For online instructors, the issue of time management is the nemesis we all have, and when we don’t make enough time for ourselves during our busy week, month, semester or year, we may eventually feel dissatisfied with work, life, and ourselves….
Time management skills are a key issue for many online facilitators when the desire to deliver to students starts taking over our life. The McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning at Princeton University developed some guidelines for time management for students which have applicability for facilitators in terms of achieving balance, well-being and success. These principles require reflection on what you value, and are derived from research on time management and motivation theory ….
- Commitment: Only commit to something you can DO, and when you commit to it, put it on your schedule – make specific time for it.
- Time vs. task focus—Think of your day in terms of time, not the tasks you have to do. Devote time to important tasks every day. It’s hard to predict how long a task will take, so it’s hard to schedule with great precision. But you can reliably schedule regular intervals of time and get into a routine. (And do remember time for sleep!)
- Routine—It takes 30 days to create a habit, and routines helps things run smoother and good habits make life a bit easier. Set a daily or weekly routine to maximize your time.
- First Things First—If you can do so, schedule the things that are most important to you first thing in the day, or at the first available time slot. Anything that gets scheduled later in the day has a greater chance of getting interrupted, put off or never gotten to.
- Block out time-- On a regular basis, devote chunks of time to specific activities for your course (such as checking messages, responding to posts). Make it part of your schedule, your routine. Slice up your tasks into manageable pieces. Don’t get overwhelmed by big projects.
- One thing at a time-- Current research shows us that multi-tasking is a myth. In actuality we are switching back and forth between tasks. With each switch we pay a cognitive cost and a time cost: It takes time to get mentally back into the task, thus making us less efficient. When switching we lose the depth of our engagement in the task.
- Flexibility—Don’t schedule every hour of the day, leave empty time slots, and schedule in recreation time. Create a block of time on at least one day a week as a “catch up” time and USE it for that.
- Organize your environment--Both physical and social—for success, for support; minimize distraction; maximize focus.
- Respond vs. react--When faced with a decision or an impulse to diverge from your routine, don’t just react, RESPOND. Pause, take a moment to reflect. Remember what’s most important to you. For example, if exercise is a top priority for you, don’t let a sudden fear about checking emails prevent you from exercising. Be ready to reduce the amount of time at the gym, but don't compromise on your health. Don’t create justifications that get in the way or lead you astray. Know the trade-offs you are making.
- Pursue fun with a vengeance--Make time for enjoyable, rejuvenating and satisfying activities. Make an appointment with yourself – FOR YOURSELF – show appreciation for a job well done. You can’t be there for your students if you are not there for yourself!
