Cyndy,
I have to admit that I too am guilty of writing things down on my daily to do list that I have already done just so that I can check it off.
Thanks, Darryl,
What are the most frequent things that pop up in your "continuous flow of distractions?" How do you minimize their impact?
Primarily, I use a to-do list. Each morning I prioritize and list items that need to be accomoplished or attempted that day. A steady flow of emails typically adds to the list throughout the day, as do unscheduled employee and student needs. I typically re-evaluate the list at days end and carry over the items that I did not accomplish.
My distractions are student issues that cannot be controlled. This may take 2 minutes or 2 hours. I had not used a to do list before and it has been a big help.
Thanks, Darryl. it is sometimes difficult to predict when a rash of student issues will pop up. It may be helpdul for you to involve others if there are other folks to whom you can effectively delgate some of the student service activities.
I like to use modern tech to help me accomplish my tasks. I have taught myself how to use the Blackberry and I find it very helpfull. I am able to manage my time, tasks, and what ever else I have thrown my way.
Thank you, Jeremy.
How do you use the Blackberry to set priotities, i.e. establishing which tasks are the most important?
I identify tasks that i can complete quickly and then focus the remaining time on those tasks that require more attention.
Everyday I write down all the things that are pending. I then go through them and determine which are the most important and which can wait. I also look at which ones will take the least amount of time. I try to do the quick ones first then move on the the heavy duty tasks. I do this because I may not know how long a difficult or time consuming task will take.
ljeoma,
Experts stress that the fact that we can do something quickly does not necessarily mean we should do it first. do you ever find that you run out of time to do the important things becuse you spent time on the less important things you could do quickly?
Thanks, Christine.
Some experts tell us to attack issues in term of importance rather than expediency.
Prioritizing your goals and task are fairly common-sense approach, but challange is how to deal with goals and priorities realignment.
We use Lotus Notes e-mail system at work, I use internal To-do list program to prioritize my tasks.
I prioritize my goals and tasks by determining first if they are short-term or long-term. I use the method for prioritizing indicated within this course’s text, by distinguishing the goal or task between urgent and crucial. Most have deadlines and I typically break up goals into smaller tasks. I work on tasks that are urgent first, then work my way through the tasks based on the level of urgency. I make sure I ask for a turnaround date when new tasks are assigned to me to ensure I can re-organize all pending tasks accordingly. I use Microsoft Outlook to color code my tasks to reflect the level of urgency. When I complete my goal/task ahead of schedule, I begin working on the next important task and so forth. I assign specific duties each day of the week and the set reminders allow me to ensure I complete my tasks on time.
It sounds like you are well organized and productive, Lissete. Well done!
Great way to remeber that sequenece!
In addition to working on the most important tasks, I tend to see which tasks might overlap between projects. Ones that I can get the most "bang" for both projects are good to identify early. By analyzing the time frame before implementation we can end up ahead of the curve.
I periotize the tasks first then I assigned a time frame for each depend on the needs
Each day, reviewing the most do's due that day, and those steps to keep on track with future due dates.
Yes, I didn't think of overlap which I should have.
