Ajay Nahata on Productivity and the Keys to Effective Decision Making

Ajay Nahata is a scientist with over 25 years of meaningful contributions in the fields of optics, micro- and nanofabrication, high speed optoelectronics, and materials characterization. He has developed innovative results in a number of different fields including terahertz (THz) technology, optical communications, reconfigurable metamaterials, and UV plasmonics. His inventions in the field of THz technology are routinely used in every major THz research laboratory in the world, with equipment based on his research now commercially available.

He graduated from MIT with a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering. He then obtained his Master's degree from Columbia University in Electrical Engineering, with a focus on optics and semiconductor physics. He completed his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering at Columbia University in the City of New York.

Most recently, he was a tenured Professor at the University of Utah, where he also served as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, College of Engineering.

Learn a little more about his work in the sciences and keys to effective time management and setting priorities.

How do you prioritize your work?

The only way I can prioritize work is to look at what the most important tasks are and then to which of them can actually be done on that day. I reprioritize daily.

What is your approach to starting a new project?

The very first question I ask when I am considering a new project is whether or not the goals are impossible. If they are not, then the next question is whether or not it might be possible for us to do. If the answer to that is also yes, then the final question is whether or not anyone will care once we are done and to what extent.

If the answers to all of those questions are favorable, then I think it is worth moving ahead.

What are some of the keys to effective decision-making?

The single most important aspect that I have found to help me make better decisions is to talk to everyone involved. I ask their opinions and take them into account.

What criteria do you use to decide what to do yourself and what to delegate to others?

If there is someone more knowledgeable about the topic, I believe they should take it on, assuming that they have time.

Sometimes I decide not to delegate certain items simply because I am curious and want to learn more.

How do you manage the stress of all the things you are not able to complete?

It has taken a long time to get to this point, but I now decide early on what is critical and what is not.

I always make sure that critical items get taken care of promptly. I don't worry very much about whether or not non-critical items get completed.