Research schedule for 2 months - What would you do if your boss would ask you... (Mar/13/2005 )
What would you do if your boss would ask you to make a schedule detailed up to the hour, regarding your experiments in the next 2 months?
Do you think any researcher in the world could know which experiment he will be doing at a certain day and hour (eg: 12 of April at 2pm) two month in advance?
I do not think so, but since last October I have to prepare a detailed schedule (hour by hour) of my research day, two months in advance!
Do you think it makes sense?
Do you think any researcher in the world could know which experiment he will be doing at a certain day and hour (eg: 12 of April at 2pm) two month in advance?
I do not think so, but since last October I have to prepare a detailed schedule (hour by hour) of my research day, two months in advance!
Do you think it makes sense?
I don't know of ANY job that can plan that much detail that far in advance. I think that's a bit unreasonable. What do you do in the lab? I know that if I plate bone marrow today, I have no idea if it'll be ready for harvest next week or the week after. My experiments dictate my schedule, not me.
I am glad you agree with me! Too bad my boss does not agree...
Did your boss had to do this (the schedule thing) with his own boss?? I bet not... he wouldn't be where he is now!! I would suggest to you to look around other labs, where research is done, and not time management.
How can someone predict if his PCR's gonna work on the first shot or the fourth? How can someone predict which ligation strategy's gonna be the more effective. Who can tell if my cells will get contaminated. That person should contact me... I'd be willing to pay big bucks for such "knowledge" and "good fortune telling capacities"!!
Simon
That 2-month-schedule thing looks like a wonderful way to waste valuable time! Where did your boss get that idea from? Every other day you should be modifying it 'cause the second experiment you planned didn't work out, so you need to repeat it, and delay other experiments... It's plain crazy 
What I found useful is to do one-week plannings. On friday afternoon I use to spend 1-2 h going over the results of the last days, seeing what worked out and what I should repeat, and making a lists of must-do things for the next week. And of these must-do things I usually do about half...
Hi Badcell and veteran:
I agree with everything you wrote! It has been 5 month since he started with that idea and the schedule...never worked! However he is saying that the fault is our because we are not expert yet in preparing schedules! He thinks that after one year of training in "SCHEDULING", it will work!
The schedule is not the only idea he had for losing time. He gave us a series of rules to follow from the first to the last step. The "white hat" (WH) and "yellow hat" (YH) is an example: right now has 9 steps that postdocs (WH) have to follow in supervising graduate students (YH)....well is better I stop here now....
mine is day by day planning, if things don't work on the day, i would have to repeat them.
But it sure is a great way to waste time and deviate from the task at hand. if only you can plan what you will be doing in two months time!!
How about in one months time, I will have a great, wacky but dogma breaking idea and I'll just need to do one experiment to prove everyone is wrong. That would be great to put in the plan.
Do you put at the end of your plan, time to create another two month plan? that's just ridiculous!
Methylnick: everything is ridiculous....unfortunately the inventor of all this...does take it very seriously, at the point that he is losing time writing "Scheduling Rules" (6 paragraphs), "Standard Experimental Approach" (14 paragraphs), "Standard White Hat Approach"....that we have to follow in the exact order....
To answer your question the rule is: we have to make our schedule in our "chores time". If we do not do it in that time we have to do it in the weekends and evenings. (What do you think evenings and weekends are made for?....are made for these things, like writing schedules...
Definition of "Chores time": "Chores time" includes chores in the lab, reading papers and literature search (how can he call lit search and reading papers "chore"?
enough for now, this is not in my schedule!
To answer your question the rule is: we have to make our schedule in our "chores time". If we do not do it in that time we have to do it in the weekends and evenings. (What do you think evenings and weekends are made for?....are made for these things, like writing schedules...
Definition of "Chores time": "Chores time" includes chores in the lab, reading papers and literature search (how can he call lit search and reading papers "chore"?
enough for now, this is not in my schedule!
wow chantal, it's a sure-fire way to put you off science and the lab full stop. Be pleased to know that not all lab heads are like your one. Think happy thoughts during chore time.
Nick
sounds like your boss just took a course in management, and is all fired up over these new fangle techniques.
in order to save your job, and to please the boss, go along and make an idealised version on the schedule (ie, on Monday, 8-12 PCR reaction, 12-1 lunch, 1-2 run AGE, 2-3 purify, 3-5 digest PCR amplicon, Tuesday, 8-9 run gel of digested amplicon.....etc etc), then as a note at the end of the "schedule" point out that since science is such a dynamic area, this schedule is an idealised guide only, use words like "flexibility" and "dymanic" (they love that one), when describing the area that you're working in. Reading journal... invent "reading journal time".
It sorta sounds like catch-22... start "turning page of journal time", and "walking from bench to freezer time", which would entail "walking from freezer back to bench time", oh the list is endless.