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Treseder Lab

Fungi, Ecosystems, and Global Change

Sample timeline for PhD students

April 25, 2015 by Kathleen K. Treseder

Read broadly and deeply in area of interest

Apply for fellowships and student-oriented grants

Develop plan for summer project (by April)

Perform field or lab project in summer

Develop idea for dissertation research and begin writing dissertation proposal (by December)

Complete formal literature review, meta-analysis, proof-of-method, or proof-of concept related to dissertation idea (by end of Spring Quarter)

Submit manuscript from above study (by end of summer)

Submit dissertation proposal to committee (by end of September)

Advance to Candidacy (by end of October)

Submit NSF DDIG proposal (October)

Perform field or lab research

Submit manuscript for completed lab or field work (by end of summer)

Complete remaining field and lab work

Apply for postdoctoral positions and funding

Finish writing dissertation

Defend dissertation and submit final version to UCI (by end of Spring Quarter)

Submit manuscript for completed lab or field work

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How to Prepare Actionable PhD Research Plan Template

“Where PhD is highly uncertain, an actionable PhD research plan would give you calculative and tentative outcomes. And even more, the ready-to-use template makes things even better. Let’s take a close look at the research plan + template.”  

Before moving forward, it’s important to understand the process and steps in research . Then only you can make an actionable plan for your PhD research. It’s literally like driving without breaks— that you don’t want.

In a broader sense, when you plan something, it shows two things: first, you are actually serious about the work you are planning and second, you are expecting some outcomes. And by a plan, you are heading towards it. 

I know, plans may not work 100% all the time, but they may create a definite path to achieve at least 80% success in the work you are doing. This is also true for a PhD— in which you would constantly try to justify a single sentence– your research title. 

So– Yes, the research process is undetermined and so the results too! but here is the catch and perhaps answer why you have to have a research plan. In this article, I will explain the importance of a research plan, an actionable research plan and a ready-to-use template for you. 

How to prepare an actionable research plan? 

Importance of phd research plan , wrapping up.

An actionable research plan is what you have to rely upon. So it should be perfect and approved. how can you prepare your own? Let’s see.

 Understand the steps in the research and closely follow them. 

Define the objectives and scope of your study. 

Define each goal of your study– For example, sample collection, wet lab work, standardization, experimentation, data collection and interpretation, etc. 

Enlist what types of problems you may face for each goal– For example, transportation for sample collection, Lack of facilities in wet lab work, etc.

Find a solution for each problem you have enlisted– For example, appoint an expert for sample collection and transport samples in a cold chain. If your lab doesn’t have some instruments or chemicals, priorly contact other labs and ask them for help. 

Draw a rough road map for your work— the route using which you will achieve your research goals. Also, make a backup. What if the route or process you selected would not work? Check out this drawing to understand my point. 

Now prepare a timeline— in how much time a particular goal should be achieved. For example, 6 Months for sampling (Including, ethical approval, approval from sampling authority, consent, preparation and arrangement for utilities). 

Another is sample collection— 3 Months which isn’t covered in the 6 months of sampling objective, like this. Take a look at the drawing here. 

Note: This timeline must match with your GANTT chart for PhD timeline because you are making an actionable plan.

Now your plan is reading. You are now aware of each objective, goal and problem. Some you probably solved, and some you can manage later. This you can print and stitch in your logbook or can save on your desktop. 

Take a look at the advantages, and why it’s important to prepare an action plan. 

Related article: How to Prepare a PhD Research Plan/Schedule?

Let’s start with two real-world examples first. 

One of my friends, after sample collection and initiating the testing, found out that she also has to perform hormone assays for samples. The samples she collected are 3 months old— not possible to assess quantitative analysis. 

Another colleague after sample collection– when he started working in the wet lab, came to know that one important instrument is not there in their lab. His guide is very serious about the goal that they have to do it anyhow. 

He sent applications to various universities and research centers to work on that particular instrument. From approval to real testing, it tools all almost 8 months including, approval, training, transportation, etc. 

Wasted much time! 

• An actionable research plan saves your time— which is a crucial factor in PhD. 
• It makes you aware of the pros and cons of your study. 
• It makes you aware of the problems and limitations of the research you conduct. 
• It gives you a broad roadmap to achieve your PhD in “some” tentative time. 
• It gives you the flexibility to achieve goals and enjoy your time at the same time. 
• You can make real-time monitoring of how your research is going and how much work is left. 
• It makes you aware of what should be your next move and the preparations you required.

However, keep in mind that once you prepare a plan, review it from your guide, take their advice, enlist major objectives and techniques you would use for the study and stick to it. 

Before preparing that, read the literature regarding your topic and understand the way in which your research should be headed. 

Check out our fully customizable, ready-to-use and actionable research plan template. 

Download a research plan template

These things look a bit old school but it works, really works well. Most students don’t do it and end up messing things and at last, came to know that they wasted their time. At least, the research plan will tell you where you are stuck (probably) and you can find a solution.

We know how hard it is to predict the future of PhD or how it would go. But let me tell you, with an actionable plan, many do well. And you can too. Take your doctorate seriously from day one. And do accordingly. 

Remember your goal should be to complete your degree in time.  

Dr. Tushar Chauhan is a Scientist, Blogger and Scientific-writer. He has completed PhD in Genetics. Dr. Chauhan is a PhD coach and tutor.

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Dr Tushar Chauhan

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• Typical timetable for full-time PhD student (3 ...

Typical timetable for full-time PhD student (3 Year)

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PhD Toolkit

Free templates and planners available for you to download.

The book Planning Your PhD describes a number of planners and forms you can use to help plan your PhD. You can download these planners and forms below.

• Show Planners

Thesis Planner - Moveable tasks

This planner allows you to work out the timeline for the major tasks of your PhD. ..

Thesis Planner - No tasks

This planner allows you to work out the timeline for the major tasks of your PhD ..

Six Month Planner - Moveable tasks

The Six Month Planner lets you map out your tasks for the next six months ..

Six Month Planner - No tasks

This blank planner shows you the next six months which you can fill in ..

Completion Planner - Moveable tasks

This Completion Planner allows you to work out the timeline for the major tasks of the final year..

Completion Planner - No tasks

This blank Completion Planner shows you the final twelve months of your PhD ..

This Six Months

This form helps you identify your targets for the next six months ..

Use this form to map out your tasks for the coming week ..

To Day List

Use this form to plan out your day and identify when the important jobs are going to get done ..

The Next Thing

To help you get clear about your very next task ..

Writing Audit

Use the Writing Audit to work out how much writing you have done and update it as you add new wor..

Meeting Agenda

A template agenda for meetings with your supervisor ..

Meeting Notes

A template for noting down the outcomes of your meetings with your supervisor ..

PhD Toolkit - All forms

Download all PhD Toolkit forms in a zip ..

PhD Toolkit - All planners

Download all PhD Toolkit planners in a zip ..

