How To Prioritize The Schedule
Established on February 20, 2023
UI Design, Instructional Course Design
What Do We Do In 'TMT'?
Numerous students, irrespective of their full-time or part-time academic commitments, grapple with the ubiquitous challenge of time management. Ineffectively managing time often results in stress, failure to meet deadlines, and subpar academic achievements. Our team created a comprehensive Time Management Training (TMT) program designed to aid both full-time and part-time students in mastering the art of efficiently organizing their hectic routines. In this endeavor, we aim to acknowledge the shortcomings of conventional time management techniques and provide innovative and highly effective solutions to empower students in conquering these common challenges.
Have you been struggled with not able to complete tasks on time? Have you ever felt too busy and seemed unable to manage your schedules? No worries, we are here for you!
Early Brainstorming Phrase:
Target Audiences Planned in Research Phrase
The central emphasis of this course centers around individuals outlined below, encompassing a full-time student concurrently engaged in part-time employment, a full-time employee balancing their workload with part-time online courses, and a full-time student juggling both part-time jobs and familial responsibilities.
Needs and Problems Defined in Research Phrase
Since this is the early stage of our design, we have come up with the following needs and challenges of the users, including,
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Frustration due to time constraints.
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Under pressure to balance academic responsibilities with part-time employment.
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Coping with anxiety and struggling with everyday tasks.
Early Ideas on Learning Goals and Learning Objectives
Learning Goals
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​Maintain a continuing behavior on time management
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Fully aware of all deadlines
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Help them to find their LEFT time
Learning Objectives
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Learners will be able to identify their current time management challenges.
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Learners will learn how to prioritize tasks based on urgency and importance, and understand the consequences of not prioritizing tasks.
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Learners will be able to utilize the tools proposed by Oliver Burkeman ( Four Thousand Weeks, 2021) in future practices and construct an optimal solution for their issue.
Early Ideas on Context and Setting
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By the end of the course, learners will be able to learn a four-step daily framework (Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day, by Jake Knapp and John Zeratatsky) and use this technique to systematically design/ manage their times.
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By the end of the course, learners will be able to apply the tools (provided in Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman) to construct a meaningful schedule.
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Students will also see examples of the unhelpful ways people have done to keep track of time( myths ), causing the failures.
Stakeholders
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Undergraduate NYU Students
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Full-Time Graduate NYU students
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Part-Time Graduate NYU students with a Part-Time Job
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Faculty members who taught in multiple programs or for multiples courses.
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Full-Time Employees. ( Single, unmarried)
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Full-Time Employees who need to take care of their family duties ( including kids’ educations etc.)
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Full-Time employees who want to take an online course to improve their skills in a specific area.
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Full-Time homemakers who are looking to manage their life better by balancing private time and time with family.
How Might We Questions In Early Stage
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Given grad students have a need to manage their work/study time and their personal life, how might we help them to gain easy access to a complete schedule?
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Given people who have the problem of identifying and bridging gaps, how might we help them by training them on a mindset to prioritize doing things that are more important to do?
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How can we help students find time for LEFT activities (Learn, Experiment, Fun, Technology)?
Need Assessment in Research Phrase
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Our learners might face Knowledge Gaps, Motivation gaps, and Environment gaps because they might be conscious that they are having issues managing their schedule and have been using ineffective methods. Thus, due to restrictions or limitations in changing the environment. This lack of changeability caused their anxiety, concerns, and ambiguity to make an effort to imagine their success.
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They need the right supplies/ frameworks/ methods to know what to do with the information. Such as how they might work more efficiently. What do we mean by time management training? We need to define measurable goals and achievable goals. In additionally, break down the steps we need to take to fill the gap.
Task Analysis in Research Phrase
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As instructional designers, we are currently in a similar position of the learners. This means we must collect information (equipment) from outside resources and develop skills from the experts before giving this lesson.
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Therefore, we decided to begin our research with the following books :
1) Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman;
2) Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky
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Learning Goal: By the end of the lesson, the learners will be able to manage their time better.
