This past weekend I was able to again apply the time-management travel strategies I listed in my 4-blog series on Nov 11-13,16. Remember those? Me neither. I think they dealt with time during travel, plus 20 destinations.
This trip was my 14th to the 29th annual Lilly Conference on College Teaching at Miami University in Oxford, OH. I love this conference and the people who run it. It’s the premier teaching conference in the universe. I thought it would be worth calculating the available work time in transit at this professional conference. This is a time-management test of my own skills. Here’s my analysis:
• BWI Airport wait-time: 2.5 hrs.
• Dayton Airport wait-time: 3.5 hrs.
• Travel time to and from conference venue: 2 hrs.
• Between session and evening work time at conference (3 days): 14 hrs.
Rounded to 8 decimal points, that’s a total of 22 hrs. of available work time, about 36% of which involved travel-related time.
You have some tough decisions to make about how you want to spend it. A lot of work can be completed if you are disciplined to stay focused; or you can play and socialize, or do some of both.
“What did you do, Bucko?” Hmmm. Here my rundown:
1. I used the 6 hrs. of airport wait-time to draft future blog material on time-management tips for faculty, managers, and other employees. That content was derived from previously published material in my time management book, including the idea of writing this one. I also computed all of my conference expenses.
2. At the conference,
a. I reviewed, edited, and practiced my 2 presentations (I can never practice too much to insure a seamless presentation), plus 2 1-hr. technical rehearsals in the venues prior to the presentations (Note: My PowerPoints are 1.3—1.5 GB with all of the music and video clips.)
b. I answered all of my e-mail requests
c. I sent out 92 LinkedIn invitations to faculty who attended my sessions (only those who consented to receiving those invites; 4 refused)
d. I wrote 1 blog and posted it
e. I reviewed book chapter content to be covered in my next book in progress.
That's all I completed. I also played and relaxed.
What did you accomplish at this or another conference? Did you use your time productively or wastefully? Do you have suggestions on how to make more efficient use of travel time? I welcome any creative ideas. We’re all in this time-management battle together.
COPYRIGHT © 2009 Ronald A. Berk, LLC & Coventry Press
Based on my last PROCRASTINATION BLOG, the title of this blog is on target. In fact, when you have to choose among several tasks to complete, such as write the meeting agenda, grant proposal, blog, or research article, it is perfectly natural for you to go to the fridge in your office kitchen first and make a salami sandwich on rye with mustard, lettuce, and a juicy pickle. No. Actually I meant to say: Pick the easiest task first, the one that even Dopey in "Snow White" could whip, such as polish your golf clubs or wax your skis. It’s motivating, energizing, and satisfying to accomplish a task you know you can finish on time. Conquering those skis builds confidence and self-esteem. “Wait. Excuse me. Time out. What happened to the salami sandwich?” That was a joke. “You’re kidding me.” Right. “But that sandwich made me hungry.” Go make one. We now have to end this overbloated paragraph.
Unfortunately, that victory doesn’t help you finish the toughest task, which may be writing the proposal with a bunch of colleagues by deadline. Putting the difficult tasks on the back burner delays their completion and puts you at risk of not doing them at all, especially if you run out of time and are functioning in crisis mode. You don’t want to be labeled with the “p” word. You know: “party pooper.” I mean “procrastinator.”
If you are NOT a chronic procrastinator and are in control of your “to-do list” and schedule, time-management gurus recommend (Are you ready?): Start with your most difficult task and a salami sandwich, the one that’s screaming: “YIIIKES! Do me. Do me NOOOW!” (Note: The screaming is coming from the task, not the sandwich. Had it been the sandwich, there would have been mustard on it.)
You need to totally focus on the proposal. Don’t even think about your other tasks until the proposal is submitted. Consider the feeling you will have when it’s finished and in the hands of FedEx. That’s empowerment. Your confidence and self-esteem levels will be through the roof, shooting waaaay beyond the levels previously attained with the Snow-White, Mickey-Mouse tasks, at least until the reviews and scores come back. For now, the worst is over. The remaining tasks for the week should be a piece of cake, or rather, a salami sandwich. You can do those with your left hemisphere tied behind your back.
What strategy do you use to tackle the toughest tasks? Which ones do you do first? What works best for you? Any suggestions?
COPYRIGHT © 2009 Ronald A. Berk, LLC & Coventry Press
7 Steps to Overcome Procrastination
As a follow-up to the previous blog, here is a description of the 7 steps:
1. Identify the source of the problem―Pinpoint the one or more causes from the preceding list that you feel are creating your procrastination.
2. Break down your tasks into subtasks—Write down the specific tasks that you are avoiding (see list of tasks in previous blog). Reduce the tasks to small, manageable subtasks that seem reasonable. Seeing these tiny chunks as molehills rather than as mountains can break the inactivity-avoidance cycle.
3. Apply the “Swiss Cheese Method” (Alan Lakein)―When a project appears overwhelming or boring, poke holes in it. Do the easy, small tasks that take only a few minutes first. Continue to poke until most of the work is done. Keep poking and poking. The completion of all of the holes and poking will motivate you to take on the tougher, more complex tasks that remain.
