Charles, It's easy to get thrown off by curve balls like students and administrators with challenges. Sometimes dealing with them immediately is in fact the best choice. However, it's wise to stop and think for a moment about how critical their needs are and what the true priorities are. For example, procrastination on their part should not necessarily equal urgency on your part.
Dr. Melissa Read
Denise, Interesting approach and I like your thinking. There are so many stressors we face that are completely out of our control. Letting go of things we can't impact can give us a great sense of peace and allow us to focus on other, controllable things.
Dr. Melissa Read
I am grateful that I naturally gravitate toward doing the most unpleasant task first. I like the reward I get as far as more free time without it hanging over my head.
I used to have major control issues but learned, as well as this assignment pointed out, you cannot do it all. Delegation is a hard thing to do, and also prioritizing. I have really worked hard to lesson the burden of my workload by just relinquishing control.
My prioritization could use some work with my personal stuff. However when I'm at work my task is clear and is prioritised well. My students know what to expect from me and what is expected of them. This is how I keep my tasks moving along smoothly.
I was brought up not to put things off-just do it while you can-therefore that is why I take control and just do it.
I like to brag about being complete while my coworkers panic; and then ask me for help; the problem is that then I have to help all of them.
I have a tendency to complete all tasks as they come up; I am a morning bird; and I like to complete everything by 2:00pm in the afternoon-therefore I can relax in the afternoon.
Yes, the module really made me think about immediacy issues. I actually am good at making lists but they get thrown off by a panicked student or administrator that want s something now. I have to think about priority and getting control back to me not someone else.
I have always prioritized in order to keep my stress levels down.
I will say this depends on the day really. I tend to have a delicate balancing act. I work a split shift and also help with bookkeeping for my husband business. I also have a 13 year old boy, so time is tight and precious! I don't have alot of time to procrastinate, but it is certainly in my nature to do so. I am organized chaos if you will.
I use a lot of to do list and I feel am good at prioritizing but now I need to work on control of my time. I still feel I do not have enough time during work hours to complete the tasks on my list, especially when teaching two different courses on the same day.
Tia, Interesting approach. I imagine this system works well most of the time. I should note that sometimes, we are the ones who have to determine the deadline. Sometimes it is not provided for us. When this happens, we have to look carefully at the task at hand to assess the amount of urgency we'd need to apply.
Dr. Melissa Read
Gary, Sounds like a great new approach. I'm glad this module helped shape your future direction. Yes, immediacy can be a big challenge for instructors. We need to find a better balance. Otherwise, we become less effective over time.
Dr. Melissa Read
Denise, It sounds like you have a nice strategy for task management. I like the way you consider different factors before making your decision to complete the task quickly. Yes, task urgency and importance should definitely be taken into consideration.
Dr. Melissa Read
The tasks I need to accomplish immediately are usually accompanied with a deadline. Those without a deadline are not marked as urgent.
I feel it is very helpful to create a list of task that need to be completed,and then prioritize so you are not overwhelmed.
I am going to use what I learned in this first part to help me organize my ways of working. I find I do things as they are needed, but then find I am rushed because the things I have put off, I put off for too long of a time. A 'To Do' list will help.
If the task is of an urgent natter and important, I try not to procrastinate about getting it done. If I am feeling overwhelmed by the task at hand, I will try breaking the task into smaller parts as learned in the module. This does seem to help prevent stress from building and making me want to put off the job.
Until this module, I, too, often was guilty of accomplishing everything immediately. This has shown me that to prioritize is OK. If it doesn't get done until tomorrow so that those items that have to get done today can be done correctly while preventing me from getting overwhelmed, so be it.