A typical PhD student schedule [Free template download]

A PhD student’s schedule is very different to anything that people have experienced in undergraduate or masters level education. Depending on the country that you are doing your PhD in, you may have classes alongside your dedicated research time. It is likely that you will work many hours more than a typical full-time job and may have some other administrative or teaching duties alongside your research.

A typical PhD student schedule involves turning up to the Department between 8 AM and 9 PM, and performing research activities during the day such as reading, writing, analyzing and reporting on literature and experiments.

The schedule of a PhD student also changes depending on the culture in your research group. Some supervisors require PhD students to turn up 6 to 7 days a week and spend up to 12 hours a day doing research. In my experience, this is very rare but a horror story that often gets passed around.

Most PhD supervisors are much more moderate when it comes to the commitments of their students and this article will cover the typical PhD student schedule and what you can expect if you enter a PhD.

A typical PhD daily schedule

A typical PhD student’s daily schedule will vary depending on the subject area, supervisor, and stage of your PhD. However, there are some things that are done consistently throughout the process of a PhD.

Here is a typical daily schedule of a PhD student.

The above timetable can also include:

• teaching activities
• group meetings
• departmental meetings
• other administrative tasks
• training, and much more

There are so many facets to a PhD students daily schedule that it changes almost every day depending on the demands of the research and the supervisor.

Here are some of the activities that a typical PhD student schedule contains. I have also looked at some of the specifics of different subject fields.

Common PhD student activities

A PhD is a training ground for academia.

Throughout a PhD, you will learn to perform the tasks of an academic such as reading literature, writing reports, analysing data, reporting and communicating your results, and presenting or attending different scientific talks and presentations.

Reading is the cornerstone of a PhD.

Learning to find the appropriate literature for your research and coming up with a method for reading, taking notes, and synthesising conclusions will be what sets out the top 10% of PhD students from the rest.

Many PhD students forget to set aside enough time for reading and it can severely impact their progress.

Reading wasn’t my favourite part of doing a PhD and I probably ignored it more than I should have. Nonetheless, ensuring you read regularly in and around your subject area will keep you up-to-date with the latest advancements in your field.

Supervisor meetings

Meeting regularly with your supervisor will keep your PhD on track.

Open communication between a PhD supervisor and the student ensures timely completion and help when things aren’t going so well.

My favourite frequency for supervisor meetings was fortnightly.

Every two weeks means I had enough time to plan, execute, and analyse data based on our previous meeting.

During supervisor meetings, you should share everything that has happened since the previous meeting. Importantly, you should share what has gone right, and wrong, and where you are going next. Head into supervisor meetings with solutions to problems and be sure to take criticism with an open mind.

Depending on your research area it may be more appropriate to meet up with your supervisor weekly to report your progress.

Writing during a PhD is often left until the last year but it is important to write regularly throughout your PhD.

Regular writing (even if it is just methods) will help you when you come to write your thesis or peer-reviewed paper.

During a PhD there are often different writing milestones that you need to achieve including:

• literature reviews
• conference abstracts
• technical reports for collaborators
• progress reports for grant funders
• peer review paper writing
• thesis or dissertation writing

As you can see, there are lots of different times when a PhD student will be set at their desk writing up results for a variety of audiences.

Formulating your own ideas and contributing to an academic field means analysing data and literature.

Many hours of PhD student time are dedicated to the analysis of other people’s ideas, data collected in the lab, and stress testing their own hypotheses.

Analysis is another cornerstone of a PhD.

Reporting your research findings is incredibly important. Communication is what keeps research rolling.

There are several ways that PhD students have to report their results. They may be reporting to their supervisor, collaborators, others in their field, all the general public.

One thing I loved about my PhD was the ability to communicate my research to a general and broad audience.

Writing reports, producing presentations, and writing performance reports for grant funding bodies are all important parts of a PhD student’s typical schedule.

Group/department meetings

After starting my PhD I was amazed at the amount of group and departmental meetings that I was expected to attend.

They seem to always be scheduled at a really inappropriate time and can cut your working day in half. Nonetheless, they are an important part of the PhD process.

Group meetings are for people in the same research group to share their findings and help each other with their work.

Departmental meetings may have an external presenter (from another university or Department) and so they must be well attended to give the appearance of an active and vibrant research community. You’ll get loads of emails reminding you about a meeting if there is a guest lecturer.

Topic-specific activities

Depending on the topic of your PhD you may have some other regular activities.

Humanities students will spend a fair amount of time in the library and reading academic texts. Looking for rare books, papers, and collections in the deepest darkest areas of the library are where you will find many humanity PhD’s.

Science, technology, engineering and maths PhD students will spend a lot of time performing experiments in a laboratory environment.

They will also help train masters and undergraduate students on particular instruments or techniques and be responsible for Occupational Health & Safety in the labs.

Because of the nature of a stem PhD, a science, technology, engineering or maths PhD student will spend many hours alone working in the depths of a university lab.

Social Sciences

Social sciences are likely to be conducting research using surveys or interviews and handling large amounts of data.

Making sure that they have ethical approval for their research can take a bit of time too.

Collecting enough data through questionnaires and surveys is always an issue for social science PhD students so they will be out collecting data as often as possible. They may have research assistants and undergraduates that can help them with their work.

Number of hours that PhD students work

There is no one answer to the number of hours that PhD students work. The number of hours is determined by the culture of the lab and the stage of the PhD.

On average a PhD student will work 40 – 60 hours per week.

Most will try to keep a regular 9 – 5 schedule whilst others will work when they are at their most productive. I know of one PhD student who would come into the lab at 5 PM and stay until one or two in the morning.

The great thing about doing a PhD is that you quite often get to choose your schedule. You may want to work early in the morning or late at night depending on when you feel most awake.

Also, you get to choose where you perform your PhD studies, as long as you do not need to be in a lab or present in the department.

What does a great PhD schedule look like?

A PhD student’s schedule can easily become unproductive if they go with the flow.

I believe that a strong daily schedule and commitment to at least two hours of focused work every single day will lead you to a much more rewarding and efficient.

I released a YouTube video that talks about the components of a failproof PhD daily schedule and you can watch it here:

I also include links to my daily schedule template that you can also get for free by clicking the image below:

Wrapping up

This article has been through everything you need to know about the typical PhD student schedule and how many hours you are expected to be in your office or department.

Having a frank conversation with your PhD supervisor will allow you to understand their expectations of their PhD students. It varies wildly from supervisor to supervisor – so it’s very good to be on the same page as soon as you start.

Remember to download my free daily schedule template to boost your productivity!

Dr Andrew Stapleton has a Masters and PhD in Chemistry from the UK and Australia. He has many years of research experience and has worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow and Associate at a number of Universities. Although having secured funding for his own research, he left academia to help others with his YouTube channel all about the inner workings of academia and how to make it work for you.

