General Discussions

ORGANIZATION & PLANNING

ORGANIZATION & PLANNING

by Linda Andrews -
Number of replies: 2

Put The 'Big Rocks' In First!

Our Grad Mentor Cathy Au had previously posted this and it is back by popular demand, of me. The author is unknown. The story is worth hearing again and again.

The seminar presenter pulled out a wide-mouth gallon jar and placed it next to a pile of fist-sized rocks. After filling the jar to the top with rocks, he asked, "Is the jar full?"

The group replied, "Yes."

He then got some gravel from under the table and added it to the jar. The speaker jiggled the jar until the gravel filled the spaces between the rocks. Again, he asked, "Is the jar full?"

This time, the group replied, "Probably not."

The speaker then added some sand and asked, "Is the jar full?"

"No!" shouted the group.

Finally, the speaker filled the jar to the brim with water and asked the group the point of this illustration.

Someone replied that you could always fit more things into your life if "you really work at it."

"No," countered the speaker. The point is, if you don't put the big rocks in first, " . . . would you ever have gotten any of them in?"

As you start the new year, think of the "big rocks" in your life as the things you can do to make this a healthier and happier year for yourself and others.

Re: ORGANIZATION & PLANNING

by Linda Andrews -

I just ordered what they call an  Integrated Day Planner with Monthly Goals, organizer, etc.

I like it because it helps organize your 'To-Do' list into

1) Top Priority (Urgent and Important)

2) High Value (Important, but Not Urgent)

3) Errands (Both Urgent and Not Important)

In addition to your schedule, in 30-minute increments, it has your daily goals AND the steps included to complete those goals. In other words, it helps you remember to BREAK DOWN those large projects into SMALLER SEGMENTS so they aren't so overwhelming. I don't know about all of you, but when I'm presented with an overwhelming task, sometimes I choose to do  nothing at all. I have found that if I  can just BITE OFF a chunk or 'step' toward that project, sometimes I'm reved up and ready to do the next step.

This particular planner/organizer also has what they call Daily Continuous Improvement Questions and an End of Day Progress Evaluation. I haven't used those yet, but they might be helpful.

It isn't necessary to have a formal planner and organizer such as this, but this one does use classic solutions to time management. It helps those of us who tend to be disorganized to have more structure in our day. Some of you are naturally organized and do all these things in your head, without having to write them down. I envy you that ability. These suggestions are for the rest of us.  Go with what works for you as you put order into your life so you can accomplish the goals that are important to you.

In case anyone wants to look at this product, here's the link. Otherwise, ask me in March if it's working for me. :)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007SBLVNO/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00

ALSO, if any of you have a planner/organizer that is working for you, please talk about how it has helped you.

 

Re: ORGANIZATION & PLANNING

by Glenda Hickman -

I'm bumping this for our newer students since I had a student bring it up to me recently. :)

I also want to add a note here that if you're having trouble getting a study schedule to work for you to fit in all your assignments by your deadline, you can always email or call me for suggestions and advice.  Study schedules for online courses like ours are NOT one-size-fits-all, and often what works for one student will make things harder for another.  I'm happy to go over your general schedule and your study habits with you and offer ideas for ways to tailor your studies to better fit with everything else.  I've done this with plenty of other students, so you won't be alone if you want some help!


Also, please feel free to add to this thread with any ideas or suggestions you want to share with other students for study tips, organization help, or even how to wrangle the spouse/kids/pets while you try to read a chapter or finish a test!

-Glenda