The middle is often a nice place for instructors to be Matthew. Finding balance between procrastination and immediacy is quite an achievement.
It's nice to hear that there are tasks you like to do Cindy. Sometimes it is nice to knock a few of these out as confidence builders and motivators.
I think that over the years of creating To Do Lists, I have improved my abilities to prioritize my tasks better. It's not perfect yet but maybe one day. I learned early on that procrastination only increases my stress level and makes it difficult to balance everything going on in my life between my work, my family, and my time. So I do prefer to prioritze and accomplish the tasks as soon as possible. however, I believe that it is just as important for one to understand how much time is involved in completing a task and then set that time aside to accomplish that goal.
time managment is the one thing we can constantly work on, as a professional chef it is vital that I prioritize and organize myself and my staff. In my industry its all about timing, if you can't manage your time and prioratize tasks that are most impotant and urgent, you are doomed to fail, in ball of fire!
I tend to prioritize according to what I like to do. If it is a task I enjoy, I will do it right away. If it is something I don't care to do, I will put it off until I can't any longer. I really should change this habit!
I feel like someone in the middle who hates to get everything done right away but also hates when everything piles up because of procastination. Though sometimes my order of things may be out of whack, I still get the tasks done in an allocated time.
I find that I am relatively good at prioritizing tasks at work although I do tend to procrastinate things that don't seem to be pressing to me. I realize that when I create my to do lists I need to be more aware of the things that I am putting off.
I also find that I tend to put things off at home. I often create a separate list for things that need done at home. My children tell me that I don't take time out to do fun things with them, and lately I have been trying to plan time to do things with my children. Hopefully I will be better able to prioritize and stop procrastinating these things.
I normally prioritize the most important task first. However, when I have to wait on other individuals to complete that task, I try to find another task I could be working on instead of waisting time .
I really like your idea of the color system Vivian. That's a great approach because important tasks really pop out at you.
I already prioritize my tasks. I write the important ones in a bright color and the non-important in black. Each day, I pick three that I will work on that day and then cross them off my list.
However, what this module made me realize is that I have a problem with immediacy and do end up working more hours, getting exhausted and often sick. I want to, not only finish all the tasks in a timely fashion, but my definition of timely as a lot quicker than it could be.
I grade all tests by the end of the day, hand back homework the next day and all. I may reconsider the immediacy and urgency of tasks.
No I do not proscastinate, I am more incline to do a task immediately. Yes,I certainly will create or continue to do a mental to-do list to ensure my time will be spent most productively!!
Sounds like a great plan Gary. Note that it's normal to get sidetracked every now and then.
I usually work on the most important and urgent tasks first and right away but there are times when I will allow myself to get sidetracked and waste time on less important tasks. I will be paying more attention to accomplishing the most important tasks first and not procrastinating.
I usually tend to complete important and urgent tasks right away. If I procrastinate, I tend to feel much more stressed, and this is not something I feel comfortable with, so completing tasks right away is the better option for me.
Sometimes, however, I do take the simpler tasks off of the list to make it look like I have less to do because smaller, quicker tasks were already completed. This does make me feel better and does serve to lessen my stress a bit, but once I realize how much work I still have to do in terms of the more important tasks, some of the stress sometimes returns.
I will try in the future to always complete important and urgent tasks first, since as I said before, procrastination only serves to create more stress in my life.
I think that my biggest issue is immediacy. I often feel like I have to do it NOW, when in reality, it can probably wait. I find that I have created an issue for myself by doing this, in that people see that I usually do things immediately, then they end up expecting things, immediately. I need to learn to prioritize and realize that some things can wait, and don't have to happen NOW.
Yes, if you feel good about your organizational skills then keep up what you are doing Vicki. At the same time, do stay open to new ideas.
Althea, Everyone has to do what works best for them. If you gain a sense of empowerment by checking a few things off the list first, do it. Sometimes instructors need confidence builders such as these to keep motivated and get the complete job done.
Because I have multiple work and family demands, my task lists always long! When I'm confronted by a long to-do list, I tend to do 2-3 small tasks first, without thinking too much about their importance. That way, every time I look at the list, I see a few things crossed off, and feel empowered by the simple reminder that I CAN get things done. I find it lowers my stress. The unit on priority seemed to say that this was a counter-productive strategy; that I should first do my highest-priority items (based on their potential consequences) even if they are larger and take longer. Can I reconcile this seeming contradiction by saying that my sense of empowerment is a consequence? Or is that a rationalization?
I actually tend to be fairly organized and am able to prioritize my tasks well. However, it is always good to review and get insight into recognizing behaviors, that all of us have to some extent, that might impede effectively completing tasks. I think will keep what I learned in mind for work ahead.
Being aware of how and why I choose which task to complete first will help be to be more effective in making those choices.
