We are happy to announce our upcoming GAUSS Career Service online workshop “Time and Self Management” by Dr. Matthias Mayer.

This workshop is intended for Postdocs and late-stage PhDs in the Natural and Life Sciences.

• Dates: Wednesday, 20 May 2026, 9-17h
• Duration: 1 full day
• Location: online
• Trainer: Dr. Matthias Mayer

Registration: Please register here (in case you are not registered yet) and send an email to career@gauss.uni-goettingen.de including a short statement on your motivation to attend the workshop.

Workshop description:

Are you sometimes struggling to balance the demands of research, professional development, and personal life? This workshop is designed specifically for PhDs and postdocs who want to master the art of time- and self-management. With a focus on directly applicable, well-proven methods, you’ll gain actionable insights to set clear goals, plan effectively across different time horizons, and reduce stress in competitive academic environments. Join this engaging, interactive session to take control of your schedule, overcome distractions, and build habits that lead to long-term success—in your PhD, postdoc, and beyond.

Goals:

• Get familiar with the most powerful techniques of time- and self-management
• Know how to plan on three timely horizons
• Know how to balance professional and private life
• Know how to control your inner state
• Exchange experiences with other participants

Content:

• Determine your direction: Work with crystal clear goals
• Plan: Learn to plan your time: long-, medium-, and short-term
• Set priorities consciously (Eisenhower Method, Pareto Principle)
• Focus: Say goodbye to distractions and interruptions
• Find your balance: research – work – private life
• Dealing with competition and stress in science
• Which Tools Should I Use?
• Get rid of your most severe time-killers, establish strong habits

Methods:

This highly interactive online workshop combines trainer input with self-reflection and a variety of collaborative exercises. You’ll engage in individual, partner, and group work, deliver brief presentations, and participate in open discussions to explore your own questions and experiences. To support lasting behavioral change, you’ll pair up with a seminar partner for a four-week “post-seminar test phase,” during which you’ll meet twice to reinforce your new habits. After the seminar, you’ll also receive access to course videos for further review and consolidation of the content.