Thank you for visiting Academia Insider.

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• Social Sciences

Guide to Setting up a PhD Daily Routine

• Author: Hatem S Y Nabus

Here are the ways a daily routine can help organize a PhD student.

FatCamera | Canva

Why Is a Daily Routine Important for PhD Students?

Setting up a daily routine is crucial for PhD students, as it helps them manage the various demands of graduate school and maintain a healthy work-life balance. A well-organized schedule allows you to prioritize tasks and responsibilities, making staying focused easier and avoiding feeling overwhelmed.

Additionally, having a consistent routine can help you be more productive, allowing you to plan your time effectively and allocate specific blocks for different activities. A daily routine can also reduce stress and improve your overall well-being. Overall, establishing a daily routine is an important step towards success as a PhD student.

The Positive Impact of Organizing Your Time With a Set Schedule

First and foremost, a well-organized schedule allows you to effectively manage your time and prioritize tasks, which can help you to be more productive and achieve your goals. A structured schedule can also help you maintain a healthy work-life balance, allowing you to allocate specific blocks of time for different activities such as research, writing, teaching, and self-care. In addition, a consistent routine can reduce stress and improve your overall well-being, providing a sense of structure and stability. Finally, a structured schedule can also help you to stay motivated and focused, as it provides a clear roadmap for your day and helps you to stay on track.

Assessing Your Current Schedule

Here is how to get started on setting up your schedule.

Identifying Time-Wasting Activities

Starting off by identifying time-wasting activities is an important step in creating a structured schedule. Activities that take up valuable time but do not contribute to your productivity or progress towards your goals should be considered time-wasting.

Common examples of time-wasting activities include excessive social media usage, unproductive meetings, and multitasking. To identify your own time-wasting activities, it can be helpful to track your time for a few days or a week to see how you are spending your hours. You can use a planner or a time-tracking app to record your activities and identify any patterns or habits that may be hindering your productivity. Once you have identified your time-wasting activities, you can take steps to minimize or eliminate them and better allocate your time towards more productive pursuits.

Prioritizing Tasks and Responsibilities

Prioritizing tasks and responsibilities allows you to focus your time and energy on the most important tasks and responsibilities rather than getting bogged down in less critical tasks. To prioritize your tasks and responsibilities, you can start by making a list of everything you need to do and then ranking them in order of importance.

Consider factors such as deadlines, the potential impact of the task, and the amount of time and effort required. You can also use prioritization techniques such as the Eisenhower Matrix, which helps you to categorize tasks as urgent and important, important but not urgent, urgent but not important, or neither urgent nor important. By prioritizing your tasks and responsibilities, you can better manage your time and focus on the most important items first.

Setting Goals and Creating a Schedule

Now, once you've taken the time to see where time is being wasted in your day-to-day, take the time to establish goals and a schedule to follow.

S hort-Term and Long-Term Goals

Short-term goals are specific tasks or accomplishments that you want to achieve in the near future, typically within a few weeks or months. Long-term goals, on the other hand, are broader objectives that you want to achieve over a longer period of time, such as completing your PhD or establishing a career in academia. Setting both short-term and long-term goals can help you to stay motivated and focused, as it gives you a sense of purpose and direction.

It can also help you to break down larger goals into smaller, more manageable tasks, making it easier to make progress and stay on track. When setting goals, it's important to be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). This will help you to create achievable goals that you can work towards in a realistic and timely manner.

A llocating Time for Research, Writing, Teaching, and Self-Care

Allocating specific blocks of time for different activities such as research, writing, teaching, and self-care can help you manage your time better and ensure that you are making progress towards your goals. It's important to consider the specific demands of each task and the amount of time and effort required. For example, you may need to allocate more time for research during certain periods while also setting aside time for writing and preparing for teaching responsibilities.

It's also important to make time for self-care, as it can help you maintain your physical and mental health and prevent burnout. This may include activities such as exercise, relaxation, or socializing with friends and family. By allocating specific blocks of time for different activities, you can better manage your workload and stay on track.

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Using tools and resources to help you plan and track your progress.

There are many different tools and resources available that can help you plan and organize your time, such as calendars, planners, and time-tracking apps. These tools can help you schedule specific blocks of time for different activities and monitor your progress over time.

In addition to planning tools, you may also find it helpful to use resources such as to-do lists, task managers, and note-taking apps to help you stay organized and focused. By using these tools and resources, you can better manage your time and track your progress towards your goals, making it easier to stay on track and make progress.

Here are some tips and suggestions to help build yourself a schedule and finish your PhD.

Karolina Grabowska via Pexels, Image created via Canva

Maintaining Your Schedule

Once you have a schedule set up, now comes what is sometimes the harder part—following it! Here are some tips on this front.

Staying Motivated and Focused

It can be challenging to stay motivated and focused when you are faced with the demands of graduate school and the need to balance research, teaching, and other responsibilities. To stay motivated and focused, it can be helpful to set clear goals and create a schedule that allows you to make progress towards these goals. It can also be helpful to build breaks into your day and give yourself rewards, as this will help keep you motivated and give you a sense of accomplishment as you complete tasks. Additionally, it can be helpful to seek support from colleagues, friends, and mentors, as they can provide encouragement and help you to stay on track. By staying motivated and focused, you can better manage your time and make progress towards your goals.

Managing Distractions and Interruptions

Distractions and interruptions can come in many forms, such as emails, social media notifications, or unexpected meetings or responsibilities. They can disrupt your focus and productivity, making it difficult to stay on track and achieve your goals. To manage distractions and interruptions, it can be helpful to set boundaries for yourself, such as turning off notifications during focused work periods or setting aside specific times for checking emails.

It can also be helpful to create a designated work area that is free from distractions, such as a quiet office or a library. Finally, it can be helpful to use tools and techniques such as the Pomodoro Technique or the Time Blocking Method to help you stay focused and manage your time effectively. By managing distractions and interruptions, you can better maintain your focus and productivity.

Building in Flexibility and Breaks

While it's important to have a consistent routine and allocate specific blocks of time for different activities, it's also important to be somewhat flexible and allow for unexpected events or changes in your schedule. For example, you may need to adjust your schedule to accommodate unexpected meetings, last-minute deadlines, or something that comes up in your personal life.

It is also important to build in breaks for yourself to rest and recharge, as this can help you to avoid burnout and maintain your productivity. Breaks can include activities such as exercise, relaxation, or socializing with friends and family, all of which can help you better manage your workload and maintain a healthy work-life balance.

Final Thoughts

A daily routine is crucial for PhD students, as it helps to manage the various demands of graduate school and maintain a healthy work-life balance. A well-organized schedule allows you to prioritize tasks and responsibilities, making it easier to stay focused and avoid feeling overwhelmed. In addition, having a consistent routine can help you to be more productive, as it allows you to plan your time effectively and allocate specific blocks for different activities.