4. Focus on the outcomes and deadlines―Set attainable deadlines in your “to-do” list consistent with the real deadlines of the tasks. Express the tasks as outcomes to be finished within the time blocks. For example, state “draft main headings of article” instead of “write article.” Be specific and realistic with each task so you don’t backslide into avoidance behavior again.
5. Review your daily, weekly, and semester schedules regularly―Make sure your short-term tasks and deadlines are on target with your long-term deadlines. Make adjustments daily to stay on course. Pace yourself for the whole semester; don’t crunch tasks together in tight timeframes which you may not be able to complete. Been there, done that. Don’t drift back into your old behaviors.
6. Find an accountability partner—Choose a close buddy, colleague, or family member to whom you can report your successes and failures at the end of each week. The fear of embarrassment from not fulfilling the commitments on your “to-do” list can provide an additional incentive to stay on task and meet your deadlines. Fear of embarrassment will replace fear of failure. The former type of fear can improve your productivity; the latter can paralyze it.
7. Reward yourself for small and large victories—Celebrate your wins. Reward the new you for overcoming your procrastination. The preceding steps represent a time management makeover of you. That’s a significant achievement by itself.
I hope these suggested strategies are useful. Let me know your reaction.
COPYRIGHT © 2009 Ronald A. Berk, LLC & Coventry Press
Do you procrastinate? “NO!” Are you kidding me? I think most people procrastinate on professional or personal tasks at one time or another. If you can do it and get away with it, who’s harmed? What’s the problem? Why does it have such an evil reputation?
It is so easy to slip into procrastination behavior because it’s the default to doing something— to do nothing until later. Failure to do your work in a timely manner can have serious consequences. If you delay acting on your tasks occasionally or get a little lazy sometimes, but can catch up and turn on all cylinders when it’s necessary, you probably don’t have a problem.
However, if those delays occur regularly and you’re always behind, there is cause for concern. Do any of these behaviors characterize you?
• falling short in your administrative responsibilities
• not prepared adequately as committee chair
• not prepared adequately for class on several occasions
• not finishing writing projects
• not responding to communication (e-mails, TMs, or phone calls) in a timely fashion
• not finishing your writing piece on time for a grant
Not doing your work in a timely manner is a time waster. What are you doing in place of what you should be doing? Perhaps trying to figure out the grammatical structure of that yellow sentence.
If you are an admitted, self-confessed procrastinator, you might need help. It is unlikely you will survive the demands of academia or any other work environment. If you are not a procrastinator, but have a colleague, student, friend, or family member who is, check out my next blog. You might be able to provide this person with some help.
My next blog will address some of the typical causes of procrastination and proffer several suggestions and guidelines to overcome it. Let me know your thoughts.
COPYRIGHT © 2009 Ronald A. Berk, LLC & Coventry Press
4. 10 More Time-Saver Destinations: “The Rest of the Story”
If you’ve been following this blog series, then you know that this blog is supposed to cover the highlights of my Hawaiian vacation. Haha. A little blog humor. No! Of course, I’m supposed to provide you with 10 more destinations where you can produce ginormous quantities of work to use your time super-duperious efficiently. As promised, here they are:
• Sitting in the waiting room for a doctor’s, dentist’s, lawyer’s, or accountant’s appointment or examination room waiting for someone to show up while your body or teeth are rotting
• During dull and boring parties (or just leave), such as some Super Bowl parties
• Waiting for your initial or connection flight at the airport, especially O’Hare, Cincinnati, or Newark during the winter in U.S. and Heathrow, DeGaulle, or any airport in Italy
• Waiting for sports events to begin or during boring periods, timeouts, or half-times at baseball, football, soccer, hockey, or basketball games
• Waiting in line for Passport Control as you enter the airport of an international city, such as Moscow, Kiev, Belgrade, Tel Aviv, or Dubai; the one exception is Amsterdam (Note: There is no line at Passport Control or Immigration at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam. You just fly through. Schiphol is such a joy. What could you possibly bring into The Netherlands that isn’t legal and on display there already?)
• Waiting at the police station or in jail on DUI or drug charges until someone bails you out (Note: Armed robbery and other felonies will have longer wait times.)
• Waiting at the courthouse for someone to pick you up after you are released on your own recognizance
• Waiting in the hospital emergency room as a patient or relative/friend (Note: Try not to get blood, vomit, or other bodily fluids on your articles, books, or laptop.)
• Waiting for surgery to begin as a patient (Note: Once your IV sedative or anesthesia has kicked in, don’t bother reading; working on your 1st novel, murder mystery, screenplay, or grading papers is okay) or during surgery in the waiting room as a relative/friend
• During your recuperation in the hospital or at home (Note: If organs or body parts are removed, plan for pain medications and long wait times with lots of writing materials. Your writing ideas can reach new imagination levels under various meds.)
BONUS: Waiting for a theatrical performance to begin or at intermission instead of hunting down a $9 1oz. bag of M & Ms
What have I missed? Tell me. I can take it. I even write blogs on rejection.
