Getting Organized!

I cannot believe I am already my last tech assignment! It has been extremely useful experimenting with different strategies for different classes in order to see what works for me and what does not. This week we were allowed to pick the strategies we wanted to use and which ones were more effective for us. Not only is this my birthday weekend, but also the weekend before the last week of classes. I have a lot of work that needs to get done and a lot of studying to do. In order to get ahead and stay organized I chose to "Ranking My Priorities" and "Chunking the Task." These were both two ways to get ahead and stay ahead. I also chose these strategies because they have worked for me in the past.

The first strategy is "Ranking My Priorities." Since this is my birthday weekend, I do not want to spend a large majority of it doing work that needs to get done. That is why I ranked my priorities to see what needs to be done by Monday. In order to rank the tasks, you split everything into three categories; A-absolutely essential, B- important, and C-optional. Since it is so close to finals, I have no optional work and everything must be done, yet I have longer amounts of times for some tasks.

(Ranking Priorities For All Classes Shown Above)

The first step in this task was writing everything I needed to do for each class. As one can see, I do not have too much work left, just large assignments and lots of studying. I am a visual learner and to see what I need to do, by when, and for what class was very helpful. In addition, I made each class a different color to organize them further. I was able to see what needs to be done now such as my tech assuagement and my project for CLS. I knew that if I could complete these two assignment on Friday afternoon, I would be able to slowly focus on my paper all weekend therefore only having to work for about an hour on my actual birthday! Since I made this chart on Thursday, I completed my project at night and worked on my tech assignment during the day. I was able to stay ahead and organized. In addition, I began writing my paper on Tuesday and was able to get three pages out of seven done. Therefore I am already ahead since my homework for this weekend is to begin my draft. To stay even more ahead, I have booked an appointment at the Writing Center for Wednesday. My goal is to have my paper finished before the meeting. The last two tasks are to study for my math and philosophy final. Since I have more time for those, I put them in the category important. That way if I have extra time on Sunday to work on them I will. Yet, they are not due for Monday, which is why my major focus is on my paper. By seeing this chart, I am able to mentally organize myself further. I can see what needs to be and how important that task is. For example, the CLS project is due for extra credit today at 4:30. I am writing this blog now and then plan to drop it off. That also gives me motivation to complete this blog and not procrastinate because I want those five extra points! Ranking Priorities is a great way to get organized especially during a busy weekend and busy time in the semester!

In addition, I have used the second strategy "Chunking the Task." This method allows you to see what to need to do and two ways to complete it. Once again, I am a visual learner and this is great for me. Based on how much time I have available and what mood I am in, I can pick the option that works best for me.

(Chunking The Task for all classes shown above)

For Chunking the Task, I took my major assignments left. I completed this chart on Friday morning after my CLS 105 project was due. Luckily I then had less work to fill in. I addressed my WRT 105 paper first because it is my largest assignment. My two options are to complete a page of the paper at a time (I would be done around Tuesday since I already have three pages complete) or to sit and do it all in one time period. I believe I will work a little each day. This is because it would be more useful to work for a medium amount of time each day rather than cram the words into paragraphs the night before. This way also ensures me that I will be able to bring it to the writing center and get it checked. The next assignment was this tech. When I woke up to complete this chart, I did not want to begin writing the blog, yet I knew it was the correct thing to do. I knew that I could wait until Sunday, but it would be on my mind. So I wrote it Friday, and now I will be done with CLS for the weekend! It is a great feeling to know I have finished all my work for one class! The last issue I addressed was studying for my MAT final. I will further address this issue Sunday afternoon after I see how much of my paper I have completed. It is good to have options because I never know what might come up. My paper is know my major priority and I might be able to get it all done by Sunday, but I do not know. That is why this is so effective because I have multiple options to complete my tasks.

Both these strategies were very effective because they showed me what I needed to do, how important each task was, and my possible options for each task. Ranking Priorities showed me exactly what I needed to do and how important it was. Chunking the Tasks took it a step further and showed me possible options to completing the assingments. These two strategies worked hand in hand and were very beneficial to me. I took action by organizing and now I feel more calm.In this stressful time, they allow me to see clearly what to do by when and the ways I can do it! These are two strategies I will continue to use even after this semester because I am a visual learner and I need to be organized. Both of these assignments do that for me. Overall, I feel these were both very beneficial. In addition, I cannot believe this is my last blog. It has been fun trying new experiments and seeing what works for me! I will miss you Team Orange!