The fourth Luncheon with Professor activity was held in A609, Research Building on Xueyuanlu Campus at noon of 8 Dec, 2020. Director of the China-America Law Institute Professor Feng Kai, as the keynote speaker, conducted exchanges with the students on the theme of Postgraduate Dissertation Writing and Time Management.
Feng Kai explained that the time management is all about actively managing time at each stage to help bring available time streams to where they are needed. “Everyone who works and learns well is usually a good time manager. Students always say that they are suffering from study and life pressure. In part it was because of the inefficient use of time as they cannot prioritise their tasks and lack executive power.
Feng then went into detail on how to manage time. She recommended: “First, make a to-do list. Second, prioritise different tasks and try to identify those that are time-sensitive and of high importance so that you can see at a glance which tasks need to be prioritized. Third, identify the core tasks and put them into the optimal time period of energy to execute”. In particular, she noted that the hardest part of time management was defending one’s core time. In order to effectively ensure that the core tasks are carried out, it is necessary to develop a regular, consistent and regular performance,
“To avoid distractions, you can use methods such as the tomato clock to keep yourself focused; and to recognize the limits of your abilities, learn to let go and reduce stress, give up the secondary tasks that you are not able complete at a certain stage; learn to say no and put your main focus on the important tasks. Finally, ensure energy supply, regular exercise and adequate rest”.
Feng said that for the graduating class, the biggest puzzle is how to coordinate the conflict among the tasks of dissertation writing, job hunting, internship and doctoral examination taking in the same cycle. She analyzed how to realize better efficiency through time management with emphasis on this practical problem. For example, it is not advisable to give up the assignment of the dissertation completely for the purpose of taking the Civil Service Examination. If students chooses a regular period of time between 8:00 and 10:00 every morning after breakfast, when they are full of energy, to carry out the work of the dissertation, the revision of the paper would be bound to proceed in an orderly manner; meanwhile, up to 12 hours of preparation for the Civil Service Examination would still be available after 10:00-22:00.
The Luncheon benefited the students by giving them a clear understanding of their own time and study schedules, as well as increasing communication between teachers and students.
