Having my PC on in front of my work space; when an e-mail pops up I respond to it instead of focusing on the work in front of me; a lot of great ideas in this course; one I will start using immediately is to establish times on when to check e-mails.
E-mail and plain personal computer use waste my time. I procrastinate something terrible when I hate a particular task. However, I have found that if I give myself the reward of 5-10 minutes of "play time" for getting a task done, it helps me get through it. Kind of like the "carrot and the stick" method. LOL!
Paul,
Most folks who have taken this course have found that turning off email is the best "sliver of gold" in the course.
Jeffrey Schillinger
Personal distractions such as checking my smartphone for email or text messages, or busying myself in mundane tasks like small talk with office employees. These can result in a loss of focus on the goal and also a loss of time spent refocusing on the goal at hand. Though sometimes unsuccessful at times, I have tried placing my smartphone in my locker or briefcase and restricted checking it only at lunch or during breaks. When focused on completing a goal, I often break it into small reasonably attained goals which allows me to remain focused instead of feeling overwhelmed thus minimizing or eliminating the temptation to pursue a time waster like checking my phone or engaging in small talk.
Terrak,
Email and social media tend to be the two most cited reasons for productivity drops at work. Putting the phone away could help. You could also try booking time for these current distractions.
Jeffrey Schillinger
I check my emails more than I should, probably 7 or 8 times a day. My computer has the "pop-up" that shows when I have received a new email. When I see that "pop-up" I want to check the email right away. Since I work with former students of our college, and Servicers who handle the students loans,I receive quite a few emails in a day. I also receive emails from other employees. Since I do receive the "pop-up", I can tell who the email is from. I need to evaluate if the email needs to be read right away or not. I need to make myself only read my emails 3 to 4 times a day.
Prior to taking this class, My main time issues are: I teach from 1800-2230: I like to use the rest of the evening to "catch-up". It is my most productive time. The Time-wasting issue is that they have taken to locking the school at 2300. Areas I have to now consider are how to manage time when people are interacting on a greater basis.
What thoughts could anyone share with me.
Daily interruptions by students who just seem to want to complain, or give excuses as to why they cannot meet an academic expectation - especially when they wait until the last minute to communicate difficulty. This scenario has been so bad at times, that I've wanted to "hide" from certain students. Going forward, I will require all students to provide solutions to their problems first. This should limit the number of student interruptions during the work day, increase fore thought and planning on their part, and instill a basic form of personal accountability.
I have to admit that I have several time wasters, but procrastination is one of the worst ones for me. The cause is mostly due to fear of failure. That's just due to perfectionism, not so much in ability to achieve the task. The way I have been trying to remedy this problem is to just tackle it head on and quit thinking so much about the task itself. Once I just dive in then I realize I am able to get the task completed and off my list.
I have at least one student per term that wastes time in class
I always have students who waste time in class
I find myself in meetings that run too long due to side track conversations and insignificant chatting. I will recommend a list with a "quick agenda" for informal weekly lunch meetings.
