INNOVATIVE LEARNER

Have you ever wondered how it is that some people seem to have enough time to do everything that they want to, whereas others are always rushing from task to task, and never seem to finish anything? Is it just that the former have less to do? No, it’s much more likely that they are using their time more effectively and practicing good time management skills. Time management is not very difficult as a concept, but it’s surprisingly hard to do in practice. It requires the investment of a little time upfront to prioritize and organize you. But once done, you will find that with minor tweaks, your day, and indeed your week and month, fall into place in an orderly fashion, with time for everything you need to do. The Key to Good Time Management is to understand the difference between Urgent and Important ‘Urgent’ tasks demand your immediate attention, but whether you actually give them that attention may or may not matter. 'Important' tasks matter and not doing them ma...

How often have you said to yourself ‘I really need to get organized?’ and then failed to do so? It’s a common problem. Poor organization usually means less productivity and missed opportunities and can lead to increased procrastination and stress. Fortunately, there are a few simple things that you can do that will help you to ensure that you get organized, and stay that way. And what’s even better is that these skills can be used at home or at work, and are equally useful in both. Organizing skills are really a combination of Time Management and Self-Motivation. But if that sounds a bit daunting, it’s probably best to consider organization in terms of a series of steps that you can take. 1. Be clear about what you need to do. If you’re one of those people, like most of us, who struggles to remember just what you’ve agreed to do or what you wanted to do if you had enough time, then keep a list. If one list is not enough, then keep several. Some people find t...

Being in groups is part of everyday life and many of us will belong to a wide range of groups, for example: family groups, social groups, sports groups, committees, etc. This article concentrates on groups that have been specially formed to fulfill some purpose, or groups that are a drawing together of people with shared experience. This type of group is often also referred to as a team. It defines groups and explains some of the issues and challenges of working in a group. It explains the Group Life-Cycle, and how groups can change over time. This article builds on those, and sets out some of the specific skills that you may need when working in a group or a team. Key Team Roles: Shaper – drives work forward and gets things done, has a clear idea of the desired direction of travel; Implementer – also gets things done, looking for ways to turn talk into action and generate practical activity; Completer-Finisher – focuses on completing tasks, and tidying up all t...

Most people want to avoid conflict and potentially stressful situations – this is human nature. People often find it easier to avoid communicating something that they think is going to be controversial or bad, putting off the communication and letting the situation fester. A manager may hold off telling an employee that their standard of work is unsatisfactory. You may put off having that 'difficult' conversation with your partner, especially if it concerns some kind of wrongdoing, financial or emotional issues. A child may put off telling their parents that they are struggling with classes at school. Most people can think of times when they have put off having that ‘difficult’ conversation, most people will also recognize that putting off the difficult conversation alleviates short-term anxiety. However, constantly putting off difficult communication situations often leads to feelings of frustration, guilt, annoyance with oneself, anger, a reduction in self-co...