On top of all that, a daily routine can also reduce stress and improve your overall well-being, providing a sense of structure and stability in your life. Overall, establishing a daily routine is an important step towards success as a PhD student.

It's important to create and stick to a schedule that works for you as a PhD student. This may involve finding a balance between structure and flexibility, as well as allocating specific blocks of time for different activities. It may take some trial and error to find a schedule that works for you, but it's worth the effort.

A well-organized schedule can help you to manage your time effectively and make progress towards your goals. With a little effort and dedication, you can create a routine that helps you to succeed as a PhD student!

This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.

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Guidelines to draw a timeline of your PhD

2018 Nov 20 | Resource , Soft Skills | 0

In a previous article I talked about how project management can help reduce PhD students’ anxieties . Most of my PhD I felt very much confused. Sometimes I could not even say whether I was still in the beginning, somewhere in the middle or close to the end of it. Therefore, I suggested that supervisors and students should try to define a tangible objective early on in the doctoral process, and that they should have regular check-point meetings to adjusts plans in order to keep the student’s project on track. I also mentioned that it is highly important to clarify what the supervisors and students long-term expectations are .

In another article I talked about Gantt charts , a great project management tool to draw and visualize a project outline.

Do you see where we’re going here? Let’s draw a timeline of your PhD in the shape of a Gantt chart! I know, it’s in the title ;)

In this other article about Gantt charts, I explained that there are some drawbacks to keep in mind. Indeed, upfront planning techniques like Gantt charts tend to lack flexibility and when things don’t work as planned it can actually increase the feeling of failure, which is exactly what we want to avoid here.

So, does it even make sense to draw a timeline early on in the doctoral process? I believe it does! We can keep the drawbacks of Gantt charts in mind and draw such a timeline if we define guidelines of how to use it .

• Example & download
• Why draw a timeline?
• Guidelines for how to make & use the timeline throughout your PhD

1. Example & download:

I draw below an example for the institute where I did my PhD: the Institute of Biology at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland. Therefore, it is designed for a 4-year PhD program with annual committee meetings and for students who spend a lot of time performing lab experiments . However, it can be easily adapted to any field or any doctoral program.

You can download for free the Excel file I used to make this timeline by clicking here .

Because I want this to be a general example but also because it is such a long time scale, I kept the level of detail to the minimum to make it flexible and to avoid over-planning . The time for each task here is a very rough estimate, it is meant to be adapted to what you think is best for you or to what is expected in your doctoral program. Importantly, the uncertainty level is increasing with time . You don’t have to start writing a paper on the 11th month of your third year, maybe you’ll start much earlier or much later and it will be perfectly fine. This is just a broad overview to help visualize what the main steps are, but their exact length or when they should start will get clarified once you are closer to it.

2. Why draw a timeline?

To draw such a timeline and for it to be realistic and useful, you are going to ask very concrete questions, to yourself and to your supervisor , like what are the important steps, what are the milestones (technical milestones for developing a protocol, committee meetings, exams…), what are the risks, do you have only one project or do you have more, maybe one large risky project and one smaller safer project, and all other questions which are relevant to you.

Project management is effective if concrete questions are openly discussed. If your supervisor doesn’t bring up these questions with you, it might feel quite scary for you to ask for it. To help you find the courage to so, I believe that having such a timeline will provide you a highly visual and attractive medium to foster these discussions.

When I learned about Gantt charts at the beginning of my second year of PhD studies, I draw myself such a timeline, but I didn’t dare to discuss it with my supervisor. With no surprise things really didn’t work out the way I planned it. Supervisors by default have more experience than a junior PhD student so they should know better what is realistic, what is expected and how much upfront planning can be done depending on the project.

3. Guidelines for how to make & use the timeline throughout your PhD:

• I suggest that you draw a first version within the first two months of your PhD . But it’s never too late to start =)
• Take my example and adjust it , maybe you already have a clearly defined project, maybe not, maybe you don’t need to design a new method, maybe you’ve been included in someone else project with a clear short-term objective, maybe you think you should start drafting a paper earlier, go and adjust it to what feels right to you.
• Make sure to keep in mind that this chart is going to change many times until you graduate, stay flexible. This first timeline should only be an overview of the main steps which you expect in your PhD. It is here to give a direction, and if used regularly it can give a feeling of moving forward.
• Schedule a meeting with your supervisor to discuss this initial timeline ( still within the first two months ), ask the maximum of questions, clarify the maximum of points and make sure you both agree.
• Then whenever needed, go back to it and adjust it, maybe there is a great collaboration opportunity and for a few months you’ll be asked to put your main project aside and work fully on this collaboration, maybe your new protocol is working great and you’re already getting publishable data, maybe the protocol is not working well and you need to change strategy, how does it affect your timeline?
• Whenever a big change happens or whenever you feel too lost, schedule an extra meeting with your supervisor to specifically discuss the timeline and the long-term objectives. Hopefully it should give you a feeling of being on a track, even if it’s not the first one you pictured.
• I would suggest having such a discussion at least every 6 months .

This timeline is now a tool which is going to grow with you throughout your PhD. At first it is a rough overview of the main steps, if you keep it update with what you really do, at the end it will be a true overview of everything you’ve accomplished. Therefore, on top of guiding you through it, it will become a great tool to look back at your PhD experience once you’re finished.

Thanks for reading and I hope these ideas can help you :)

Make sure to read my previous article about Gantt charts where I explained that it can be used both for long-time scale like here, or on shorter time scale (like 2 months) with a higher level of detail.

Looking for more reading about project management for research? Have a look at the resource I made Project Management resource for PhD students and supervisors !

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How to develop an awesome PhD timeline step-by-step

A successful PhD journey begins with a solid plan that includes a PhD timeline . A thought-through and well-designed PhD timeline requires some time but can be accomplished in a few simple steps.

Why a clear PhD research timeline matters

Doing a PhD means committing to a challenging project that spans several years. Therefore, it is no surprise that doing a PhD can feel quite overwhelming. How do you even begin to tackle such a huge project?

A PhD timeline breaks down the daunting task of doing a PhD into an actionable plan with tasks and milestones along the way.

Some PhD students are required to create a PhD timeline as part of their programme. Yet, even if PhD students are not required to do so, it is highly recommended to create a PhD timeline!

Step 1: Decide what to include in your PhD timeline

Step 2: discuss your provisional phd timeline with your supervisor/s.

Proactively creating your PhD timeline is a good step as a PhD student. However, you should share your thoughts and ideas with your PhD supervisor/s and get their input.

You may also like: Planning your PhD research: A 3-year PhD timeline example

Step 3: Design your PhD timeline

A well-designed PhD timeline is not just pretty for the eyes, but it makes it much easier to have a good overview of all plans and milestones ahead.

A common way to design PhD timelines is via Gantt charts. If you want to learn more about Gantt charts for your PhD timeline, check out my post on how to design Gantt charts in Microsoft Excel, Power Point and Word.

