Timothy,
Keeping to an email schedule is a good way to manage time well. Accessing during designated times rather than answering as emails arrive works well.
Jeffrey Schillinger
I like to check my emails at the end of the day.so i can prepair for the next day.
Thomas,
That is a good strategy. I also use that approach. I also find that closing my door for 30 - 40 minutes a couple times a day helps without offending folks.
Jeffrey Schillinger
Hands down, my biggest time waster at work, is people stopping by my office to talk and over 50% of the talk has nothing to do with work. One thing I've done to minimize this,is adjusted my work schedule, so that I arrive to work earlier and when fewer people are in the building.
Jon,
It is tough to manage time well if a person cannot delegate or say no.
Jeffrey Schillinger
An example of a time waster for me is tutoring my students myself. They do have access to peer tutors most of the time and I should probably use that resource. I'm kind of a control freak and its hard for me to let that go because I feel like I would be the best person to tutor them because I am the "expert" if you will.
Ashley,
I share some of these feelings. I would rather stay late and finish than come back tomorrow to wrap it up. Doing things this way mayy not be the best way to balance all responsibilities.
Jeffrey Schillinger
I completely agree that though I come to work with so many "urgent" things to do, the day definitely starts off on the wrong foot if I have not prepared the test/quizzes/lecture material for the next day. I have found that if my other "to-do's" take me longer than expected, at least my urgent paperwork prep for each class I teach is done, so I don't have to stress about ending my current task to start a new one.
I do have a hard time when I am unable to fulfill a task in one try. If I have to leave it and come back to it, I feel much less accomplished. This is when I will take work homw with me, so that I do not have an uncompleted project waiting for me at work.
Joel,
Setting an email schedule for yourself can be very helpfus as you will not need restart projecrts as often.
Jeffrey Schillinger
Emails
I have several email addresses (personal,professional)
Checking email frequently is something expected, especially in the workplace. I find that co-workers use this instead of direct communication.
Checking email 4-5 times a day does waste time. I now try to dedicate 3-4 visits to email
morning arrival at work, mid morning,lunch, and sometime in the afternnon
Jennifer,
This might be one of the most commonly cited time wasters. Perhaps setting a timer for the amount of time you can safely "invest" in the Internet would be helpful. Most phones have timers or alarms.
Jeffrey Schillinger
I think my biggest "time waster" is either the internet or my phone. If I'm burnt out or just working on a task that I don't feel like doing, I tend to check my phone a lot or I'll jump online and browse just to take a break, but sometimes I'll find myself taking a longer break than intended because of these distractions.
Clive,
Please elaborate on this. I am not clear on what you are trying to say. Thank you in advance for your response.
Jeffrey Schillinger
unrealistic expectation managers expect that everybody is sitting on the computer. this is not so in my profession, we are hand-on teachers.
Eileen,
Closing Outlook is one of the most highly recommended ideas.
Jeffrey Schillinger
Like many in this forum, I find reading and responding to emails to be a distraction. Unfortunately, I receive at least 100 emails a day from various colleagues, management, employers, students, and other campuses. While I try to avoid reading emails as soon as I receive them, I never know if there might be a crisis situation with a student or an employer that requires an immediate response. Perhaps, I can try closing outlook while focusing on more important tasks.
David,
The most effective method of addressing email is to only response at scheduled times. It is helpful to revierw all the things in one's inbox before responding. Sometimes problems get solved by others and thus do not require action.
Jeffrey Schillinger
Email is probably the biggest time waster known in professional systems. I find myself constantly addressing email that is most often not important. I have found the best way to address is to understand which managers rate a higher priority on addressing questions, answer them as the arrive and schedule time for the remainder at various points of the day.
Darlene,
I always have found it interesting that folks think they are on time when the first thing they do after getting to work is stop working and start eating.
Jeffrey Schillinger
I find some time-wasters are staff coming in the morning and like to chat, make their breakfast and eat prior to working but they have just come in at the time to start work. I come in early so I can have the quiet time to organize for the day and start working. I sometimes get catch up in the chatting and then wonder where did the morning go.
