Family support

As the busy holiday season approaches,  we need to balance school and family goals. Most family members are supportive if we are willing to let go of some of the responsibilities such as putting a little one to bed so you can have some focused time to work on your classes. 

Several years ago I let go of most of my Christmas baking. I had prided myself on being the cookie queen and thought it was important to make several varieties of special holiday cookies. One year, things were just too hectic and I asked each of the kids which cookie was their favorite and I only made those three varieties. Not only did the kids not care that we did not have a multitude of varieties of cookies—I am not sure they even noticed we had fewer. They felt just as honored that I had asked each of them which was their favorite.
What advice might you give others who need to nurture the support from other members of their family?
What advice might you give others about letting go of some responsibilities?

What advice do others have?

Some things bear repeating

I recently blogged about setting small goals and gaining confidence. Some things really do bear repeating. Most of us know how important it is to set goals and we likely even know most of the information in this post, but we need to be constantly reminded. 

Time management and goal setting go hand in hand.  If you have trouble keeping the goals you have set for yourself, try using the time-honored formula of SMART goals.

For goals to be effective, they must include action words that explicitly describe the desired outcome. Effective goals also include the following SMART elements:

·         Specific: Specify, in detail, exactly what is to be accomplished. Vague goals do not provide enough structure for achievement. In addition, it is difficult to determine when an overgeneralized goal has been accomplished.

·         Measurable: Measurable goals indicate how much progress has been made toward achievement. If a goal is difficult to measure, it may be difficult to achieve.

·         Attainable: Goals must be attainable. Not everyone can play for the National Football League, but there are many related, achievable goals. Set goals that challenge, because challenging goals are motivating. However, goals should not exceed the resources available to the goal setter.

·         Realistic: Similar to attainability, goals must be realistic. Realistic goals do not rely on unlikely events, such as winning the lottery. Although related to other people, realistic goals do not rely on others’ behavior; rather, realistic goals put the responsibility of achievement on the goal setter. Realistic goals also have realistic time frames for achievement.

·         Timely: Every goal requires a deadline for completion. Time limits reinforce the urgency of taking action now rather than later. If a goal is not accomplished by the stated deadline, create a new, more realistic deadline, if possible. Missing a deadline is not an excuse to abandon important goals.

What comments would anyone offer about using the SMART formula for goal setting? Watch for more on goal setting in the next couple of posts. 

Responsibility, confidence, and gaining control over time

Confidence in any endeavor is gained in small steps. These small steps begin an upward spiral. When a person takes on the responsibility in either personal or professional settings, confidence grows and you become more willing to take on the next opportunity for using time responsibly.

This can even begin at home. If just by setting the goal for yourself that you will pick up the dinner dishes right after you eat, you gain control over one aspect of your daily routine and feel more confident. This can then spill over to making the bed every morning, and then to logging on to your course website every day. Soon you are in control of more areas and gain confidence of more areas.

What examples of using time responsibly and confidence can others share?

Packing to save time

I know many learners and teachers spend time traveling, so time management tips about packing seem appropriate. Really, the tips shared in this entry are my favorite kind—completing the tip might take a bit more time on the front end of the task, but it saves time in the long run.

 I have just returned from a road trip. In seven nights I slept in five different beds. This seems like a good time to share three time-saving packing tips.

1.       To avoid spending time re-ironing clothes in a hotel, use this method to pack before you leave home.  You will need tissue paper and re-sealable gallon-sized kitchen storage bags for this method.

A. Fold the shirts, pants, skirts, or dresses using the standard method. Two sources for correct folding are http://www.wikihow.com/Fold-a-Shirt and http://www.wikihow.com/Fold-a-Shirt Dresses can be folded similar to shirts and skirts can be folded similar to pants.

The additional “must do” when folding the clothes is to spread a thin sheet of tissue paper over the garment before you make the first fold. Tissue paper reduces humidity and humidity is what causes garments to wrinkle when folded.

B. Stack the folded clothes by outfit on a large flat surface such as a bed or table. For instance, make one stack with the pants, shirt, and undergarments that go together. I even put the accessories such as ties, or scarves or belts in the stack. Keep making the small stacks until you have all of the outfits you need for the length of the trip. Layer tissue paper between each garment and around the stack.

C. Place each tissue-wrapped stack in a gallon-size sealable storage bag. I have used the name brands such as Ziplock or the store brands such as Powerhouse. Lay the bag on the flat surface and squeeze all of the air out of the bag. I seal the bag except for about an inch in the middle of the opening and then gently squeeze out the air using my forearms to smooth the garments and push the air out of the small opening.  When the bag is flat and without air, quickly seal the small opening.

