Pittsburgh Arts, Regional Theatre, New Work, Producing, Copyright, Labor Unions,
New Products, Coping Skills, J-O-Bs...
Theatre industry news, University & School of Drama Announcements, plus occasional course support for
Carnegie Mellon School of Drama Faculty, Staff, Students, and Alumni.
This presentation is really similar to a lecture with Joe Pino in Metaskills. Joe discussed many of the points that the presentation brought to light. Something that the presentation brought to my attention was how little work gets done in a period of time leading up to a big event or meeting. This is definitely true. Even if I have crew at night, and have two hours to work between the end of class and the start of crew, I always find it very difficult to accomplish anything in that time period. Really, I could be utilizing that time to get some work done, but I rarely ever do. Instead, I find it to be most effective to work for long periods of time. This also has to do with the nature of my homework, like drafting. Regardless, this presentation brings up some really great points that many people in my generation probably don't even think about at all.
I feel like a lot of these slides contradict each other. For example, saying we're always more focused and productive when there's limited time, and then saying that you should designate time to procrastinate seems to me to fight each other. I also disagree that more work hours don't necessarily mean more work gets done. While it's true that your tasks often expand to fill the time allotted for them, if you are given more work hours, you should make the best of them. Most of these slides are just pointing out ways to better manage your time. However, your time is never just yours. There are meetings and classes and group presentations that all need to be accomplished with other people. Therefore, you should buckle down and focus to get your work done in the time you have that belongs to you.
Like Jess Bergson said I also have trouble using that two hour window before crew effectively... I have found the best use of that time is to sleep. I am then rested and alert for crew and then have energy after to work on hw. I also think some of the slides contradicted themselves but some stuck out to me. I think the most important is to not waste time before meetings. I think that this time can't effectively be used unless you are putting say the finishing touches on a presentation or finishing memorizing something.
Time management is definitely key. I think the slide I agreed most with was the one regarding multitasking. Personally, I find that while multitasking may make me feel like I am getting more work done, I really am being much less productive than I could be if I just focused on one thing. I'm not talking about multitasking in the sense of listening to music and writing an essay at the same time. Rather, I'm talking about trying to read a play while also answering every email and text you get, or jumping from project to project. I find that if I work on single tasks from start to finish in one sitting, or get as much done as possible, I feel much more accomplished than if I start every project I have and only get a tiny bit done on each.
I have to agree with Jess Bertollo about work hours vs productivity. The key to having more time to work is to make sure you have things to do in that time because yes when someone is given more time to get a task done they ill inevitably take more time to get the task done. When more time is given more tasks must be established to use the time.
Yes, I think a couple slides contradict each other when they are all in context. But if taken separately, I think they give good advice. For example, taking a break sometimes. I know that after working for several hours on end I feel a little burned out and I find it refreshing to take a small break so my mind is a little more receptive to the next chunk of work. I also agree with what they said about the best way to start working. Many project, if taken a little bit at a time, become less ominous. Then again, sometimes you really do just have to sit down and work for long periods of time. Just be very realistic about what can and should get done in that time.
Most of this was really just common sense. Granted it was the type of common sense that no one really listens to. The part that stuck out to me most though, was what he said about it being hard to work when you have somewhere to be in a few hours. I find this to be true, since often when you sit down to do a large project it take some time to really get into the grove and by the time your really working well its time to get up and leave and you have to start the process all over agin when you get back. Personally I have had this problem and found that the best solution is to work on something like getting some reading out of the way that you can just pick right up and then set right down with out it hindering the work you do in the middle at all. I also really agree with what he says about being "in the zone" if you are just not in a mental place to get a bunch of work done, don't. Do something else in your life, like laundry or personal things that still need to get done but are maybe more fun or dont require as much thinking. Because if you try to work at times like that you will end up accomplishing nothing.
Oh boy does your day fill up. Unfortunately, what I've found lately, is that even if you plan and allocate time for working - that a chunk of time fills up. Sometimes what is important is to not only schedule particular time to work, but also to hide. Find a secluded place where the people that come to talk to you don't know about.
