Sounds like a great plan Christine! Note you're not alone in completing quick tasks early. A lot of instructors do the same thing. On one hand, it's a great confidence builder to see some items get knocked off your list. On the other, it's important to get to the higher priority and urgent tasks too. Balance is the key.
I often do the quick tasks to get them out of the way. I will have to repriortize the way I do my "to do" lists. Sometimes i end up doing tasks last minuite when deadlines need to be enforced.
I will work on doing priority/urgent tasks first.
Personally, I prefer to handle tasks as soon as I am aware of them (if at all possible). Given the number of important and urgent tasks from work, school, and interaction with friends and family, if a task isn't completed when I am aware of it, it may not be completed at all or (unfortunately) may not receive the resources and attention it deserves.
By using the "first in first out" method, I can be assured the task is handled completely and with the attention it deserves. By keeping the urgency and important tasks clear, other school activities become more enjoyable because they lack the urgency to complete.
I believe the devil is in the details. So, once the 'large' tasks are completed, the small and more detailed tasks become more enjoyable and more fulfilling.
I doubt I will change the order I work my tasks.
As an instructor, I only work two days a week. This really puts a crunch on my time. For the most part, I complete the tasks based on urgency. However, sometimes I do get distracted by the "little things." In the future, I'll attempt to stay more focused on the tasks that are more urgent or important.
Glad to hear Sherri and you're not alone. It's so great to be able to take a step back every now and then.
I do find that if I take a day or two off (when permitting) from school work--that I come back refreshed and more relaxed.
Thank you and I will try the satellite to do list and transcribe to the main one later.
BQ
As I responded earlier I have changed the order and given more emphasis to important than urgent. It seems that urgent tasks are almost always done hurriedly and without thorough thought. As teachers we are always dealing with deadlines. And it seems more than ever with all the logistic and staff cut backs our lead time to these deadlines are becoming shorter and shorter. Which in turn gets them done with less and less thought. What this course has opened my eyes to is the fact that urgent means do it right but do it with a priority.
Not as fast as you can.
Sounds like a great assessment Ellen. Note that it's ok to de-prioritize less urgent tasks as you do. I wouldn't call this procrastination. What you're doing is prioritization and keeping important tasks top of mind.
Tasks must be organized and completed in order of importance and urgency. I do procrastinate the less urgent tasks so the most important items get put on top of the pile. Sometimes these piles of more important are too much and the less urgent then become urgent. I stay late to complete or do these at home if necessary.
Sounds like a challenge Betty. The best first step is to start getting your tasks out of your mind and on paper. It is easy to forget things otherwise. If you're busy walking around campus, you can carry a small piece of paper to take down action items. Think of it like a satellite to do list. It would just be there to help you capture thoughts to transfer to your master list later.
I need help with this! I try to take care of things as they come up rather than prioritizing. I also forget things, especially when my arms are loaded down with books, etc. and I am pressed for time. How can I slow down and prioritize?
That's a great question Randall! An important task is something that must be accomplished because there's a great value in doing so. An urgent task is something that must be accomplished right away. So an urgent task is not necessarily high value, it's just time sensitive.
Perhaps in terms of seeing what tasks need to be applied and which ones not, we do have to even put a way to prioritize the priority ones as well. What I must do however is see due dates, as well as seeing if there is a way to finish some on time or beforehand as well to ensure that there is time to address any issues before sending this. In other words, giving a day and look again at the work before submitting. What do we think?
Prioritizing your tasks helps to keep you on track and accomplish the goals that you have set out for your self and your students. Knowing and prioritizing your tasks can help you keep focus and to concentrate on what is most important instead of getting sidetracked or derailed.
I have always tried to prioritize tasks and handle them accordingly. As tasks change, I re-prioritize them and change as necessary. I am having a little trouble distinguishing between what you are calling important and urgent. Aren't the two terms synonymous in this case?
Good point Rosemary. Ultimately as instructors, we've got to clearly define our course objectives at the beginning of each semester and work hard to drive toward those objectives throughout the year. I know what you mean about students taking the conversation off track. Sometimes articulating your objectives at the beginning of each class can help focus the conversation.
The most important task is to cover the material that correlates with the course objectives. I always try to plan my lessons so that I complete this task -- sometimes a student can lead the discussion in another direction with a question -- so it is necessary to keep on track. Second, evaluation must be a strong priority. Prioritizing such tasks keeps the class moving smoothly.
It is very important to cover the material in each lesson that deals with the course objectives. In my opinion, this should be prioritized as it is very easy to get off the subject when questions are asked or a discussion is started.
These are great points John! Important is often more of a priority than urgent. Sometimes it's hard to disambiguate the two. We need to think carefully about each as we decide which tasks to focus on each day.
