Time Management

Since I'm the professor, I suppose I can blog about anything I want to!  So I'm choosing to blog about time management, since it seems to me that this is one of the most neglected aspects of attending college.  But, instead of lecturing my students on why they need to manage their time, I'll write about why I need to manage my time.

I teach four classes each semester.  These classes can start with anywhere from 21 to 35 or more students.  Of course, by the time the semester ends, I have fewer students in my classes, and I think lack of planning (time management) has a great deal to do with that.  I can't make a student plan his/her work; I won't eliminate my assignments to "make it easier" for students.  I list all of my course assignments on the class schedule; I expect students to be mindful of these assignments and to plan ahead.

But what about me?  I don't just have to keep track of the assignments for one class; I have four classes, as many of my students do.  Each student has one essay or reading journal to submit; I have to grade all of them!  On any given weekend, I might have 70 assignments to grade.  How do I get them done in a timely manner?

I have a calendar.  As I'm planning my classes for the semester, I write down assignments as I add them to my course schedules.  I can flip through the calendar and see what's coming in when.  I also have a small white board at home on which I write all the assignments and the order in which they arrive in Moodle.  As I complete a set of assignments and return them to students, I erase or draw a line through the assignment to let me know I've done it.

I often have days when I really don't want to work.  When I try to procrastinate, I bribe myself with something--a chapter of a book I want to read, a movie I want to watch...whatever it takes to motivate me to do what I need to do.  I also have a highly evolved sense of guilt.  I require my students to turn their work in on time; I think I should return their work as soon as possible.

Occasionally, I'll have so much work coming in that I have to grade papers for a solid week.  It can be tiring, but it's part of the job.  I will take breaks, but I set a limit on those breaks.  After an hour of reading or gardening, etc., I go back to the work because I must. 

But I'm not just a teacher and grading papers is not all that I do.  I have a large family; they provide me with some much needed R&R.  I also live about 45 miles away from the university, so that drive to and from my "job" provides me with something of a break from work.

It's important for me, as a person and a teacher, to measure my time carefully and to provide the "down" time I need to avoid burnout and frustration.  After all, all work and no play not only makes me a dull person; it also makes me cranky!