Getting Things Done

It's a new year, and my brain is going a little haywire trying to keep track of all the stuff I need to do and have been procrastinating for the past 2 weeks, 2 months... even a year. I think of myself as an aspiring organizationalist - I always want to be organized but never feel that I am enough. On the other hand, most family and good friends see me as OCD-level organized. Either way, I always feel guilty for letting things slip. This is particularly true when it comes to tracking tasks items for things like work or school.

Now, when I'm in run-mode, meaning having tons of things to do at once, I oddly feel ok. I know what I need to do, and I do it. It's when I have a stretch of time to get a bunch of tasks done, and don't know where to start. So for example, I have lots of time at the moment, having finished student teaching and being in a sort of limbo. What the heck do I work on? I know there's lots of stuff to do - but what is it???

This is where David Allen's Getting Things Done concept comes in. If you can't tell, I'm a little desperate. Someone like my dad would probably say, "what do I need some Harvard guy to tell me how to get through my day? Just make a plan and do it." I totally get it, and wish I was more like that. I'm not. If Allen's concept can work for senior execs, maybe it will work for me.

The concept is basically that first you write down all of your tasks, every single one. Then, sort those tasks into categories. Break down complex tasks into smaller steps. If there is something you can do in a couple of minutes, do it right away and cross it off of your list. At the end of the week, spend some time reviewing your progress.

I haven't read Allen's book, but it is on my short list. For now, this BusinessWeek overview is a good primer. The fundamental steps are broken out in the graphic above (also from B-week).

It's Monday, and I'm going to try it. Let's see how it goes...!

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Back Again! And some thoughts on technology and learning...

I won't say I'm the worst blogger ever - just maybe one of the least consistent ones. I have a great excuse though - and that is that student teaching and taking classes truly absorbs all of your time, energy, and thoughts. I was able to make a little bit of time for reflection, but not a whole lot of it for putting those thoughts into blog posts.

But that's ok. I am a person committed to quality over quantity!

Anyways, I think I was very lucky to be blessed with a phenonmenal student teaching experience. I landed in an incredibly rich and nourishing nest of supportive teachers who gave me the confidence to believe that yes, I can actually do this. I think that alone was critical and I am so fortunate to have them as role models and mentors.

One of the things I spent a lot of time thinking about this past semester is students and technology. I actually ended up doing my capstone research project on this topic. While it is fairly limited in scope, it gave me the opportunity to think about students and technology and learning, and how or where they intersect. One of th things I uncovered, at least for myself, is that students have technology skills, but they don't necessarily know how to apply social tech skills to academics. Now, of course, Prensky and others might argue that students today have an innate ability to use technology. I would argue, however, that although students have social technological fluency, they lack academic technology fluency: meaning, they just don't know exactly how to use tech for learning. I don't think we can expect them to innately know how, either.

No, I don't think these thoughts are completely unique: I'm sure many others have realized and written about this idea. But, I think that there is an assumption that students know how to use computers and just choose to constatnly check facebook or twitter and not do their work. Instead, I think if teachers engage students on these types of social technology platforms, and model for students how these things can be used for real learning (that part is key), maybe students will shift from using technology as a distraction towards truly engaging in learning on platforms they are comfortable and knowledgeable in.

Just some thoughts for today. I hope to continue writing about this, and thinking about easy ways to integrate technology into effective learning.

Until next time, whenever that may be. :)

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