Time Management

The board with the new calendar. 

You might even recognize some of the business cards...they're left-overs from Christmas! 

Until I found myself grading papers every day during the last semester, I had thought I was fairly good at time management. This semester, I want to be better prepared. I have to be better prepared for myself and to be better for my students. 

A long time ago--it's probably been like 20 years or more--I read that it takes only three weeks to form any habit--good, bad, or indifferent.  That seemed simple enough back then and still does now. Three weeks to form any habit. So if I want to make a lifestyle change, it's going to take me three weeks for it to become habit. 

Hang with me here--I'm going to ramble. Or skip on down if you are in a hurry! :D

I wanted to reduce my need for sugar because of my health issues. So it's been two weeks since I've quit taking any sugar in my coffee or hot teas. I have one more week to go before it becomes habit. I wanted to reduce the use of grains and simple carbohydrates in my diet. Ok--I've floundered there. I no longer have cereal for breakfast--took me three weeks for that to become a habit, but the breads have me dithering. That's because I LIKE breads. I made this wonderful dinner roll/bread off based off Pioneer Woman's Rosemary-Onion Bread with Blue Cheese Topping. I used jalapenos in the bread mix, with the caramelized onions and white cheddar cheese for the toppings. It's wonderful with homemade soup and sinfully delicious and completely bad for someone trying to cut breads out of her diet! 

I figured I have two weeks in the beginning of the semester before the hard work comes in. The first two weeks are not routine as students drop in and out of classes. That two weeks leaves me with one more week of forming new habits.  

I've made my syllabus for each class that includes a course calendar. To help me not get too bogged down with papers and assignments, I made a separate calendar that has all the classes and due dates for each class. Now I can tell at a glance which notes need to be posted, which class has priority in the grading schedule, and which Tuesday nights and Saturday mornings need me in chat sessions with my students.  It's on my board above my desk, along side the calendar my cousins make every year. 
  
It means more work for in the beginning but hopefully, it will be less of a strain in the long run for my students. For myself.

 Before the calendar...

Yes, I love purple and unicorns...the banner was a gift from my son and his aunt