Super Mario Brothers or Super Departmental Research Administrator? Avoiding pitfalls and accomplishing tasks to win the game

NCURA REGION V SPRING MEETING

HOUSTON, TEXAS

APRIL 19-22, 2015

Presenters● Kay Gilstrap, CRA

Business Manager II – ResearchDept. of Educational Psychology, Special Education, & Communication DisordersGeorgia State University

● Jennifer Lyon, Ph.D., ELS, CRA Director of Strategic Research Initiatives Office of the Dean, College of Natural Sciences University of Texas, Austin

Today we will:● Share tips on prioritizing tasks● Discuss workday structure and how to make progress on tasks and projects

● Share tools to organize tasks, including, the big time pit, email

● Have open discussion

Prioritizing Tasks Pre-Award:

●What can you do?● PI responsibilities● Central Office● Proactive Tasks● Communication with PIs

Prioritizing Tasks – cont.

Pre-Award:

●What should you do?● Boundaries● Commitments● Beware of traps!

Prioritizing Tasks – cont.

Post-Award:

●Deadlines: How to manage?● Chairs● Deans● Central Office● Sponsors● Others

Prioritizing Tasks – cont.

Post-Award:

● Relationships● Learning your faculty● Others on campus

Prioritizing Tasks – cont.

Post-Award:

● Recurring Tasks● When● Why● Examples: subaward processing, payments,

reports, effort reporting, _________________● Daily activities? Think about it

Prioritizing Tasks – cont.

Emergencies

● Is it really an emergency?● Who is asking? ● When is action required?● If we’re already late, then what?

● Allow flexibility in your schedule● Set realistic expectations

Making Progress

Tasks vs. Projects

● Tasks:● Often quick(er) to accomplish, but recurring● Examples: certify effort; collect biosketches● Progress is made by completing tasks and

checking them off your list

Making Progress – cont.

Tasks vs. Projects● Projects:

● Take longer (days, weeks, months) to accomplish

● Examples: Draft annual expenditure report for chair; create resource webpage for new faculty

● Progress is made by first breaking projects down into tasks, then completing tasks

Making Progress – cont.

Tasks vs. ProjectsManaging multiple projects requires balancing your time spent each day on related tasks

Daily Workday Structure

“Eat a live frog first thing in the morning, and nothing worse will happen to you throughout the day.”

- Mark Twain

Workday Structure – cont.

Daily:

● Jot down two projects to focus on ● Pick one to focus on before lunch, and one after

● Put the “live frog” first● Don’t cheat!

● Aim to spend 1 to 2 hours on each project

Workday Structure – cont.

Daily:

● “Eat your live frog” first ● Then focus on your second project● The remaining 4 to 6 hours is flex time for:

● Shorter-term and routine tasks● Email correspondence● Interruptions, distractions, emergencies

Workweek Structure

Weekly:

● Make a list of as many as 5 live frogs● One for each day of the week● Determine priority order● Some weeks it might be a giant, 5-headed frog

● Remain flexible

Tools to Help You Organize

What works for you?

● Are you a note-taker?● Prefer digital or analog?● Need visual reminders?

Tools to Help You Organize

High-Tech (and free!):

● Todoist (www.todoist.com)● Create to-do lists● View by project or by due date● Change due dates quickly and easily● Share lists with colleagues● Also available as an app

Tools to Help You Organize

High-Tech (and free!):

● Evernote (www.evernote.com)● type notes and organize into “notebooks”● save URLs, images● search your notes by keyword● share notes with colleagues● Also available as an app

Tools to Help You Organize

Low-Tech (and cheap!):

● Daily Planners● Composition notebook(s)● Colors!

Tools to Help You Organize

The one tool we all have: Email

● Can function as a note-taker● BCC yourself on messages and archive or file them

● Can function as a “reminder system”● Set follow-up reminders on messages

● Can function as a filing system● Create archived email folders with the same names as

those on your hard drive

Tools to Help You Organize

Organize your email:

● “Cleaning an inbox is like cleaning your house”● Employ the 5-minute rule● Filter listserv items to dedicated folders● Respond quickly, but act on your schedule

● Make sure you’ve eaten your frog first

Tools to Help You Organize

Beware of Email Pits:

● Inbox as your only organizational tool● Acting on every email the moment it arrives● Failing to respond until you know everything● Starting with a negative statement● Lengthy responses – is a phone call faster?● Poor archiving today is time wasted tomorrow

Summary● Only do what you can do and should do● Develop relationships – it’s worth the time!● Allow for emergencies● Allow for flexibility● Organize – use what works for you!

Questions?

Contact Information:

● Kay Gilstrap: kay.gilstrap@gsu.edu

● Jennifer Lyon: lyon@austin.utexas.edu

Thank You!