time management skills & academe patricia s. moyer- packenham utah state university
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Time Management Skills & Academe Patricia S. Moyer- Packenham Utah State University USU Curriculum and Instruction Research Colloquium Saturday, May 15, 2010 Salt Lake City, UT. Acknowledgement. Christine Hult Professor of English and Associate Dean of HASS ADVANCE P.I. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Time Management Skills & Academe
Patricia S. Moyer-PackenhamUtah State University
USU Curriculum and Instruction Research ColloquiumSaturday, May 15, 2010
Salt Lake City, UT
Acknowledgement Christine Hult
Professor of English and Associate Dean of HASSADVANCE P.I.
The Expectations of Academe
RESEARCH TEACHING SERVICE
The Six Problems1. Handling the paper load (including email)2. Prioritizing your workload3. Time management4. Project management5. Your personality6. Your psychology (Crouch, Getting Organized, 2005)
1. Handling the Paper Load
Being constantly bombarded with sensory input
Multitasking makes you stupid Have a place and put everything in its
place Categorize the incoming items & decide
right away: Discard or recycle Delegate Take immediate action File for follow-up Put in a reference file or on a task list
How the Clutter Accumulates
“If 10 new pieces of paper [or emails] come into your life every day and you only discard one you will have an additional 3,285 pieces of paper [or emails] after one year.”
“If 100 new pieces of paper come into your life every day . . . You will have an additional 36,500 pieces of paper lying around at the end of the year.” (Crouch)
An example of a system to handle the paper load.
Handle the Paper Load! 4 System Components
Scheduling Calendar
Desktop TO DO List (prepare at the end of each day)
File folders / filing cabinet
Desktop in box with dated paperwork
Organize
Prioritize – all items on your to do list are not equal!
How do you handle the paper load?
2. Prioritizing Your Workload
Do the right things in the right order Gathering the materials you need Filtering out those things that don’t matter Prioritizing the order of importance for actions Acting in the order outlined
Establish habits of triage FOCUS on each task until it’s done Then tackle the next item of importance
How would you prioritize this list of
daily tasks? Buy laundry detergent. Write a eight page essay
for English. Prepare for a Biology quiz. Dust the videos on the
bookcase. Review for midterm test
that counts for 50% of grade.
Schedule an appointment with a Professor.
Complete a journal entry. Facebook a high school
friend on another campus. Shop for a new pair of
athletic shoes. “Armor-all” the dashboard
of the car.
Do you have C Fever?A - LISTMidterm test that counts for 50% of grade.Write a eight page essay for English.
B - LISTPrepare for a quiz in Biology.Schedule an appointment with a Professor.Complete a journal entry.
C - LISTBuy laundry detergent.Dust the videos on the bookcase.Facebook a high school friend on another campus.Shop for a new pair of athletic shoes.“Armor-all” the dashboard of the car.
Prioritizing in Academia A personal example….
8:30-11:00 am – work on the most important thing I want to get done that day FIRST!
11:00-11:55 am – check email 12:00-12:30 pm – Lunch (or lunch
meeting) 12:30-3:00 pm – accomplish another
important task 3:00-5:00 pm – schedule meetings;
take care of mindless tasks
What strategies help you to prioritize?
3. Time Management Live in the present; do it now Minimize distractions and
interruptions The 80/20 rule (80% of your
results come from 20% of your efforts)
Let go of the busywork One thing at a time
The Myth of “Free Time”
There’s no such thing as “free time.” All time has value. We understand that cars and houses
have value. But, Time is invisible and intangible, so
it does not get enough respect. Time has value!!
If you see that your time has value, you will be more selective about the projects and requests that come to you.
How are you spending your time?
Write down 5-10 things you did yesterday.
The Time Management Matrix
(Stephen Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, 1990)
URGENT NOT URGENTIMPORTANT I. ACTIVITIES:
CrisesPressing problemsDeadline-driven projects
II. ACTIVITIES:Preparation, Prevention, Planning activitiesRelationship buildingNew opportunitiesRecreation, relaxation
NOT IMPORTANT III. ACTIVITIES:Interruptions, some callsSome mail, some reportsSome meetingsPressing matters
IV. ACTIVITIES:Trivia, busy workSome mail, Some callsTime wasters
Stephen Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, 1990
Time is Valuable to Me! A personal example….
Someone wants to meet with you on a matter that is not urgent.
Someone calls while you are in a meetings with someone else.
Someone shows up at the last minute and wants you to help with their emergency.
Immediate response: BUT, schedule a time to meet or schedule a time to complete the task.
When you value your time, others will too!
New gadgets aren’t the solution and are often part
of the problem
4. Project Management Use both a short-range and long-range
calendar Use your task manager in Outlook Archive your tasks for future reference For longer projects, develop a separate
project calendar or bulletin board For immediate tasks that come up
during the day, use a notepad by your phone
A short quiz to see what you have learned so far……
The point is this: Put the Big Rocks in First
5. Your Personality The Beast of Disorganization feeds on
your bad habits Seriously address your bad habits Let go of the old ways of doing things
that are causing your problems Simplify, simplify, simplify Set boundaries and stick to them
Procrastination & Perfectionism
Procrastination comes from: overload, fear of failure, task seems hard or boring, not sure of what to do, distractions
Perfectionism comes from: an irrational desire to please
Neither one is productive Chill out, lighten up, take a
chance, make a few mistakes, don’t sweat the small stuff (and it’s all small stuff)
Procrastination Set a goal to
complete a task/project
Reward yourself after completing the task
Estimate the time needed to complete a task
Divide lengthy tasks/assignments into smaller, shorter parts
Plan ahead to avoid 11th hour efforts
Every hour in class requires two hours of study/review
Nobody’s perfect!
6. Your Psychology Is your office cluttered? Are you always in a rush? Do you complain about never
being caught up? What image is this projecting to
others? Stop and think; slow down;
don’t do anything until you have decided how to be more productive.
Work-a-holism is dysfunctional.
Creating Balance Synthesize & process email and never leave email in
your inbox. Focus on the task at hand vs. multitasking. Do the most important thing first. Check your email on a schedule. Keep your research organized. Determine when YOU work best. Develop boundaries Maximize your start time Organize your TO DO LIST Think deeply and devote the time to drill-down
Overloaded & Confused?Slow down & think; Simplify; Eliminate;Shut down everything else and make
organizing a priority
Why is this important to me?
Less stress Calmness / Serenity Better health More time for a social life Academic success Land a better job Personal satisfaction Balance
Three Books I Recommend
Crouch, Chris. Getting Organized: Learning How to Focus, Organize and Prioritize (Memphis: Dawson, 2005)
Covey, Stephen R. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (New York: Fireside, 1990)
Griessman, B. Eugene. Time Tactics of Very Successful People (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1994)