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Prairie, I understand where you are coming from. There are a lot of instructors who like to check small tasks off their lists as confidence builders. They are only able to turn their attention to the bigger tasks when their minds are clear of these smaller things. It's ok to take a balanced approach - allowing yourself to address a few smaller tasks while also chipping away at the larger ones. Also, don't be afraid to break larger tasks into smaller, more manageable chunks.
Dr. Melissa Read
hello,
prioritization is everything. you have to know what you are doing and how it should be done!
I am one who prioritizes and meets deadlines. The tasks I am referencing are definitely not a priority (filing for an example is probably my worst area of procrastination) and do get put off to the back burner. However, I am realizing (after completing this unit and giving this some thought) that my actions could cause complications for other individuals completing their tasks. Therefore, my new plan will be to submit all filing to the appropriate locations before leaving on Friday afternoons. I am typically not a procrastinator by nature; however, less desirable tasks I tend to note them as lower priorities to permit myself to procrastinate.
One of the things that I definitely do is complete the things on my list that are easiest, and less of a priority. I seem to need to de-clutter the list, as well as my mind, and remove these things, before I can fully focus on the bigger tasks. It's comforting to see things checked off the list, even if they are minor things. But, after this module, I can see how this feeds into procrastination. I am knowingly avoiding the harder/longer tasks in favor of instant gratification. After this module, I think I will set up my lists from most important to least important and approach my tasks that way.
Honestly ... I am VERY bad about putting things off that are tedious or I do not like doing. I have decided after doing this module, that I am going to start scheduling in a couple hours each Friday to end the week with all those tasks completed so they are not hanging over my shoulder the next week and I can begin with a fresh start. VERY good information in this module to help get more organized and be more efficient. Helped me to realize a few areas wherein I can make improvements!! Now to just follow through with correcting these behaviors!!!
So far I am not sure which i have been I do think it may be all of them. Tests i feel need to be graded right away while homework doesnt. I feel its hard to manage my time during the day between home and work.
Patricia, I'm glad you bring up the point about plagiarism. When we are concerned about it, grading takes significantly longer than usual. Some are some good online tools that can potentially help. Also, I have always admired the power of Google in helping out with this kind of grading. When I type in a sentence from a student's paper that I think is plagiarized, Google can usually bring it right up if it has in fact been plagiarized.
Dr. Melissa Read
It depends on who they are for. For some things,
I try to complete these right away since someone is usually waiting for the results to do their thing with them. It takes the pressure off me and them.
If tasks are most important, why delay. It is sort of like grading. If you have multiple classes to complete, I usually start at the top of my list and work my way down. Most of them usually have the same deadline and are equally important. If there are quick items to grade, I get those in since students are getting anxious. Bigger projects might need more time, especially if I have to check for plagiarism.
I agree. It does give you a sense of completion even if it a tiny thing. Isn't that we just discussed-breaking down a large task into small bite-size pieces. I have even told students to use this strategy on the first day of class. "How do you eat an elephant?...One bite at a time." Same concept.
Blanche, So true. We've got to carefully balance task urgency with priority. Often times, they are not one in the same.
Dr. Melissa Read
Joseph, Thanks for sharing. For some instructors, this approach works well. However, for others, the volume of tasks is so high that they cannot complete all tasks at once. In these situations, prioritization typically works better than immediacy.
Dr. Melissa Read
Nicole, Yes, it's really ok. This is a tough lesson for many of us. Many instructors got to where they are professionally because of the immediacy issue. While this gives us a good turbo boost in our careers, it can be detrimental too. Sometimes it's healthier to take a step back and enjoy what life has to offer.
Dr. Melissa Read
Boy, this really put things into perspective for me. Not only do I have "control" issues, I also have immediacy issues. I really need to start organizing my check lists, and focus on things that are important. Knowing that it is okay to leave things until tomorrow, it really is okay.
I have a system that currently is working for me, as a task presents itself I complete it and move on to the next urgent task. I think the trick to it all is not to let yourself procrastinate.
Always have a to do list and categorize them accordingly specially to whatever your needs are fro that particular day or week. always remember that not all urgent matters are important and not all important matters are urgent so know what comes first
every time we learn to manage our time it teaches us that we must be able to prioritize what is important and not get caught up on minor details. Sometimes what is urgent might not be what is important or. So we have to learn to know the task at hand and be able to deal with them step by step so we wont get derailed.
I now realize that if these importat tasks come up they will not go away just because I prefer to do things my own way. I have to take the time to put things in their true order before I start my day.
Gilbert, This is a great question and point. Some tasks are more urgent then others and have to be completed right away. Others are highly important but less urgent. When trying to balance the two, and figure out which to address first, I recommend thinking about the outcomes of not completing each task. Typically, doing so will give you the clarity that you need.
Dr. Melissa Read
Denise, This is an interesting self assessment. Thank you for sharing. It sounds like you know yourself well. Swinging between procrastination and immediacy may feel stressful, but may also provide you the balance you need to both get work done and enjoy life too!
Dr. Melissa Read
Time management is often one of the most difficlut disciplnes to master. With so many distractions a mouse click or screen swipe away, it is very easy to lose sight of importance and urgency. But years of wrong choices have encouraged me to a sharp application of time management. In that process, the strongest word I learned to use was no. I control my time, but do I always have the ability to determine relative importance or urgencies. Were it always thus. Color coding works, but only if we have some certainty. If I notice that I'm constantly setting a low priority on related tasks, I do some analysis. Am I afarid of completion? Is there some barrier that I have to overcome? There are times I find some deep baggage that needs to be dropped to better set my priority list. For example, I have found that I really avoid situations with conflict. Tasks involving a potential conflict I subcosciously ranked low in priority. Always something new to learn.