Step 4: Regularly update your PhD timeline

Your PhD timeline should be a living document or chart. Update it regularly!

Successful PhD students remain flexible and don’t panic as soon as something does not work out as planned.

So, use your PhD timeline to regularly reflect on your progress and your current situation. Update your PhD timeline when needed, to prioritise tasks and set more concrete and achievable goals for the upcoming months.

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How to plan, structure and write every chapter in your PhD

In this collection, we’ll walk you through each chapter of your thesis. You’ll learn what goes where and how it fits together. 

The PhD Discussion Chapter: What It Is & How To Write It

  Your PhD discussion chapter is your thesis's intellectual epicenter. Think of it as the scholarly equivalent of a courtroom closing argument, where you summarise the evidence and make your case. Perhaps that’s why it’s so tricky - the skills you need in your...

Everything you wanted to know about structuring your PhD but were too afraid to ask

Understanding how to structure your PhD is tough. It helps to break it down into four distinct sections. In this guide, we explain how.

How to find the thread that runs through your PhD thesis

You probably worry about finding the thread that runs through the PhD thesis. In this guide we walk you through what’s required.

How to edit a PhD thesis (without going mad)

Your thesis takes a lot of time to research, ideate, and write. Here’s how to properly edit a PhD thesis such that you impress your examiners and achieve even greater success.

The 9 most effective ways to achieve PhD success

  Writing a PhD is physically, intellectually and emotionally daunting. You may spend each day doubting yourself, not sure if you’re making the right choices and unsure whether you’ve got what it takes. During my life, I’ve helped thousands of PhD students like...

How To Structure A PhD Thesis

Struggling to understand what goes where? Let us walk you through a non-nonsense guide that’ll teach you how to structure a PhD thesis.

The difference between empirical and discussion chapters (and how to write them)

There is a very important distinction that needs to be made between the empirical and discussion sections/chapters. It is a common misconception that the empirical chapters are the place for your analysis. Often this confuses the reader.

Five tips to improve your PhD thesis

Regardless of what stage of the writing process you are at, there are five overarching tips you need to keep in mind if you want to improve your PhD thesis.

What are you doing and how are you doing it? Articulating your aims and objectives.

How long does it take the person reading your thesis to understand what you’re doing and how you’re doing it? If the answer is anything other than ’in the the opening lines of the thesis’, keep reading.

Learn how to write a PhD proposal that will stand out from the rest

When stripped down to its basic components, the PhD proposal explains the what and the why of your research. What it will be about and why it will be important.

Easily understand how to write a PhD thesis introduction

Get the introduction right and the rest of your dissertation will follow. Mess it up and you’ll be struggling to catch up. The introduction is the place to factually recount what it is you will be discussing in the thesis. Learn more in this detailed guide.

Last impressions count – writing your PhD thesis conclusion

The conclusion is the last thing your examiner will read before they write their viva report. You need to make sure it stands out.

What is a dissertation abstract and how do I write one for my PhD?

Don’t underestimate how hard it is to write a PhD thesis abstract. When I wrote mine I though it’d be straightforward. Far from it. It’s tricky. You have to condense hundred of pages and years of work into a few hundred words.

Russian (dolls) to the rescue – how to structure an argument in your PhD

At the core of the PhD are arguments. Lots of them. Some more important and some very specific. When you understand how to structure an argument, your thesis reads clearly and logically. If you don’t the reader ends up confused and your thesis suffers.

Drowning in a sea of authors – How to be critical in a PhD literature review.

Don’t get lost in a sea of authors when you write your PhD literature review. Instead be critical. In this guide we explain how.

Wrestling an elephant into a cupboard: how to write a PhD literature review in nine easy steps

When I was writing my PhD I hated the literature review. I was scared of it. I thought it would be impossible to grapple. So much so that it used to keep me up at night. Now I know how easy it can be and I’m sharing my top tips with you today.

A Template To Help You Structure Your PhD’s Theoretical Framework Chapter

In this guide, I explain how to use the theory framework template. The focus is on the practical things to consider when you’re working with the template and how you can give your theory framework the rockstar treatment.

How To Structure A PhD With Our PhD Writing Template

Our PhD Writing Template allows you to visualise your PhD on one page. Here we explain how to fill it in and how it can help you structure each chapter.

Eureka! When I learnt how to write a theoretical framework

The theoretical framework is so important, but so misunderstood. Here we explain it is in simple terms: as a toolbox.

Explore Other PhD Knowledge Base Collections

Eight collections of free resources to help you along the phd journey.

Mastering your theory and literature review chapters

How to structure and write every chapter of the PhD

How to stay motivated and productive

Techniques to improve your writing and fluency

Advice on maintaining good mental health

Resources designed for non-native English speakers

Explore our back-catalogue of motivational advice

Each week we send out a short, motivational email to over 4,000 students. Here you can sign up and access the archive.

A free one-page PhD structure template

How to Create and Use a Gantt Chart for PhD Studies

A Gantt chart is a common tool used in the project management field. It is used for schedule planning of a project and its tasks and activities. It shows the tasks, their start and end dates, and the duration needed to complete them.

A PhD is a project and may last from as few as three years to as long as six years depending on the university and department a student is enrolled in.

In order to successfully complete a PhD program, one needs to plan when each of the tasks will be completed from the word go. A Gantt chart is very useful in doing this.

A PhD student can create one comprehensive Gantt chart or several smaller Gantt charts for each of the major deliverables.

This article discusses a Gantt chart for a general PhD program that has both coursework and dissertation components.

Benefits of a Gantt chart for planning PhD studies

Steps involved in creating a gantt chart for phd studies, how to effectively use the phd gantt chart, final thoughts on the phd gantt chart.

Creating a Gantt chart at the beginning of PhD studies has the following benefits:

• It is easy to create. A student can use the traditional pen-and-paper method or existing digital tools or softwares to create a Gantt chart.
• It is easy to read. The visual presentation of the Gantt chart makes it easy for the student to read and know what is expected of him at any point in time.
• A Gantt chart makes it easy to monitor progress of PhD studies. The user can choose to use different colors for tasks that have already been completed, tasks that are close to completion, and tasks that require more time and effort to complete.
• It forms the basis for monthly, weekly, and daily planning of the PhD studies. Depending on how detailed a student wants to go in terms of planning, the Gantt chart comes in handy when writing out the monthly, weekly and even daily plans.

Step 1: List all the deliverables expected of your PhD program. In this example, the PhD program has the following requirements:

• Coursework, divided into 4 modules each lasting 2 weeks. All 4 modules need to be completed within the first year of study.
• A comprehensive written exam at the end of the fourth module.
• An oral exam once a student passes the written exam.
• Submission of a concept note.
• Submission of a research proposal once a student passes the oral exam.
• Writing a business management case study.
• Three journal papers.
• At least two conference papers.
• A dissertation.