Consider all of the work you could possibly accomplish at the 21 destinations I’ve listed. These could be missed opportunities to relieve the workload stress you may now be experiencing. I have accomplished buckets of writing at most of these venues.
Consistently and persistently working at these sites can really spike your productivity level and put a dent in your stress level. It’s amazing what you can complete if you stay focused on the tasks on your “to-do” list at these everyday destinations.
Let me know your thoughts and experiences with any of the above, especially places I’ve missed. Now go relax at one of those sites.
COPYRIGHT © 2009 Ronald A. Berk, LLC & Coventry Press
3. TOP 10 Time-Saver Destinations
Now let’s consider your destination. If you haven’t completed all of your tasks for the current year while traveling, and you haven’t been eaten by a mountain lion, you will have several other opportunities for work at many of the routine places you go every day. For some of these, such as the grocery store or bank, an article or paperback will be adequate; for others, such as a doctor’s appointment or the police station, you might consider packing everything. Kidding. You can leave your athletic club bag at home.
Here is a starter list of 10 opportunities. I’m sure you can think of other places to add to this list.
• Standing in line at the grocery, clothing, or any other store
• Standing in line for concert, theatre, or ballgame tickets
• Standing in line at the bank or post office
• Waiting for a license renewal, car registration, title, or anything else at the MVA (Motor Vehicle Administration)
• Waiting for your food in a restaurant if your colleague forgets to meet you
• Waiting for a colleague or student in the cafeteria or coffee shop
• Waiting for your car to be repaired, hopefully not overnight (Note: I’ve written a lot of material at Midas Muffler waiting for my midas to be installed.)
• Waiting in your car at drive-through banks and fast-food restaurants
• Waiting for your office or home to be repaired after a tree fell on it or a truck drove through it
• Waiting to be picked up on the remote, deserted country road in the fog and rain before being devoured alive by a werewolf or Hugh Jackman
This list will continue in my next blog with 10 more destinations where you can produce. Trying to keep my blogs within 300 words and terse, with the exception of my jokes and fooling around, is my goal. Maybe you’ll actually find this stuff useful. Please let me know. Have a blast this weekend.
COPYRIGHT © 2009 Ronald A. Berk, LLC & Coventry Press
2. Travel Time-Savers
As you travel to your destination, your mode of transportation will allow you a variety of opportunities to produce. There are four major traveling options:
1. On foot—walking or jogging—you might want to stop and take a break on a bench in the city or park off the beaten path to read under a tree, bush, or cave (preferably without bats). Other scenic options include a lake, ocean, or active volcano. Regarding the last-named, if your pages or extremities begin to singe, it's time to get back on the path.
2. On wheels, such as biking, skateboarding, driving, or wheel chairing (with a disability), you can always stop or end up in a traffic jam, which is the perfect time to dig out those papers to grade. If you’re traveling by bus, train, 16-wheeler, RV, mobile home, or army tank, be prepared with lots of work. The time on the trip itself will permit you to do a lot of reading and/or writing, unless, of course, you get motion sickness. There’s also a good chance that you will be waiting before your trip and after as well, especially if someone is supposed to pick you up at your destination. If you end up stranded on a remote, deserted country road in the fog and rain for hours or days, you’ll have plenty of work time; that is, until you’re eaten by a bear or mountain lion. (Note: Always carry a CSI-type flashlight or miner’s headlight for reading, a salami sandwich for eating, plus a knife and gun for defending yourself.)
3. On wings, if you’re on the way to the airport, take plenty of work with you. You could have tons of time waiting for your initial flight, more time for your connections, and still more for the flight you missed or was cancelled. Once you’re finally on the aircraft, you can punch away on your laptop. On long flights across country or overseas, you can really accomplish a lot of writing, reading, or networking with passengers who aren’t snoring. With the trend in airline delays constantly increasing for whatever reason, you quite possibly may be able to complete your article or book if you pick the right holiday, winter break, or spring break flight. This same advice also applies to hang gliding, parachuting, parasailing, skydiving, and bungee jumping, though with less available time.
4. On rudders, once you’ve started up the motor on your speed boat and ride the waves or set sail on the open choppy seas, you’ll probably throw up. Wait, that’s not the end to that sentence. I seem to have misplaced it. Oh, here it is: you will have plenty of time on the water to work on whittling down your “to-do list,” unless you’re a barf bag. Get a patch. If you’re planning on fishing for a catch smaller than Jaws, you’ll have buckets of time to spare.
Use every travel opportunity you have to complete the tasks on your list. You will return refreshed and relieved that the stressful burden of a few of your reading and writing commitments have been lifted from your shoulders. Ahhhhhh. I already feel relaxed. None of these feelings will apply if you hurled your guts on these trips.
I hope these ideas trigger some thoughts on how you can use your travel time more efficiently. My next blog will suggest 20 destinations where you can save even more time. Let me know of any suggestions you have that I’ve missed. We’re all in the time-saving boat together, but you'll have to get out if you get sick.
COPYRIGHT © 2009 Ronald A. Berk, LLC & Coventry Press
