Time wasters
One of my biggest problems is identifying an issue as a high priority, but later finding out is is much lower. Do you all have any suggestions how to surely identify the MOST important things first?
Having 2 jobs, I am asked to attend several meetings from many supervisors. I do review agendas prior to attending these meetings to see if it is relevant to my role within the industry. If the meeting is not pertaining to my area of expertise, this will free up more time to spend assisting students with their projects.
Robert,
This is good advise. Thanks for sharing it.
Jeffrey Schillinger
Try asking your boss if it is possible to put a due date on a task. For example my boss needs grades posted for a course when it ended.It was almost impossible for me to accomplish this as I had students who owed work, so she gave me 6 days after the course ends. That made it a lot easier to prioritize on my to do list, and to accomplish this task. Some times your boss won't let you know a due date as to get you to get it done right away.
Nicole,
It depends on your relationship with your boss. If the relationship is not solid, I would not recommed going to your boss' boss directly withut at least informing your boss.
Jeffrey Schillinger
What if the supervisor does not answer your questions and directs them to his supervisor or to corporate? Also, if this constantly happens, do you recommend bypassing your own supervisor just doing all tasks at your own pace?
Stephanie,
Nice plan, Stephanie. Thanks for sharing it.
Jeffrey Schillinger
It is undoubtedly always a challenge to eliminate "time waster" tasks. In order for me to maximize outcomes, I usually follow Stephen Covey's quadrants categorizing method.
1- Urgent and Important
2- Important, Not Urgent
3- Urgent, Not Important
4- No Urgent or Important
This method has not only helped me eliminate "time wasters", but also kept my stress levels down in terms of being punctual with my tasks due.
Have weekly meetings with your direct supervisor. This will ensure you have your priorities in order.
Nora,
I have worked for folks like this in the past. I have found that naming the tasks and asking "which of these is the most important to you?" has worked as it reminds the boss of all that is assigned.
My boss is always stressing the importance of satisfying student requests, so when that begins to interfere with the tasks he deems priorities I make him aware of my to-do list. This reassures him that I have his tasks in mind, and that I plan to get to them as soon as I can. Setting aside time specifically to deal with non-student related tasks has helped significantly though.
But what can you do when your supervisor is constantly assigning you new tasks (multiple times a day) that he deems a priority?
Thank you, Ben.
How can you balance your boss' demands with the responsibilities you have with students?
I keep my students best interest in mind when planing my day. Yes we have deadlines but my priority is my student.
Thanks, Mindi.
I think "is a student waiting" is a very good thing to consider. I am glad you pointed it out as it really is important in a career college.
I think I would start by seeing if the task had a due date. The next thing I would consider is wether or not a student was waiting on me to complete something.
Thanks, Tara.
Often folks do not feel confortable enough to ask, but it is the best way.
I think the best way to prioritize is to ask your manager what is priority. That way you have a clear answer, and you know which tasks need immediate attention.
Marcus,
The best advise I can give you to help you to determine what really are the highest priorities is to ask the person you report to. Sometimes a supervisor just assumes all who work in the department are on the same page or all are cetrain about priorities. Often it is not true.
You are not alone in this. A few weeks ago I was told by three different folks that three different projects were the company's top priority. I tried to determine which of these projects was the most time sensitive and began working on getting that one done. I am not sure what I would have done if they were all due the same day.