Step 2: For each of the requirements listed above, note the start and end dates. For the above example, the PhD program lasts a minimum of 3 years and a maximum of 6 years. Assuming the minimum of 3 years (beginning January 2021), the activities’ start and end dates are as follows:

Step 3: Using the above information, create the Gantt chart using Microsoft Word, Powerpoint or Excel.

The following are useful resources for creating a Gantt chart using:

• Microsoft Powerpoint: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wp0vr6OkW8Y
• Microsoft Excel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00s5efQWrgU&t=10s
• Microsoft Word: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F90RdA5X4G0

The Gantt chart created from the above data is shown below. The chart was created using Microsoft Powerpoint.

Step 4: Once the Gantt chart is complete, print it out and hang it on the wall of your study room/area. This serves as a constant reminder of the tasks that need to be done at any point in time, as well as of the progress that has been made so far.

The greatest strength in using the Gantt chart for PhD studies lies in its ability to help one plan ahead. Using the Gantt chart above as an example, the user can plan as follows:

• At the beginning of every month, look at what is required of you. For instance, the student above needs to complete module one of the coursework and at the same time start working on proposal writing.

The student can plan for module one in advance by going through the course structure and expected readings, and reading in advance before the start of the module so that he is able to follow and understand what is being taught. If there are pre- and post-module exams, the student can also prepare for them in advance.

Preliminary tasks for proposal writing can include: discussing your proposed topic with your supervisor, and searching for and quick review of literature to identify the gap that your topic will be addressing. All these can be done in the first month before the actual proposal writing starts.

• The Gantt chart can help you identify the skills that are required for the successful completion of your dissertation. For instance, the student above is expected to write a Business Management case study by June of year 2.

If the student does not have case study writing skills, he can start looking for courses that teach case study writing and complete them way before the deadline for the case study. Same case for skills such as preparing and writing a journal paper, writing a conference paper, data analysis using softwares such as Stata, SPSS, NVivo etc.

• The Gantt chart can help you plan for academic-related events such as conferences.

In the example provided above, the student is expected to attend two scientific conferences (in November of year 2 and March of year 3) and make presentations.

The student can start looking for conferences related to his field that are held during the proposed times and mark the key dates and requirements of the conferences (for instance, abstract submission deadlines, abstract submission guidelines, registration deadlines etc).

• The Gantt chart can help you create monthly and weekly plans for longer tasks such as proposal writing.

In the above sample Gantt chart, proposal writing and defense spans a period of 15 months. By March of the second year, the student is expected to defend his proposal. This may seem like such a long period of time but in reality it is not. This is because it is not the only task that the student will undertake during this period. As a result, it is easier to focus on the tasks at hand and forget about the tasks that seem to have adequate time.

Proposal writing is a daunting task and requires constant reading and updating. To ensure that the student submits his proposal in time, he can create monthly and weekly plans for the task. An example of monthly planning for the proposal writing is provided in the table below:

The monthly plan is based on assumptions, for instance, that the supervisor will review the document within the scheduled timeframe. This may or may not hold, depending on the supervisor.

It is therefore important to allow ample time for such factors that are out of your own control in order to ensure that the task is completed by the deadline.

The monthly plans can further be broken down into weekly (and even daily) plans, for instance:

• Number of papers to read per week (day).
• Number of words to write per week (day).
• How many citations and bibliographies to insert (update) every week (day).
• Number of additional articles to search and add to your library each week etc.

Each of these tasks contributes to the overall proposal writing and make the task completion easier and faster than waiting for the last few months to do it all at once.

A PhD is a medium- to long-term project depending on how long it takes to finish. It therefore requires effective and careful planning from the start of the program to ensure that each deliverable is completed within the stipulated time. The Gantt chart is an easy-to-create, and easy-to-use planning tool that can be used by all PhD students. Not only does it save the student time but it also gives him peace of mind knowing the progress of each and every task required.

Grace Njeri-Otieno

Grace Njeri-Otieno is a Kenyan, a wife, a mom, and currently a PhD student, among many other balls she juggles. She holds a Bachelors' and Masters' degrees in Economics and has more than 7 years' experience with an INGO. She was inspired to start this site so as to share the lessons learned throughout her PhD journey with other PhD students. Her vision for this site is "to become a go-to resource center for PhD students in all their spheres of learning."

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What to expect from a phd schedule.

Take a look at a current student’s schedule and get the insider perspective from doctoral students and coordinators on what to expect from a PhD schedule.

The life of a PhD candidate can be stressful as you adjust to a rigorous academic and research schedule. Penn and Wharton offer a variety of resources to help support you in the transition to PhD life.

Wharton’s sense of community offers a level of comfort when reaching out to faculty as well as fellow students to help solve problems. Doctoral students and coordinators give the insider view on what to expect from a PhD schedule.

Class and Research First

The first two years of a PhD program are mainly made up of classes and the beginning stages of research. Deborah Small , the doctoral coordinator for the Marketing program , said, “It starts with heavy duty coursework and a lot of specific requirements. At the end of your first year, there are qualifying exams on all the core marketing courses. Second year they still have a lot of coursework to do, but more of that is elective with a focus more on their interests. During those years they’re expected to get started on research.”

In addition to taking classes and getting started with research, the Marketing program requires students to write two papers. The first research paper is due at the end of the second year, the other is due at the end of the third year.

The Real Estate and Business Economics and Public Policy programs run like the Marketing program. Fernando Ferreira , coordinator for the programs, said, “During the first year they complete six core courses. In the second year, the focus shifts to field courses and to independent research. They have two professors advising them in that year.”

After completing the main courses, students shift to conducting independent research. For REAL and BEPP students this means writing three dissertation chapters during the third and fourth years.

Time for Conferences and Seminars

Because coursework is usually completed by the second half of the program, there’s time for students to attend lectures and seminars. Andrea Contigiani , a fifth year student in the Management program, said, “In my fourth year, I usually attended a seminar around lunchtime. Wharton has an incredible seminar series throughout the year, with a good seminar happening almost everyday. Occasionally, I attended other events, like MBA events or speaker series. I then go back to research for most of the afternoon.”

Prof. Small said, “Students are expected to actively participate in seminars and activities. They’re also encouraged to go to academic conferences and try to present their work at those conferences. It is similar to the expectations of being a faculty member, minus teaching.”

Classes take up the majority of the first two years of the programs. When the focus then switches to research, you’re expected to work independently. Sometimes that can be intimidating. You become your own boss, which is an adjustment from being told what to do and when to do it.

So how do you manage it? Get advice from students and coordinators.

Posted: August 4, 2017

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Doctoral Programs

Matthew caulfield.

