting, skimming articles, note taking, and outlining.

These are tasks that take a fair amount of concentration, but you can afford to be distracted and can refocus easily at a different time. I would recommend performing these tasks at times when you know you will not have complete silence.

For instance, if you have agreed with your family to work on your PhD after dinner, you can perform a concentration task knowing that you may be interrupted briefly to tell the kids good night, give a hug, or refill juice. These tasks do require your mental energy, but no so much that you cannot refocus after doing something else momentarily.

Be sure to schedule time for concentration tasks, so you will still be able to tend to your family and work on your PhD simultaneously.

Shallow Tasks

Shallow tasks in a PhD program are the absolute worst!

Examples of shallow tasks are: formatting, performing a reference audit, checking your document for consistency in capitalization, and running a spelling checker.

All these tasks are necessary to the successful completion of a PhD, but they require little thought. These are the tasks that allow you to assess details and consistency without overtaxing your mental capacity.

Shallow tasks can be completed at any time, under a variety of circumstances, and that is their advantage!

How I treated shallow tasks was, instead of scheduling them, I would prioritize a week’s worth of shallow tasks at a time. I would write a list of the tasks and keep then next to my PhD workspace. When I had spare time and knew I was too distracted to work on a concentration or deep work task, then I would work on a shallow task.

By doing this, I stayed engaged with my PhD and made some progress on it daily.

Before we conclude, there are two concepts from Finish that I think are worth addressing: cutting goals in half and hiding places & noble obstacles.

Cutting Goals in Half

Regardless of the type of task, do not try to take-on too much at one time--especially a deep work or concentration task. These should be scheduled to work around your schedule and life. Be realistic. If you set aside one hour to write (deep work), don't expect that you are going to write 2,200 words. Instead, cut that goal in half and aim for 1,100 words.

If your goal is too high and you do not finish the goal for that session, it will bother you until you are able to finish it. What good is a distracted you to your family?

NO GOOD!

Keep your goals simple, manageable, and achievable.

On the flip side...if you completed your half-goal and have 15 minutes to spare, do not extend that goal. If you do, you will not come to a second completion in 15 minutes. Instead, work on a shallow task and/or plan your next action.

Hiding Places & Noble Obstacles

Acuff states: “A hiding place is an activity you focus on instead of your goal. A noble obstacle is a virtuous-sounding reason for not working toward a finish. Both are toxic to your ability to finish.”

Shallow tasks, some concentration tasks, and our families can be used as either a hiding place or a noble obstacle. They prevent us from finishing the harder things. If you notice that you have not completed many deep work tasks, or the time-consuming concentration tasks, ask yourself what you have been doing instead.

Even your kids can be a hiding place or noble obstacle if you allow them. Have your spouse and kids keep you accountable to reaching your goal of finishing your PhD.

Conclusion

Be purposeful in your time. Feel free to reorganize the items within each task to suit you. I'm only here to help in whatever way I can to get you to completion quickly and maximize the time with your family...by maximizing your productivity!

Coming Soon in this series:

• Being a student of the PhD