Professional Documents
Culture Documents
MR Time Management
MR Time Management
MR Time Management
Contents
Welcome ............................................................................................................................... 2 How most researchers spend their time ................................................................................. 3 How they wish they could spend their time ........................................................................... 4 1. Use To-do Lists................................................................................................................... 5 2. Set Realistic Goals Each Day ............................................................................................... 6
Prioritization Questions ............................................................................................................................ 6
3. Try a New Tool................................................................................................................... 7 4. Know Your Daily Rhythm ................................................................................................... 8 5. Keep a When Time Permits Folder .................................................................................. 9 6. Deal with Email................................................................................................................ 10 7. Work Backwards .............................................................................................................. 11 8. Plan Ahead to Mitigate Risk Factors ................................................................................. 12 9. Embrace Dictation ........................................................................................................... 13 10. Set Reminders ............................................................................................................... 14 11. Set Deadlines ................................................................................................................. 14 12. Avoid Insanity ................................................................................................................ 15 Job Priorities Exercise: Replace Yourself............................................................................... 16 13. Ask for Help ................................................................................................................... 17 14. Set Important Meetings Early in the Day ........................................................................ 18 15. Avoid Analysis Paralysis ................................................................................................. 18 16. Have a Theme of the Day ............................................................................................... 19 17. Hire an Intern ................................................................................................................ 20 Thanks for reading! ............................................................................................................. 22
Welcome
A recurring challenge I hear from Research Rockstar students is that of time management. Too often, deadlines converge, fires erupt, or clients need it yesterday. So based on my 25 years of market research reality, I have put together 17 time management tips. I hope you find them useful!
Kathryn Kathryn Korostoff President & Lead Instructor Research Rockstar LLC
Troubleshooting 20%
Okay, maybe that was a little facetious. But you get the point.
I use a special notebook that has numbered rows. I update the list every 3 or 4 days. I also have a code to indicate when I have started an item, when it is half done, and when it is completed. On especially busy days, I will color highlight tasks that must be done that day. I prefer a physical notebook versus online, but thats just me!
Prioritization Questions
As you look at your overall to-do list, ask yourself the following questions. The answers will help you to logically prioritize items. What items need to be done so that others can do their work? (Doing these items prevents you from being a bottleneck) What items are risky? (Doing these items sooner will give you breathing room for troubleshooting if there are problems) What items require collaborating or communicating with others to be done properly? (Doing these items earlier in the day is usually a good choice, so that you have time to coordinate with other peoples schedules)
Using a new tool doesn't mean marrying it for life. I have sometimes used a tool temporarilyto get through a particularly overbooked month, to help transition team members, or to manage other workload fluctuations
Personally, I prefer meetings before 2 PM whenever possible. I am susceptible to the 2 PM slump, which makes afternoon meetings less effective for me.
My WTP folder is filled with sticky notes and scraps of paper where I have quickly jotted down products, people or book titles I want to look-up when I have more time
For many market researchers, especially those managing projects, this is unrealistic. We need to receive and send time-sensitive information. BUT we can still prioritize. Heres one method: Step 1: Quickly scan new incoming messages Step 2: Respond quickly to those that NEED responding to right away. Step 3: Any that can wait, color code or toggle a flag. That way you can sort your inbox at the end of the day by flag status, and catch up. Step 4: Any that were never coded can be scanned and deleted at another time, or can be moved in bulk to a folder titled TPO email
Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important. Stephen R. Covey
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7. Work Backwards
In a time crunch to get that next report done? Try working backwards
Planning project subtasks and interim milestone dates backwards can often force us to be more efficient Start with an end date, and work backwards to fill out your project schedule Tip: Know your end deliverable (be specific about success criteria), and create a series of steps working backwards to the start
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At the start of every project, document your risk factors What are the top 3 risk factors for this project? How can we mitigate them?
Risk factor example: unknown quality of list to be used for recruiting Indepth Interview (IDI) participants Possible mitigation steps: Build in time for a soft launch, identify a fallback list, document risk factors for client (advising of specific benchmarks that need to be met)
I can avoid schedule slips by mitigating risk factors. And clients appreciate the proactive approach.
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9. Embrace Dictation
Voice memos, voice recorders, or dictation apps make it easy to dictate notes and ideas When working on longer written pieces (management summaries, articles), add on transcription and you get a first draft
Dictation allows you to use your time efficiently, and also helps pass the time when doing boring tasks (like sitting in traffic!)
I use SpeakWrite. I dictate in the car, when walking the dog, even on the treadmill. Sometimes just the process of talking out loud helps me to clarify my thinking about complex topics.
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Use recurring meetings for those tasks that need to be done regularly.
Without deadlines, many market research tasks can expand needlessly Another famous adage related to this, attributed to Daniel Kahneman, is the planning fallacy; a tendency to underestimate how long we need to complete a task, even when we have experience with the type of task in question.
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When pinched for time, our tendency is to do things the way we always do them, because its seems less risky. But sometimes, change is good. Do you always proofread your own reports? Have someone else do it. You may get better results and you can use the time to QA your data or do another task. Do you always recycle the same question formats and scales? Maybe its time to refresh on scale options. You may find yourself reenergized to the point where your analysis actually goes faster because your data is more interesting!
Need help thinking about how to change your work habits? Try the following exercise.
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Step 1: Imagine you have just been promoted! But first, you have to hire someone to replace yourself. Your task is to write a job posting. How would you define your job? Your key responsibilities? Write down this job description Specify the top 5 responsibilities Note: Step 1 should take you at least 15 minutes. Be sure to think carefully and precisely about your top 5! Step 2: Now look back at your last week: how much of your time was spent on those five items? What percent was spent on other items? What are you spending time on that really is not a good use of your time and brain power? Do you really have to do those things? Many people realize that they are spending as much as 50% of their time on things they wouldn't want their replacement wasting time on!
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Possible sources of help: Colleagues: having colleagues do a mock pre-test of a survey design, or having them sanity check a report, can be a quick task for them that will give you some relief Outsourcing: Low-cost sites like Fiverr can be a great way to get help with simple tasks Professional Association members: Member of CASRO, ESOMAR, the MRA, or QRCA? Associations like these all have online forums (some on LinkedIn) where you can ask qualified peers for advice
I have found low-cost proofreaders and graphic designers on Fiverr and Guru.com
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Market researchers often have piles of data to work with, and it can be hard to judge when the analysis is done
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Analysis can be a never-ending activity. How do you know if you are done? Focus on the projects documented objectives. If you are spending more than X hours (your call as to what X is for you) on analysis that is not directly related to your primary objectives, stop You can always do more later when the client isn't waiting impatiently for your report
Here are my themes: Salesforce Monday (review and catch up on CRM reports) Twitter Tuesday (write tweets for the week, schedule for time release) Class Prep Wednesday (prep materials for upcoming classes, refresh content as needed) Social Media Thursday (write posts or comment on articles, LinkedIn discussions, etc.) Favor Friday (send thank-you notes/gifts, make calls to new clients, send discount or free sample codes to new contacts) By having recurring tasks scheduled, I don't stress about if and when I will do them.
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I have found many excellent interns at local colleges and via Internships.com
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