Task Tracking
By: Emily Bottegal
I distinctly remember walking into Geology class one morning during my freshman year in college ready to take notes, but instead of a lecture, I was handed a Blue Book and a midterm. I had absolutely no idea that I even had a midterm in this class, let alone, that morning. The class was from 8:00-8:50am, and I would never describe myself as a “morning person”, so there was no quick thinking or even a chance to panic. I just sat there, took the test, and walked back to my dorm wondering if they were going to make me retake Geology again next semester (which sounded miserable since I had no interest in rocks in the first place). I’m sure the professor told us we were having a midterm at some point, but again, the not-so-morning-person I was, I missed a few of those early morning lectures. There were over 200 students in that class, how did everyone else know?
As I look back at my college experience, I wondered how I knew to get any work done. We didn’t use BlackBoard, Canvas, or any other special portal to post assignments. Of course my professors reviewed their syllabus, but how was I supposed to know at 17 years old, those papers were my lifeline?
Assignment tracking and syllabus reviewing are two skills I find to be essential for not just our clients in higher education, but clients across all grades and ages. No matter how amazing your memory is, writing (or typing) your assignments or tasks down is essential to being successful. For students, use your portal as a guide to write down your homework and upcoming assessments. For professionals, use a to-do list to write down what tasks you need to get done for the day or the week. As you complete each task, cross it off your list. This small act actually helps you become more productive!
Below are some great resources and tools to help you track work:
Planner- Even though many of us are still virtually learning and working, a planner is incredibly helpful to stay organized and provides a central place to write work down. Try a planner that has both a 30-day calendar and space to write down specific assignments each day.
A Notecard or Sticky Note- If planner’s aren’t your thing, try using a sticky note or a notecard to write your assignments or tasks down each day. Use a new card or note each day, and make sure your card is completely crossed off before tossing.
Whiteboard- This is a wonderful tool for clients to use to stay organized and track their assignments. The great thing about a whiteboard is that you can write things down for the future, and they won’t get lost or overlooked like they could with other tools. Stimulate your brain and use different colors. You can also try circling the task you want to prioritize to help with focus and motivation.
Calendar- Calendars are a very effective tool to help clients visualize what is on their schedule and what they have coming up. For students that might be a test or long-term project. For professionals, maybe that is a grant deadline or a hearing. This helps us track what work we have to complete leading up to those big events. Side-tip: try mapping out your calendar as far in advance as you can. With college students, we review their syllabus at the beginning of the semester, and write down all dates we know of- like midterms/finals or paper due dates.
Apps- There are a number of apps clients can download to help track assignments and tasks. Different apps offer a variety of features, so do a little research before you commit to one. Some suggestions are: Remember The Milk, MyHomeworkApp, Evernote, Google Calendar, and Google Tasks. Some apps have great reminder alerts and can sync between users (another family member) or even your calendars.
In the world of virtual learning, checking your email and school’s portal throughout the day is vital. Maybe even setting reminders for once or twice a day to make sure it gets done. Make sure you are not just checking the ToDo List tab or Upcoming Assignments tab, but also each individual classroom’s page. Sometimes teachers forget to add due dates or mark them due at the end of the semester, so students don’t see them until much later.
Getting into the routine of writing things down is a great first step to staying on top of work and staying organized. Choose a method and give it a few weeks to see how it goes. If you find you move around a lot and need a method that is more mover-friendly, try a sticky note or even an app. If you find you get distracted on your phone pretty easily, avoid those apps and stick to the old fashion way of writing things down. Whatever the method, stop relying on your brain to remember everything, and be prepared for that next midterm!