Hometown Ocean City, New Jersey

Concentration Management and Legal Studies & Business Ethics

Doctoral Stage Second Year

Typical Day at a Glance

8:30 am Wake up and get ready for the day

9:15 am Get to PhD Offices, respond to emails, check philosophy blogs and read news

10:30 am Journal article readings

11:30 am Meet with advisor

12:00 pm Attend departmental seminar speaker and lunch

1:30 pm Attend Wharton Social Impact Doctoral Community meeting

3:00 pm Attend business ethics seminar

5:00 pm Read for class

7:00 pm Meet with nonparametric statistics study group

8:00 pm Complete homework

12:00 am Go home

1:00 am Bedtime

What is your favorite part about Wharton?

First, the faculty are excellent. They are often leading experts in their fields, and they can offer advice that would be hard to find elsewhere.

Second, the other PhD students are just as passionate about research as you would hope. A huge part of my scholarly development has been due to the discussions I have had with other graduate students.

Third, the Wharton name can offer you serious advantages. In the course of research, I think industry practitioners as well as other academics have been more willing to talk or correspond with me because I am a graduate student at Wharton.

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Graduate School of Natural Sciences

Template for phd plans.

Within 3 months after you start as a PhD student, you must write a PhD plan that needs to be approved by the PhD school. The PhD plan will be revised every 6 months during your studies.

Please see the general guidelines for PhD plans at GSNS.

At Department of Computer Science (and Bioinformatics), the PhD plan should be based on the template below. The two parts of the template must be uploaded as one single PDF under "PhD Project" in the PhD-Planner online system. When you revise the plan, please replace the existing PDF instead of adding a new one.

Brief information about publications , courses , dissemination , and research environment must be updated separately as other ”plan elements”.

The online web form for the PhD plan and biannual evaluations also contains fields for "assessment text" and "essential changes". These fields are used by other PhD programmes, and you do not need to complete these, since that information should be included in the uploaded PDF as described below.

In case of questions, please contact the chair of the CS PhD committee .

Free downloadable weekly schedule templates (Excel, PDF, Word)

A typical workday revolves around tons of tasks and responsibilities, keeping track of which can get tricky at times. That’s why you need a well-planned schedule to help your team hit all their weekly targets efficiently. 

And a weekly schedule template can help the team power through all the essential tasks, so they don’t struggle to meet deadlines at work. 

In this article, we’ll highlight three convenient weekly schedule templates that you can download and customize as per your needs. We’ll also take a closer look at weekly schedule templates, their pros and cons, and a powerful alternative to these manual planner templates. 

This article contains:

(Click on the links below to jump to a specific section)

• Weekly Schedule Template 1 (Monday through Friday)
• Weekly Schedule Template 2 (Monday through Saturday)
• Weekly Schedule Template 3 (Sunday through Saturday)
• What is a Weekly Schedule Template?
• 3 Advantages of Using a Weekly Schedule Template
• 3 Disadvantages of Using a Weekly Schedule Template 
• Plan Weekly Schedules for Higher Productivity With Time Doctor

Let’s get started!

3 flexible weekly schedule templates

The weekly schedule is usually in a tabular format, containing details such as the task name, day of the week, and task duration. 

Here are three weekly schedule templates that can help you evenly distribute the team’s workload and highlight their major tasks for the week. 

You can download these schedule maker templates in a printable PDF format or editable Microsoft Word, Google Docs, and Microsoft Excel formats for free . 

Note: If you want a better understanding of weekly schedules, jump ahead to this section . After going through the required details, you can scroll back here to download the planner templates.

Depending upon your work requirements, you can choose from the following three kinds of weekly schedule templates:  

1. Weekly schedule template 1 (Monday through Friday)

This weekly schedule template is for teams who have a 5-day work week. You can keep track of the team’s work activities from Monday to Friday with this free template. 

Download Links:

• Google Sheet

2. Weekly schedule template 2 (Monday through Saturday)

This work schedule template is for teams who have a 6-day work week. You can keep track of the team’s work activities from Monday to Saturday with this free weekly schedule template.  

3. Weekly schedule template 3 (Sunday through Saturday)

This work schedule template can help you manage remote employees with a flexible work schedule . You can keep track of their tasks from Sunday to Saturday with this free weekly schedule. 

Now that we have explored some useful weekly schedule templates, let’s take a closer look at these templates and their use cases. 

What is a weekly schedule template?

A weekly schedule helps with the planning of your team’s tasks within a one-week timeframe. It lists out their meetings or work activities on specific days of the week. 

The purpose of creating a weekly schedule is the same as that of a daily planner or personal planner. But the significant difference is that here you’re thinking ahead and planning your team’s tasks for the entire week. 

A weekly calendar will inform the team about their upcoming priorities and the due dates of each task in advance. The weekly planner can cover a range of tasks like creating a PowerPoint presentation, discussing a new project brief, attending a seminar, and so on. 

Who can benefit from it?

The free weekly planner template can come in handy for individuals from different walks of life, such as:

• Project managers and team leaders looking for shift scheduling templates.
• CEOs and executives looking to improve employee productivity .
• IT Professionals working on multiple projects.
• Marketers handling several clients.
• Senior scholars or MBA graduates (for class scheduling, lesson plan, homework assignments, and college schedule).
• Freelancers working for different clients.
• People who want it for personal use.

Now that we know the basics of weekly schedules, let’s check out the top advantages of using the weekly planner template.  

3 advantages of using a weekly schedule template

Here are the three advantages of using a weekly schedule template:

1. Keeps your team goal-oriented

The best part of having a weekly schedule is that your team won’t be confused about their to-do lists and topmost priorities. It serves as a guide to their important tasks, just like a daily planner template. 

The awareness of weekly tasks gives employees a head start. It allows them to come up with a plan of action for achieving those weekly goals. This way, your team can allot time for all the tasks wisely and use their working hours productively. 

At the end of the week, they don’t feel the undue pressure of completing certain tasks they weren’t prepared for. Instead, the weekly calendar template helps them focus on tasks with the nearest due dates. 

The weekly work schedule can assist your team with work planning, reduce workplace stress levels , and increase your success score at work! 

2. Helps you with task delegation

Managers often have a tough time delegating tasks and constantly wonder if the workload distribution across the team is fair enough. 

A simple weekly schedule can solve your problem and help you delegate tasks more effectively . 

With the weekly planner, you can view the task list of each employee in your team and gauge their bandwidth. With the weekly work schedule template, you won’t mistake assigning a task to an employee with a full calendar. 

Moreover, in creating an employee schedule, you can understand which team member can best handle a specific task. You can go through the previous work schedule and weekly calendar to make an accurate decision.

3. Lets you break down large tasks

With the weekly planner template, you can break down large and complex projects into smaller, more manageable tasks. 

So in the 5-day work week schedule template, you can break down the project work across five working days, so your team knows the expected timelines. 

For example, start with a project brief on Monday. Tuesday can be about brainstorming ideas followed by the initial project execution phase on Wednesday, and by Friday, the team can submit the product or idea for review. 