D. Now place each bag in your luggage. When you arrive at your destination(s) you will not have to spend time ironing. Nor will you have to think about what shirt you had planned to wear with what pants—saves time and stress.

E. With each outfit in its own bag, it is also easy to keep the clean laundry separate.

F. When I arrive home and unpack, I simply place the sheets of tissue paper inside the gallon bags and store them together inside my luggage, so they are ready to reuse on the next trip.

2.       Shoes? That’s a different story. I do not put shoes in the gallon-sized bags. J I do, however, pack shoes inside those cloth bags grocery stores provide for six bottles of wine. I can take six pair of shoes in a relatively small bag.

3.       My final tip is how to pack fine-chain necklaces so they do not tangle and you do not have to spend time untangling in the hotel room.

A. Unlatch the clasp and thread one end of the chain through an ordinary drinking straw.

B. Re-latch the clasp so the chain is inside the straw. I have one particularly long chain that I thread through two straws.

C. Place the necklace inside the bag with the appropriate outfit. If I plan to wear a necklace more than once and I know what order I am going to wear the outfits, I simply put the necklace with the outfit I am going to wear first. 

Faster reading is better reading

Many online and traditional students wish to improve their personal reading skills. They 

indicate that they read slowly and often have to re-read. Actually a little-known method to improve reading skills calls for reading faster for better comprehension. At first it seems counter-intuitive, but it does make sense.

Your brain can process approximately 100x the speed slower readers read. So when we read slowly, our minds have time to wander off on tangents and we lose our concentration--and find ourselves re-reading. 
When we read just a bit faster, we have to concentrate more on the information and we have less time to get off track. Does that make sense?

Try reading faster when you read fairly easy material like a newspaper or magazine. Push yourself to read faster and see if you can develop the habit. 

Has anyone tried this? Would you be willing to? Let me know what you think. 

Here is a link for more information. http://english.glendale.cc.ca.us/speed1.html

Using what others have learned

In my last post, I promised to share a resource that takes the write-everything-down method to the next level—and makes it even more useful. Writing everything down that is needed to complete a project is indeed helpful for planning our time for any given project, but it can be much more than that. In this post, let’s take that method one more level to see if we spend our time doing what we want to do, or what is most important to us.

Dr. Nancy Zingrone posted an article called “Five Useful Tips for Good Time Management for the Online Teacher” at WizIQ. I contacted her to gain permission to repost it here. http://blog.wiziq.com/5-useful-tips-for-good-time-management-for-online-teachers/#disqus_thread

The article pertains to any learner or teacher, not just online teachers. Dr. Zingrone advocates not only writing down everything we do during the day, but then to categorize our activities, analyze how we spend our time, and make changes based on the data.

I thought at first that the method was tedious, but it takes little time to track our time—a bit like keeping an old-fashioned checkbook.  After the second day, I was eager to write down what I was spending my time doing so that at the end of five days I could see if any patterns emerged.  Did patterns emerge? Yes, indeed. I was surprised that I spend about two hours at the computer each day drafting emails. Then I go back to those high-stakes emails and re-read or revise before sending.  By high-stakes emails I mean emails to my bosses or my clients. I want to strike the right tone and by drafting and revising, I think I do a better job of that.

Is that too much time spent on drafting and revising? I guess it depends. If I am responding to a request to share work, I do not think so. Do I wish I were faster at writing appropriate emails? Absolutely!  Will I get faster by tracking my time? I will get back to you on that. J

Write down everything

Earlier in July I wrote about Jo Hartmann teaching me that time is not elastic. Another colleague, Maggie Austin, showed me that time is not elastic by example.  I call Maggie’s method “write-down-everything.”

I have had the privilege of working with Maggie on a few projects.  In one of our planning meetings, she showed me a list she had created of essential tasks that go into an event. Maggie had listed every detail such as prepare handouts, set up participant tables and chairs, hang posters, set up welcome table, prepare participant folders, order snacks for breaks, and tidy up after first day. She had included an approximate time each task would take.  I was amazed at how much time these sorts of tasks take—I had planned for events and classes before--but in my mind--I had always thought about the time it takes to study the material, plan the activities for participants, and prepare the handout. I had not planned for the phone calls, the set-up, and the gathering of auxiliary materials.

Now I call this time management strategy “write-down-everything.” Whether I am planning a study session for myself, a team meeting with a few colleagues, or a professional development event for an entire school district, I need to remember to write down everything.  I write down everything for three reasons:

1. I realize how much time the work will actually take
2. I am not rushed when I do my studying
3. I can check off the tasks as I finish them to feel a sense of accomplishment.

Maggie and I are not the only ones to use this write-down-everything method. Next time I will share a time management blog that incorporates this method and takes it to the next level.