How do you work when you have things you have to do that get in the way of your day? e.g. meetings/lecturing etc.

I find that if I have a whole day free, I can really get on with some stuff. But if I have a meeting in the afternoon, I won't be able to focus or do anything ALL day, maybe because I feel I don't see the point, because I won't be able to get really into it. I've always been like this, all through undergrad etc.

Any tips on how to use all my half days?

I don't know if you can retrain yourself, but I have to work very differently, in 1 hour bursts, often many days apart. I can't ever have a whole day, or even half a day. So I make the most of short bursts.

The way I manage this is by always having a list of things to get on with, and picking off the least unappealing things. So there is always something to do, and make progress on.

This isn't what I used to be like. I used to be more like you. But since I fell seriously ill, and can only work in very short bursts, I've had to adapt. So maybe it is possible.

I do admin on those days, and I suppose I do have a list of things that I have to do in terms of admin and usually non-Phd things. Its the writing and analysing data - the bigger tasks (and most important) that I find difficult to do unless I have an open stretch of time.

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True, but I would have said the same thing 13 years ago when I was a full-time PhD student.

Now the only way I can complete my part-time PhD (and I will be submitting in 1 month!) is by grabbing those odd moments, just an hour or so at most, often days apart, for everything, including writing, analysis, reading, thinking, the lot. So it is possible.

Hi Sneaks, I have exactly the same problem as you- when I have something serious to do, I like to have a whole day to sit and focus on it. This is quite problematic for me too, because I am out testing my participants most days of the week which can take 4-5 hours per visit including travelling time, and have had two two-hour teaching sessions per week and a number of weekly medical appointments too, and of course meetings, supervision etc. Fortunately, because I did double my teaching quota last semester, I will not have to do this next semester, although I still have MSc students to supervise. Basically when I have just an hour or two at a time I concentrate on getting the small irritating tasks done- emails, printing out and collating testing materials, entering a few sets of data...anything that doesn't require an hour for me to get into the swing of it! To be honest, having my foot in plaster for two months has actually been beneficial for me in some ways- I have had 10 hour days stuck at my desk reading, writing a new paper, teaching myself how to do the qualitative analysis I need to learn etc. Given this, I think when I restart testing (when I can drive again- hopefully in a fortnight!) I will try to block my time so that I have full days and weeks of testing (which can be exhausting!) and then maybe a whole week at a time in my office concentrating on the other stuff. In reality it won't work out quite like this because there are always meetings etc, but I'm going to try- I guess it's just about experimenting and finding out what works best for you! KB

hmm, yes my life seems identical to yours keenbean, minus the leg cast. What I have learnt about myself during the PhD is I can't say no to anyone, which leaves me with a load of work that although looks ok on a cv, usually doesn't even pay and takes loads of my time. I live 2-3 hours away from uni as well, so any little 1 hr meeting, actually takes 5-6 hours to attend.

I think, as this is my final year I am going to have to be super selfish and just block whole weeks out and not see anybody. For me, I think its the only way I can get things done. By mid-feb I should have all my teaching responsibilities over with so i can get on writing etc. It just hurts when I have for example this week, everyday I am doing non-PhD meetings, lectures, consultancy work etc. and the money barely covers my travel :-(

How I deal with this is by always working from home/blocking out at least one weekday per week, preferably two. I also commute a long distance so this is the only way i stay sane and get proper work done. If there's a meeting on a day I don't come in I simply tell them I'm not on campus that day. If I'm important enough to what's happening they'll reschedule for another day. If not, I get the minutes and follow up on my next day in.

It means a week or two re-organising classes and regular meetings at the start of term but from then on it works great. Also, since I usually have two days at home I can cut that down to only one for a week or two if there's exceptional stuff going on.