I try to treat my online teaching responsibilities as I would a traditional job. I set a specific time each day that I will work in my online classroom and the hours that I will be working, usually 6 hours each day. That time is solely devoted to teaching and administrative functions within the course. I try to handle all personal things before this time frame. This,way I place myself on a schedule and it seems to manage my work and personal life effectively.
Thank you
Samantha,
Ha! Definitely a loaded question. :-). Having a schedule and being organized is definitely a plus. Thanks for your input.
Hello
Oh, this is a loaded question. My quest in life is to achieve this balance. I find that creating a schedule for my online courses where I pretend that the time would be used for a face to face class. This way I set a time frame as to when the work will get done. Having a three year old makes this difficult as things always come up. I find it best to get to work when the entire family is fed and sleeping!
Samantha Carlo
Sarah,
It's hard for all of us but time and priority management is so important. Thanks for your input.
Sometimes this can be very difficult for me to do. I do have to say that what I try to do is to schedule my time and what I can accomplish in that time. If I stick to the schedule then I can rest and then start again.
Shannon,
The "VERY" is the key word. AND, I'm thrilled you noted the "NO WORK ALLOWED!" We all need that time. Thank you.
The way I balance work and life when teaching online is to have VERY specific times to complete tasks. For instance, I cook and tidy up before my kids get home from school, immediately statr homework after dinner and then get them down for the night. Emails are answered between 9-10pm and all grading is done on Monday nights for the previous week. I teach on-ground Monday through Thursday and my Fridays are left open for live lab sessions in my on-line class room while my children are at school. Weekends (Friday-Sat) are reserved for doing things with my family. NO WORK ALLOWED.
Todd,
We do live and learn. The more we teach online, the more strategies we learn on how to manage everything. Thanks!
This was a tough one when I first started teaching online. I set time specific time aside during the day to check emails, respond to the DB and grade. After a certain time usually 5pm, I call it a day and pick it up again in the morning. This seems to work for me.
Victor,
The power of the pause! Taking a break is so many times the best thing we can do. Thanks!
Victor,
You're right - 24 hours is a common turnaround time. I try to stick to that unless I am at a conference or something, but I let the students know in advance when that will happen. It's good to ask students questions to help them think about how they can better maximize their time. Thanks!
Victor,
Schedule, schedule, schedule. . .that helps us stay focused and manage our time. We have so much to do. Thanks!
Distractions are a problem. I find also that I need to take a break and sometimes just going to an other website, news, whatever helps. One thing I didn't see in the course was about pacing / taking breaks.
Me too, the timely fashion is important. 24 hour response time is also required of many online schools. I think that instructors that take longer to respond or resolve things are doing too much or are not organized enough. when students or instructors are like 'I'm juggling this and that', I ask them, 'are you doing too much?' 'why are you taking 4 classes?'
I fit it in by scheduling times for responses, grading. Everyone's different, but I find that I have to respond to emails immediately and resolve issues or I forget or get bogged down. I try not to let that happen because then I make mistakes, so I try to tackle things as soon as I see them.
Cameron,
I'm also a scheduler. I schedule hours for course work and hours for family. It's good to break it up.
Time and space helps one to balance work and life. Good balance eliminates the homogenization effect that can take effect when the line between work and life becomes blurred and your work/life ratio becomes 50/50 across your waking hours.
I find that scheduling classroom responsibilities at frequent intervals with goals in mind as opposed to large blocks of time makes the balance of Work and Life easier. Having 'on' time and 'off' time is crucial and if you have the ability to physically separate work from life it makes this easier. When I'm in the office I am working with a goal in mind and when I'm not, I am focusing on other responsibilities including 'fun time' which should also be scheduled regularly. It is also beneficial to break up grading time into multiple sessions which will actually increase efficiency because I feel more focused.
Monica,
I'm even working to schedule my time better - it's a constant battle. ;-) But, we have to do it. The key is that when you have a schedule, you stick to it!
Organization and separation of both personal and work schedules is very important. Also having either an digital or hard copy calendar that will track this is critical.
Sherrilyn,
I work well with a schedule. When I focus on my schedule and stick to it, I seem to get more done. Thanks for your input.