Another thing to keep in mind is that sometimes the things that pop up and seem like distractions, can be productive. Especially as a manager, running around solving tiny problems can be your job. It's just getting around to that class paper you need to write that can be difficult.
I feel like everytime i read one of these i find my self saying " i already know all of this". Everytime i read one of these articles about better time managment theyre just telling you exacly what you already know/ wish you were doing. but they never do a good job on teaching you just HOW to do it. I know my personal time managment skills are poor and i know all of the tricks to be happier and more effective. I just have no idea how to transition from my current schedual to a new one. I also completely agree with JEss in that alot of the slides contradict.
Like every other time management article out there, this one is moderately interesting. It's always nice to see what others think the best way to make the most of the time we are given is. However, I was initially turned off from these slides by the title. I am not a fan of the current trend of sticking "wish I'd known at 20" at the end of titles. I understand that it's a hook to draw in the younger crowd, but it's also a little bit insulting. It insinuates that 20 year olds are all just dumb and don't know anything about anything. Much like any other age, there is a range of intelligence in all areas. I think it's important to stop making everything about age and start making more things about maturity. It's not about a number of years, it's about the quality and depth of experience.
I don't get the graphic on slide 7, but I agree with the text. Case in point, I usually only give myself about an hour and a half, from 4:30 to 6, to do these comments. A couple of times I've tried to do them more piecemeal, one a day or at least a couple over the weekend. The truth is those are almost always my worst work. For me, and I don't think this applies to everyone, writing is a sprint, and I respond best to the starting gun and a short track, rather than just getting to that next telephone pole with no end in sight. This slide, and re-iterated in slide 10, "More work hours doesn't mean more productivity," and 15, "Procrastinate between intense sprints of work," pretty much describes my working style. I really like the idea proposed in 16, "Break the unreasonable down into reasonable chunks," and I think that works especially well if you can then, as slide 19 suggests, "Break tasks into hour increments." It's like the research in decision theory that finds people are less afraid of making predictions about possible outcomes when the final outcome can be bracketed into several smaller outcomes, like a NCAA basketball bracket. While predicting a single final winner out of 64 seems impossible, predicting an outcome between any of the two teams in any one contest seems easy. In this way each small task leads to a cumulative outcome. I think this theory can be applied as well to how we think of the management of complex projects.
11 comments:
This presentation is really similar to a lecture with Joe Pino in Metaskills. Joe discussed many of the points that the presentation brought to light. Something that the presentation brought to my attention was how little work gets done in a period of time leading up to a big event or meeting. This is definitely true. Even if I have crew at night, and have two hours to work between the end of class and the start of crew, I always find it very difficult to accomplish anything in that time period. Really, I could be utilizing that time to get some work done, but I rarely ever do. Instead, I find it to be most effective to work for long periods of time. This also has to do with the nature of my homework, like drafting. Regardless, this presentation brings up some really great points that many people in my generation probably don't even think about at all.
I feel like a lot of these slides contradict each other. For example, saying we're always more focused and productive when there's limited time, and then saying that you should designate time to procrastinate seems to me to fight each other. I also disagree that more work hours don't necessarily mean more work gets done. While it's true that your tasks often expand to fill the time allotted for them, if you are given more work hours, you should make the best of them. Most of these slides are just pointing out ways to better manage your time. However, your time is never just yours. There are meetings and classes and group presentations that all need to be accomplished with other people. Therefore, you should buckle down and focus to get your work done in the time you have that belongs to you.
Like Jess Bergson said I also have trouble using that two hour window before crew effectively... I have found the best use of that time is to sleep. I am then rested and alert for crew and then have energy after to work on hw. I also think some of the slides contradicted themselves but some stuck out to me. I think the most important is to not waste time before meetings. I think that this time can't effectively be used unless you are putting say the finishing touches on a presentation or finishing memorizing something.
Time management is definitely key. I think the slide I agreed most with was the one regarding multitasking. Personally, I find that while multitasking may make me feel like I am getting more work done, I really am being much less productive than I could be if I just focused on one thing. I'm not talking about multitasking in the sense of listening to music and writing an essay at the same time. Rather, I'm talking about trying to read a play while also answering every email and text you get, or jumping from project to project. I find that if I work on single tasks from start to finish in one sitting, or get as much done as possible, I feel much more accomplished than if I start every project I have and only get a tiny bit done on each.