Screen Shots of How We Gather Ideas
Design Phrase:
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From the reading article resources, we have gathered three particular skills that may be helpful to apply as time management methods:
(Time Management Is About More Than Life Hacks (hbr.org))
1) Awareness: ‘thinking realistically about your time by understanding it is a limited resource.’ ( be mindful that there is only limited time to do specific tasks and structure a reasonable schedule)
2) Arrangement: ‘designing and organizing your goals, plans, schedules, and tasks to effectively use time.’ (prioritization / what have to be done prior)
3) Adaptation: ‘monitoring your use of time while performing activities, including adjusting to interruptions or changing priorities.’ (keep adjusting the schedule as needed. )
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Six tips that would help learners conduct good time management habits:
(6 Time Management Tips to Boost Your Productivity | Coursera)
1) Conduct a time audit, and create a visual map of approximate hours you have spent on work, school, housework, chores, commute, social media, and leisure activities. Always reflect on how you spend your time.
2) Use the Eisenhower Matrix to set your priorities. Distinguish tasks by the importance of completing them ( important, not important, urgent, not urgent) and prioritize what needs to be done first.
3) Chunk your time. Setting limited time ( set up a 25mins timer for each task+ and 5 mins of break time. After concentrating like this for four pomodoros/ cycles (highly effective concentration and relieves mental fatigue), the learners may take a 15 - 30 min break to relax their brains.
4) Focus on one thing at a time. Although people try to multitask to achieve effectiveness, however, it ends up failing the tasks. Studies found that too many things being done simultaneously will impact one’s cognitive ability, making dissatisfaction unproductive during the process. It is more important to complete one task before starting another, which can also boost one’s confidentiality.
5) reward yourself. A reward can motivate them to adopt good time management habits. It can be giving yourself a short break, offering a favorite snack, meditation, etc.
6) Apps to block out distractions, such as forest, stay focused, freedom, etc.by blocking you from using social media or touching your phone
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Real problems defined by James Clear in “Atomic Habits.”
1% better every day causes replicating good decisions. Meanwhile, repeating a 1% error, everyday causes people to keep replicating poor decisions, duplicating tiny mistakes, and rationalizing little excuses, which ultimately turn out to be toxic results.
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“Bad habits can cut you down just as easily as good habits can build you up” (18)
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He defines the main problem, “People make a few small changes, fail to see a tangible result, and decide to stop. ” (21)
>>> The Plateau of Latent Potential >>>
“ In order to make a meaningful difference, habits need to presort long enough to break through this plateau. ” (21)
>>> problem of have not yet crossed the Plateau of Latent Potential
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A Screenshot of Revised Learning Goals and Learning Objectives
Revised Task Analysis
Revised Learning Goal and Learning Objectives
Learning Goal
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Help students develop practical time management skills that will enable them to balance academic, work, and personal life.
Learning Objectives -
Learners will be able to practice time management methods as a daily routine.
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Learners will manage to prioritize the tasks from the most urgent to the least important.
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Learners will be able to apply a four-step daily framework proposed by Jake Knapp and John Zeratatsky. ( Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day, 2018 )
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Learners will be able to apply the tools proposed by Oliver Burkeman ( Four Thousand Weeks, 2021) in future practices and construct an optimal solution for their issue.
A Screenshot of How We Conduct The Strategy
Revised Content of the Course
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Motivational Storytelling
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This idea will include telling a story about how not being able to manage your time can impact your life negatively if you don’t use our Time management training. This will include Emotional Learning Design, Motivational storytelling, and activities like watching an explainer video that helps learners learn different time management techniques. Students will put to practice the techniques and skills in an assignment that includes them prioritizing day to day tasks, creating to do lists daily, managing their time, and setting reminders. Students will listen to the narration of the motivational story and then be able to give feedback after the training on their experience and how this training helped them.
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Give an example (with a clear goal provided ) and show them how to break down a goal/goals into detailed and manageable tasks.
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For instance, a guy aims to lose 25 pounds in 2 months. ( He sets the goal ) In order to achieve this goal, he needs to focus on building up the tasks that can help him to reach the goal. Let’s expect he is a complete beginner in the gym and has no prior nutrition knowledge.
Here are his options to break down into more detailed tasks:
1) save time by hiring a personal trainer who designs training sessions and dietary programs based on his available time during the week.
