Time Management Skills
What time management skills have you developed as an online instructor?
One skill is to have a goal to complete tasks within certain amount of time and assign a limited time to each task.
If one is to finish some specific tasks within a certain time, then he/she will avoid distraction and therefore and complete the assignments in a quick time.
Thomas,
A weekly schedule sounds like a good plan. Sometimes I used to get so caught up in my daily schedule that I miss the fact that large assignments are coming up.
Now what I do is every week when I launch the next week I go through the whole week's work and lecture and write an announcement to the students alerting them of what the week will bring. It not only reminds me, but is a great reminder for them as well.
Christina,
I love the to-do lists and make one daily. I do use my Outlook Calendar and check it every morning and include anything that is coming up that day on my to-do list. It is sort of a double check that way. The great thing about the Outlook calendar is that it has notifications that pop up to remind me. That has saved me from missing meetings.
The only problem with the electronic calendar is when I forget to put something on it. Just today I got an e-mail about an upcoming conference that I had paid for a few months ago. I had not put it on the calendar so had booked another activity over those same days. I had to adjust my schedule to make sure not to miss the conference and today put it on my Outlook calendar so I wouldn't mess up again.
I am a list maker. I admit I do not limit my list to only 3 things, but do keep it realistic. I use a small piece of paper and only put about 5-6 items. I make the list at the beginning of my day as I am planning all that needs to be done. I then prioritize the items and check them off.
As e-mails come in and things get added, the priorities can change.
I turn off my personal phone notification for e-mail and social media so I'm not distracted. I have not mastered the scheduling of checking work e-mail yet and do suffer from that distraction.
I plan break times so I do not get over tired.
Theresa,
Sounds like you have a plan that works for you. We can learn from this.
I have gotten into the habit of carving out two hours in the morning, 9a-11p, to reviwe the DB and emails and send replies. Then later in the afternoon, 3p-5p, I will develop prseen train materials. I find breaking up my day keeps me focused on the tasks at hand.
I'm going to mention only one - but it is a lifesaver for me - reading and responding to email! There was a time when I saw a computer, I turned into Pavlov's dog - check that email. The world could be falling apart, but I had to see what's in the inbox. No more. There are only two times during the day when email get's checked, a specific time in the a.m. and p.m. And the world hasn't blown up yet!
Definitely not waiting until the last minute; doing a little bit everyday is preferential to trying to cram it all in one day.
Stephanie,
Organization is the first term that typically comes up when someone is asked about time management skill. Nice job.
Michelle,
Thanks for your honesty. I hope that what you have learned has helped you. Take care.
George,
The more we do this, the more we learn essential time management skills. This is to our benefit. Thanks!
I actually have to admit that I enrolled in this class because I lack time management skills. I am an adjunct so I have several moving pieces at any given time. I am still having a difficult time mastering time management.
One of my biggest obstacles is the use of the computer. There are times when I feel too exhausted to look at a screen.
My plan is to take the information I learn in this course to develop new tactics and improve my time management!
The time management skills I feel like I have developed and used over the past 3 years are making sure all of my lessons are planned out for the prior week, taking time during the week to speak with students, making sure that everything is outlined correctly in the course for each week, and grading and returning assignments timely so students know their feedback and can make improvements.
I always try to have an organized list of what needs to be accomplished and when. I work full time and teach "after hours" once I am home and the kids are in bed. So, that means, I really have to maximize my time. I work on grading over the weekends and the early part of the week since that typically takes the longest amount of time. I try to check in during the day each day and post to the discussion board and then spend a large chunk of time on Wednesday and Thursdays responding to students in the discussions. I check email once or twice a day to make sure nothing gets overlooked. For me, it is all about an organized approach. I don't have the time on my schedule, but I know what works best and work to plan my time around my teaching.
Stephanie
Herman,
Minimizing distractions is a good thing. We all have our "limits" for dealing with distractions - some more than others. Thanks!
In real life tasks, I find the best way to approach them is to remove all distractions. Online teaching is unique in that it is IMPOSSIBLE to physically remove the distraction.
Instead what I do is set milestones for myself, like grading all the assignments, or responding to all my emails, or completing X number of discussion responses. After finishing a milestone I will allow myself a certain time to be distracted, and afterwards work towards completing the next milestone. This works especially well if the distraction is not on the computer as it helps with eye strain!
Herman Rucker
Colette,
I love the reminder feature as well. I use the task list with reminders and the calendar. It helps me organize everything I need to do and stay on top of things. Thanks!
I would have to say that I have developed the skill of taking a moment to put all appointments and things to do on my calendar with reminders. This has helped me with organization and multitasking.
Joe,
Good communication is an excellent goal. There are so many ways to communicate with students and we have to always be "on our toes." Thanks!
