I'm about to start research full-time next semester (no teaching, no classes) and am curious as to how other researchers design their schedules to remain efficient without as much built-in structure. I am thinking along the lines of creating blocks in my days for reading, experiment design, networking, breaks, etc. Would anyone like to share their strategy?
My schedule is full but I try to devote at least three hours a day to research
Best Regards Rachel Fleming
My schedule is full but I try to devote at least three hours a day to research
Best Regards Rachel Fleming
Dear Rachel Fleming . Good luck with your research. As Osama Rahil has indicated it may be a good idea to devote certain hours everyday on your research and have a plan, e.g. to have completed literature review in three months, etc.
It really depends on many factors such as the duration of the project, the structure.
Overall, don't forget to enjoy it and never neglect yourself. After all, we do research because you like it, right?
One semester is not very long for research. I usually do 2 year and 1 year projects. Fortunately the sources and institutions I have to work with give me a certain structure. I have to hit th archives a lot and there are those I can get to and fro within a day and those I have to travel to and spend in town at least a week. They often give me windows when I can get there. This means as soon as I have my list of lets' say individuals for biographies (I do a lot mass-biographies, functionaries of 390 people or 755 people for instance), I know where I have to go and what I am looking for.
Federal Archive Ludwigsburg tells me to get there in March, another archive wants me in June, that in Schleswig doesn't care, but I get one month accomodation only in February and so forth. In between I squeeze in day-trips to federal archive Berlin, where I either spend single days or two or three days with accomodation. Since I have to work data-banks and read the files I copied I have reading, writing and Berlin unplanned. I just place it between the fixed dates, work the files as soon as I get the copies and go to Berlin whenever I don't have to work and analyze the copied files.
Basically: it is a mixture of fixed dates I can not change, combined with variables like source-analyzing and data-bank and variable trips to Berlin. Not sure that helps, but you might eventually translate this to your own research. I believe you need room to move certain tasks. Also having a specific day of the week for library might be useful
I try to write at least a page a day and find a new source every day. I make a mental list of what has to be done and try and do at least three things on that list every day. The things do not have to be large, but they do have to be done. This will keep you moving forward on projects that can take a very long time to complete.
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