Navigating Challenges: How to Set Boundaries, Say No (Really), and Stop Procrastinating / 26-5-NCG-4

 

Getting things done can be difficult, especially for academics and researchers, who often have to set their own goals. Without external deadlines, it is easy to put off tasks that do not feel urgent and end up stressed as unfinished work piles up. Saying no can be a great tool to help us stay on track, but in practice, it can feel almost impossible to say no, especially to supervisors and valued colleagues. Building confidence in turning down requests from colleagues and supervisors that do not align with our priorities and learning how to stop procrastinating are essential for managing our workload in academia and beyond.

In this workshop, we will look at why we procrastinate, how to organize tasks so they actually get done, and how to manage requests from others in a way that works for us. We will work on strategies for saying no, setting priorities that align with our goals, and creating approaches that reduce stress and make our workload more realistic.

 

• Why do we procrastinate? Why do I put certain tasks off and complete others?
• How do I set realistic priorities that are in line with my goals?
• How can I approach my tasks in a way that helps me to complete them when I want to? What can I do to make sure that I get things done on time?
• How can I best manage requests from colleagues or my supervisor(s) when their expectations don’t align with my schedule? How do I know when I should say no, and when it makes sense to say yes?
• What do I do to feel confident about saying no? What makes it so difficult, and why is it so important?

 

No preparation is required for this workshop. 

 

Doctoral researchers:  

• of all disciplines
• of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin, Charité - Universitätsmedizin.  

All workshops are free of charge. Parts of the qualification program are funded by the Berlin University Alliance.  

 

Please make sure that you can attend for the entire duration before booking a workshop to receive a certificate. Check our terms and conditions. 

 

Cancellations are possible up to 14 days in advance by following these steps: 

• Log into your DRS account on our booking platform www.drs.fu-berlin.de 
• Click on "My course list" 
• Choose the workshop in question and go to "course details"   
• Finally click on "cancel booking".  

 

Credits and Work units   
Many doctoral programs award credit points for participation in workshops and other qualification programs. One work unit (WU) corresponds to 45 minutes of workshop time. In some cases they might round up.  

• 8 work units equal 0.5 credit points.  
• For shorter workshops, credits are calculated proportionally based on the work units.  
• Credit transfer requires the accumulation of a sufficient number of work units.