It sounds like you have done a very accurate assessment of yourself Jenny. That's a great place to start. Far too often, instructors don't realize how stressed out they are. You are standing on a solid foundation in your perception of your current situation. Now it's time to stand on that and do something about it.
I feel I do pretty well with making my to do list and accomplishing the tasks I have prioritized as highly important. I usually prefer to do a mental to do list versus a written one.
I can procrastinate on certain things if I find them boring or time consuming. When I run in to that problem, I try to convince myself to be productive and get them out of the way so I can move on to other projects or just enjoy a free weekend.
Yes, mental to do's can be great but also stressful. Sometimes when we make a mental note of too many tasks, it can become hard to think of anything but those tasks.
I used to make list. and took considerable criticizm for it and quit.. But without those obstacles now, I will restart this.. and prioirtizing has not been a strength in the list, that I can fix.
The module completely dovetails with my standard operating procedures. I think that shows because I scored 100% on all the modules and final tests. It was worthwhile to see the formal presentation of the factors I have been dealing with over the years. My methods were confirmed by the short course which is most reassuring.
I have always been a list maker. From the time I was a little girl I made lists of things to accomplish whether it was daily or weekly. Recently I have noticed that I haven't been making my usual lists as often. I have found that without my lists, I tend to forget to accomplish certain things. I also have learned that when I create a list that prioritzing my tasks is very helpful.
I can lean towards procrastination from time to time. If it is important, I do try to take care of a task right away, or at least prioritize it in my daytimer. My goal is to continue to reorginize my priorities and make sure the one's that are important get done without interruption. I continually practice this and discipline myself to not procrastinate. I occasionally fall off of the wagon, but for the most part, I do a good job.
I am usually very good about completing tasks that have high importance. I try very hard not to put off things until the very end. Based on what I learned in this module, creating a prioritzeds list may be something that I try to use. I tend to create lists, but sometimes they are not in the order that needs to be completed. I believe that by prioritzing my list, I will be able to make changes.
I will try and organize what needs to be done by urgency.
I am one of those "10%ers" that always procrastinates, I don't think I am far enough along to determine wether or not I will prioritze in the future. I will get to it first thing tomorrow though!
Sounds like a great plan Scott. Note that some instructors work better under pressure. If that's you, then you might not need to completely change your ways. The best working style is the one that really works for you - the one that makes you most successful.
Yes, do go ahead and give that a try Leslie! It's important to plan for your priority tasks in advance of accomplishing them. This way, as you do complete each task, you can feel confident that it's the right one to focus on in the moment and you can feel good about moving forward.
I tend to fall into Immediacy where I feel stress until everything is done. I think if I do it now I won't have to do it tomorrow and then tomorrow I find something else to do. For example, I was cooking dinner, painting the front door and answering emails all at the same time while stressing that I had to attend a meeting in an hour. Now I am up until midnight again answering all emails and answering this discussion board even though I know it could wait until tomorrow. I am afraid that if I don't do it now I will forget! I am hoping that I learn to allow myself to control my time better
I could always be more organized. Will wokk on some of these suggestions.
Yes. I will put what students need to know first.
I tend to want to accomplish tasks right away and this has created issues in my time allotments.
I usually prioritize my task, i am not a procrastinator and like to do things right away. I get very stressed if i have an important task to complete and i am behind.
I will set aside time first thing in my day for this, then as the day ciontinues as things come up I am in better frame of mind and less stressed to handle them.
I always take the time to acommplish the task correctly and when ready I do it.So I usaually get it done right away.
My usual approach is to accomplish those tasks which take the least amount of time to finish first, and then move on to the larger tasks. Each afternoon as I am wrapping up my workday, I write down a list of the tasks I need to accomplish the next day. When I start work in the morning I look at my list of tasks and start tackling them based on amount of time to complete. If an urgent task needs done, I plan out how much time it will take to complete. If it is a lengthy task, I will try to break it up into smaller tasks and complete one small task at a time. In the past, I was guilty of needing to get everything done as soon as it hit my desk. I found this was leading me to be stressed and burned out.
