This paper presents a comprehensive time management plan developed by a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) student. It begins by articulating three core academic goals: publishing in a peer-reviewed journal, contributing to a broader body of research, and making a meaningful contribution to the field. A structured SWOT self-analysis identifies personal strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats relevant to doctoral study. The paper then outlines a weekly schedule, energy cycles, and preferred productivity strategies, including time blocking and the Weekis web application. The plan emphasizes flexibility to accommodate emerging academic demands while balancing physical fitness, family time, and personal hobbies alongside rigorous study.
As a doctoral student, effective management of time for optimum productivity is of vital importance given the numerous activities and events that require attention. This time management plan is designed to help allocate weekly time appropriately. The objective is to ensure that time is managed effectively and that focus remains on the most important aspects of academic excellence and personal growth. With this plan, it will be possible to assign adequate time to important activities: preparing for examinations, attending lectures, socializing, undertaking research, pursuing hobbies, and at the same time creating adequate time for family (Britton & Tesser, 1991; Misra & McKean, 2000).
Through effective time management, the goal is to make the most of the years spent studying for the Doctor of Business Administration degree and thereby achieve the requirements to pursue a career in business journalism or academia. Moreover, the ability to manage time appropriately cultivates discipline, which is a core requirement for a successful career in both journalism and academia. This time management plan will support the attainment of three major goals:
i. To publish research in an academic journal — one of the goals of all doctoral students. Doing so would validate the usefulness of the research beyond the obtainment of the DBA degree (Macan et al., 1990).
ii. To contribute to a larger body of research — evidenced by being cited by others. If the research is truly contributing something of value, other academics will recognize that and seek to build on it.
iii. To make a meaningful contribution to the industry and field — by adding to the body of information available alongside the completion of the DBA degree (Graves & Varma, 1997).
The following strengths have been identified as assets in pursuing the doctoral degree:
In terms of personal approach, strong time management ability, self-motivation, and personal discipline are primary resources that will prove invaluable in pursuing the doctoral degree.
Personal discipline, combined with a solid knowledge of current business theory, will contribute meaningfully to meeting the time management goals that have been established.
A significant challenge will be data gathering. Collecting data is one of the biggest hurdles for doctoral candidates, and it mirrors challenges found in the business world. Data is powerful, but reliably gathering it — especially in subjective, social fields of study — can be quite difficult. Considerable learning about research design will be necessary in order to achieve the goals that have been set.
A conscientious work ethic has been developed over time, and this ethic will help in overcoming these challenges. For this reason, personal strengths align well with what it takes to acquire a doctoral degree and to pursue the goals set forth beyond graduation.
Overall, there is a reasonable level of preparedness to meet the challenges ahead. The years spent cultivating discipline have produced a capacity for sustained personal productivity that will serve well in doctoral study. Peak productivity occurs in the morning and in the evening before retiring, and the schedule has been designed to concentrate demanding tasks during those windows (MacCann, Fogarty & Roberts, 2012).
The weekly schedule below forms the core of this time management plan. It covers Monday through Sunday and allocates time across physical fitness, academic work, personal time, family time, hobbies, and sleep.
Table 1. A weekly time plan.
The primary objective of this time plan is to promote academic performance and personal growth. As a result, the majority of waking hours have been allocated to academic work. In this plan, "academic work" refers to all work related to the doctorate, including course theory, practical and field sessions, and meetings with supervisors or lecturers. Because the doctoral degree requires significant data-collection activity, specific academic sub-tasks will be allocated within the academic-work time blocks as they arise.
For physical fitness, the first thirty minutes of every day except Sunday will be spent in the gym. The one hour and fifteen minutes allocated for the lunch break will also serve as socialization time. From 1800 hrs onward it is family time, and from 2100 hrs to bedtime it is time to review the day's academic work, primarily through study of course notes and theory (Trockel, Barnes & Egget, 2000).
The daily sequence follows this pattern: gym (health) → academic work (education) → lunch (health and social) → academic work (education) → hobbies (personal) → family time → review of academics (education).
To ensure the time management plan is followed consistently, two primary tools will be used:
"Detailed weekly timetable balancing academics and life"
"Time blocking and Weekis app ensure plan adherence"
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