I have to agree with Jess Bertollo about work hours vs productivity. The key to having more time to work is to make sure you have things to do in that time because yes when someone is given more time to get a task done they ill inevitably take more time to get the task done. When more time is given more tasks must be established to use the time.
Yes, I think a couple slides contradict each other when they are all in context. But if taken separately, I think they give good advice. For example, taking a break sometimes. I know that after working for several hours on end I feel a little burned out and I find it refreshing to take a small break so my mind is a little more receptive to the next chunk of work. I also agree with what they said about the best way to start working. Many project, if taken a little bit at a time, become less ominous. Then again, sometimes you really do just have to sit down and work for long periods of time. Just be very realistic about what can and should get done in that time.
Most of this was really just common sense. Granted it was the type of common sense that no one really listens to. The part that stuck out to me most though, was what he said about it being hard to work when you have somewhere to be in a few hours. I find this to be true, since often when you sit down to do a large project it take some time to really get into the grove and by the time your really working well its time to get up and leave and you have to start the process all over agin when you get back. Personally I have had this problem and found that the best solution is to work on something like getting some reading out of the way that you can just pick right up and then set right down with out it hindering the work you do in the middle at all. I also really agree with what he says about being "in the zone" if you are just not in a mental place to get a bunch of work done, don't. Do something else in your life, like laundry or personal things that still need to get done but are maybe more fun or dont require as much thinking. Because if you try to work at times like that you will end up accomplishing nothing.
Oh boy does your day fill up. Unfortunately, what I've found lately, is that even if you plan and allocate time for working - that a chunk of time fills up. Sometimes what is important is to not only schedule particular time to work, but also to hide. Find a secluded place where the people that come to talk to you don't know about.
Another thing to keep in mind is that sometimes the things that pop up and seem like distractions, can be productive. Especially as a manager, running around solving tiny problems can be your job. It's just getting around to that class paper you need to write that can be difficult.
I feel like everytime i read one of these i find my self saying " i already know all of this". Everytime i read one of these articles about better time managment theyre just telling you exacly what you already know/ wish you were doing. but they never do a good job on teaching you just HOW to do it. I know my personal time managment skills are poor and i know all of the tricks to be happier and more effective. I just have no idea how to transition from my current schedual to a new one. I also completely agree with JEss in that alot of the slides contradict.
Like every other time management article out there, this one is moderately interesting. It's always nice to see what others think the best way to make the most of the time we are given is. However, I was initially turned off from these slides by the title. I am not a fan of the current trend of sticking "wish I'd known at 20" at the end of titles. I understand that it's a hook to draw in the younger crowd, but it's also a little bit insulting. It insinuates that 20 year olds are all just dumb and don't know anything about anything. Much like any other age, there is a range of intelligence in all areas. I think it's important to stop making everything about age and start making more things about maturity. It's not about a number of years, it's about the quality and depth of experience.
I don't get the graphic on slide 7, but I agree with the text. Case in point, I usually only give myself about an hour and a half, from 4:30 to 6, to do these comments. A couple of times I've tried to do them more piecemeal, one a day or at least a couple over the weekend. The truth is those are almost always my worst work. For me, and I don't think this applies to everyone, writing is a sprint, and I respond best to the starting gun and a short track, rather than just getting to that next telephone pole with no end in sight. This slide, and re-iterated in slide 10, "More work hours doesn't mean more productivity," and 15, "Procrastinate between intense sprints of work," pretty much describes my working style. I really like the idea proposed in 16, "Break the unreasonable down into reasonable chunks," and I think that works especially well if you can then, as slide 19 suggests, "Break tasks into hour increments." It's like the research in decision theory that finds people are less afraid of making predictions about possible outcomes when the final outcome can be bracketed into several smaller outcomes, like a NCAA basketball bracket. While predicting a single final winner out of 64 seems impossible, predicting an outcome between any of the two teams in any one contest seems easy. In this way each small task leads to a cumulative outcome. I think this theory can be applied as well to how we think of the management of complex projects.
Post a Comment