Such a weekly plan will enable your team members to understand their roles and tasks associated with the project in greater detail. As a result, your team can progress through different project stages with greater clarity and minimum confusion.

In a blank weekly schedule template, you can list the different tasks and subtasks in the calendar. 

However, despite being an efficient means of planning the team’s work, the weekly schedule template has many limitations. 

So before you decide to implement these templates in your workplace, you may want to go over the next section highlighting its major disadvantages. 

3 disadvantages of using a weekly schedule template 

Here are the three cons of using a weekly schedule template:

1. Makes it difficult to collaborate

The problem with a printable weekly planner is that you’ve to share and reshare the schedules every time you make some edits — as the latest calendar updates won’t automatically reflect in an Excel spreadsheet or PDF document. 

Even when you create the weekly schedule template on Google Docs, you’ll have to notify your team with the updated link via email. So the more changes you make to the employee schedule template, the longer that particular email thread becomes. And as we all know, finding a relevant link or one-page attachment in a cluttered inbox can be time-consuming and inconvenient. 

So the weekly planner template makes it difficult for employees across departments to collaborate effortlessly. Unlike a digital weekly planner, it doesn’t let you organize all the information on one centralized platform. 

2. Cannot keep track of absences

The weekly schedule template lacks the feature of automatically showing employees who are present, absent, or joining late. 

In the Excel template, you can enter these details manually on the same working day or after. But the lack of prior information about an employee’s unavailability can disrupt the weekly schedule of an entire team — especially if a particular task’s progress depends on them. 

However, this is not the case with a digital weekly planner that tracks the employee’s vacation days and paid time off. 

3. Lack of version control

The weekly schedule undergoes several edits when multiple team members have access to the same spreadsheet. 

While this is necessary for updating any task or timeline due to changing priorities or pushed back deadlines, you’ll never know the last person who edited the weekly planner template. 

It’s also entirely possible for an employee to make an error while updating the weekly template, which can put the entire team’s work plan at risk. And due to the lack of version control, you can’t hold anyone accountable or identify the origin of the mistake. 

Fortunately, there’s a smart alternative to using manual weekly schedule templates for better teamwork . 

Plan weekly schedules for higher productivity with Time Doctor

With effective weekly scheduling, you can organize your team’s daily work activities to avoid losing sight of the weekly goals. However, maintaining and updating the schedule manually every week can be quite time-consuming and often prone to error. 

That’s why you need a robust, digital solution for better schedule and time management. 

And Time Doctor is one of the best time tracking software that can help you overcome the drawbacks of the printable weekly schedule. 

What is Time Doctor?

Time Doctor is a powerful employee scheduling app that helps you improve your team’s productivity. This time management software is preferred by large enterprises like Ericsson, as well as by small businesses, like Thrive Market, to boost organizational efficiency. 

With Time Doctor’s work scheduling feature, you can plan employee shifts and create a work schedule template for the entire team. This way, they can focus on their top priorities instead of spending time on redundant tasks.  

You can use the tool’s time tracking feature, to check which tasks and projects are taking up the most time in their monthly schedule. The Time Doctor app also lets you monitor the team’s attendance and track their progress on the weekly targets. 

Here’s are the key features of Time Doctor that can help you implement weekly schedules and elevate team performance:

A. Create weekly work schedules

Work schedules in Time Doctor allow managers and executives to create, view, add, and modify daily and weekly schedules for employees reporting to them. It helps the team block their time for specific tasks and follow through with their expected timelines. 

Team leaders can use this feature to:

• Establish different schedules for each employee. 
• Create detailed timesheets and mention the specific weekly agenda. 
• Assess individual bandwidth and distribute the workload evenly. 
• Import and export employee scheduling data in a CSV file. 

Here’s how you can activate the Work Schedule feature in Time Doctor:

• Visit the Company Settings page.
• Enable Work Schedule by clicking the toggle on Use Work Schedules as shown below.

• Select the Settings menu. Here you’ll see the Work Schedules page and get details of the employee schedule. 

Additionally, you can copy the weekly schedules across several weeks to prepare a monthly planner template. 

B. Track employee work hours

The time tracking feature of Time Doctor is the key to improving your employee’s everyday efficiency at work. This, in turn, helps them successfully cover all the weekly tasks without breaking a sweat. 

Using this app’s time tracking feature, employees can track their daily schedule and work hours (both manually and automatically ). 

Here are the steps to track your work hours on Time Doctor:

• Open the app and enter your task name (for example: SEO audit, keyword research, blog upload, etc.)
• Press Start to start tracking your time.
• Hit Stop when your task is complete or if you want to pause for some time. 
• You can move to other tasks and continue recording the time, in the same way, using the timer button. 

The timer starts as soon as the employees switch on their systems in the automatic time tracking mode. 

This feature helps them concentrate on the work at hand, instead of getting distracted by the timer every single time. However, you’ll still get detailed insights into your employees’ productivity. 

C. Assess weekly progress and productivity

Besides employee scheduling, managers can access Time Doctor’s detailed reports to evaluate their employee’s progress on the weekly tasks. 

Here’s a list of Time Doctor’s productivity reports :

• Activity summary report: Get an overview of every employee’s active working hours and unproductive time in a given week. 
• Hours tracked report: Track the total number of hours your employees have worked on their task lists in a week. 
• Timeline report: Get daily and weekly reports on the time employees spend on breaks and their tasks. Here you can monitor their weekly routine and check if it’s in sync with the work schedule. 
• Web and app usage report: Assess employee productivity by checking their time on different apps and websites. 
• Projects and tasks report: Calculate the time employees contribute towards different tasks and projects in a given week.
• Attendance report: Check the data for the present, absent, partially absent, or late joining employees. Also, you can view the data for your work schedule in the attendance report. 

These reports are key to assessing your employees’ performance and help you understand if they’re sticking to their work schedule. 

Besides helping you plan your team’s weekly schedule, Time Doctor can also send distraction alerts to employees whenever they spend too much time on social media or other time-consuming apps. 

You can use the tool’s productivity ratings feature to classify websites as productive or unproductive. This way, your employees avoid browsing through such unproductive websites and keep up their work momentum. 

Explore other amazing features of Time Doctor here. 

Final thoughts

You can prioritize your tasks, plan your daily goals, and push yourself to excellence with weekly schedules.

However, using a weekly schedule template is not the best option to manage team schedules. For starters, a weekly planner template lacks automation functionality, which is quite essential in today’s high-paced work environment. 

So why not opt for an employee scheduling app like Time Doctor, which can monitor your progress and improve productivity?

Sign up for Time Doctor’s 14-day free trial today and help your team breeze through their weekly goals!

View a free demo of Time Doctor

Carlo Borja is the Content Marketing Manager of Time Doctor, a workforce analytics software for distributed teams. He is a remote work advocate, a father and a coffee junkie.

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