Immediacy is a problem?
I thought it odd that the first module suggests that it is not a good idea to complete tasks as one receives them. If you have time to return a student's voicemail, why wait? If students turned in papers ten minutes ago and you have nothing else do, why not start on them? I work better when I get things done right away.
Interesting approach John. It's nice that you have the flexibility to put off tasks that you don't want to do. Most instructors do not have that kind of wiggle room.
I tend to do things asap cause we live in a fast paced world. There are priorities though so if something is not important or urgent and I have alot on my plate I will put it off. Then if it is something I really dont want to do I procrastinate and only get to it if I have time.
Yes, trying to be somewhere in between immediacy and procrastination does work best for most instructors Tony. We are never completely balanced or perfect but trying to center yourself between the two is a reasonable approach.
I've found that in striking a balance between immediacy and procrastion works well. Meaning that, yes at times grading their papers works, due to the students' need for an immediate response from the instructor for example. Prioritizing helps to maintain that sense of balance between the two.
Yes this is true Rebecca. The key is to balance speed with accuracy. If we go too fast, or try to do too many things at once, we can be more error prone. Slowing down and taking the time to do things right is a better approach.
I agree. Some people say that multi tasking really is not a good time management technique for the fact that you neveer really fully focus on your task. Not fully focusing on the task can result in it taking a longer amount of time to complete or with mistakes.
I know I kind of thought this was funny. I guess I can understand if someone takes this to extreme and causes themselves stress because they have to get this done right now....I think that was what it was mainly focused on. I think if you have "time" and then you do it that is different.
You bring up an important point about process Gina. Sometimes it's good to set some tasks in motion (like cooking) and then focus on others that can be done during down time (like the herbs).
It really is all about prioritization. With limited time, writing and re-writing to-do lists is essential. I am an instructor at a student run restaurant in a culinary school. It is one of the most important lessons I teach to my students that they will use the rest of their lives... and that is to prioritize. I require them to create prep lists every day and discuss prioritization between themselves and with me. For example, do not pick herbs first... it takes very little time and can be done while other things are taking time to cook. The students frequently suffer from issues with immediacy and a lack of understanding about what items will take the longest. This is true with our teaching workloads as well. It is only organization and experience that will help us to properly prioritize our tasks.
It helps me keep on track and prioritize my tasks if I get things out of the way quickly. When I for some reason am unable to grade assignments quickly, they tend to pile up, resulting in more stress for me as I try to get through the pile. If I was trying to do many things at once, I would see the problem, but I am actually working to avoid the problem of procrastination, as the more that piles up, the less desire I have to work on any of it. It just seems more intimidating at that point.
I think the problem arises when you end up doing 10 things at once, since they all need to happen immediately...or, you end up stopping one task to do another and have many loose ends. To me, that is what the issue with doing things now.
would spend needless time grading assignments that did not need to be graded (adding to my stress level) if I did not wait.
Yes, sometimes we do underestimate the amount of time it takes to complete tasks Jason. It's nice to include a buffer into our schedules to account for these. I like to add 10% where possible.
Sometimes you may have time to complete tasks immediately when you have free time, but have you ever thought something with more importance may need to be done and you have scheduled it for a later date? This is where you may realize that you don't have as much free time as you may think.
I tend to agree with your statement. I think that waiting too long to do these tasks can put you into the category or procrastination. You tend to finf other things to do and you put off what you could have done earlier.
Lots of accumulating small tasks can cause more stress then a few large tasks. Sometimes the sheer volume can be intimidating, even if tasks can be knocked out quick!
I agree it is must more frustrating and/or stressful to let even the smallest tasks pile up. I think it becomes even more stressful because you then begin to wonder when you will ever have time to complete these old tasks, and any new ones that will appear.
Where I find this advice particularly helpful is in regards to grading assignments. I do like to keep up with things and tend to like to take care of them as they come in, but with assignments I really up front with students that I will not start grading them until after the due date. In the online environment, if the instructor allows, students can actually submit more than one version of the same assignment. Because it is more important to me that students learn the content I do allow them to resubmit (after attending a live chat, for example) if they can do so prior to the due date. I would spend needless time grading assignments that did not need to be graded (adding to my stress level) if I did not wait.
Yes! Sometimes it's good to just stop for a minute and think carefully about your stress situation. Taking a break can absolutely help you focus on what's important and identify the best next steps.