2) run 45 mins daily on the treadmill as the workout task and eat healthy by eating more proteins and veggies to build up muscles and burn fat.
3) Subscribe to a nutrition program online with pre-cooked meals and avoid unhealthy snacks.
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Here are just a few examples of the detailed tasks that can be done by the person in order to achieve the final goal. It can be changing and depending on the availability of the person, the financial background of him, and other elements. Practice breaking down goals into detailed tasks would help the learners to understand that manageable tasks are the key to success. There always come tasks for the goals.
We are considering if we provide an example and require the learner to practice on the skills, share their ideas, and/ or evaluate each other’s ideas. It may encourage and improve peer review skills and motivate meaningful learning experiences.
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LOGIC MODEL
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(I think the learning activities will lead to great results for our learners because this training management will give them hands-on experience in managing their time and techniques based on our readings that will take them to manage their time immediately. )
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Priority Matrix Template/ Priority Grid to practice identifying priorities and distractions.
The top left stands for things that need to be done; first, the top right stands for things that can be planned ahead, and the button left represents things that can be any distractions that may not be helpful to achieve the goals ( social media, messages, phone calls, etc.) Button right stands for things that will not help achieve academic goals. ( plan for spring break, plan for a date on the weekend, etc. )
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How Make Time Works, Four steps daily framework proposed by Jake Knapp and John Zeratatsky, P31-36 Please Wait for few Moments (oceanofpdf.com)
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The big idea is that design your time by choosing where to direct your attention!
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Step 1: Highlight a focal point, a single activity to prioritize before starting the day. ( ask yourself what is going to be the highlight of the day, and find what matters the most to you, it would put the learners in a “positive, proactive frame of mind.” >>> can be the most pressing thing that need to be done in the day.
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Step 2: Laser. Beat distractions affect us to reach our highlight. Learn how to adjust technology so you can find Laser mode.
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Step 3: Energize, how to recharge our brain with the body. Energize our brain with exercise, food, sleep, being in a quiet space, or/ and face-to-face time. ( many tactics to choose from)
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Step 4: Reflect. Adjust and improve the system. ( before bedtime, take a couple of minutes to take notes and reflect on what you would like to continue and what ones you may want to refine. What makes you joyful? And easy to continue protecting to achieve your goals and priorities and develop the skills. Which highlight brings me the most satisfaction and joy? >>> Motivate the habit of continuing the pratice. )
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RATIONALE
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Based on our findings, learners have a hard time being focused and are easily distracted by their cell phones. Our training will help learners be able to practice tips and techniques that will help them manage their time better. By motivating them and telling a compelling story that will help them understand why it is important to manage their time learners will be able to have a clear vision of what it is to manage their time effectively.
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WHAT LEARNING THEORY & L&T STRATEGIES AND WHY?
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Emotional Learning Design - this will be needed to positively influence them and help them get motivated to learn.
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Pratice on setting up goals and breaking them down into detailed tasks - practicing on their own motivates meaningful learning experiences. In addition, by provides an example with detailed explanations will help the learner have a better understanding and clear picture of how to do it and motivate in the long-term. ( four-steps framework)
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Pratice utilization of the Priority Grid - meaningful learning experiences.
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WHAT MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY AND WHY?
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Visual and Audio
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Cameras and Microphones
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Video and Sound Design Software
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Most of our learners may lack time to do the physical training and rather review the details of training on digital media. Video resources can help them to revisit the ideas through their phones and computers after a long period of time, it strengthens their memories of the techniques provided in the lesson.
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PROS/CONS & CONSIDERATIONS
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PROS:
We believe that students will engage through our storytelling and be able to connect since we know our target audience and we’ll be able to relate with them.
Practices make it better, we want to develop skills for our learners and the most direct way would be to provide examples and encourage them to take a step.
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CONS:
How to ensure the learners are interested and stay focused on our task for the whole time.
The learners might speed up on the video and accidentally skip parts of the important instructions/ techniques provided.
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QUESTIONS, THINGS YOU’RE WONDERING ABOUT?
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Should we break down the sections into different videos or collaborate the multiple ideas in a video? Which would be the most effective way to present information to the learners?
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A Screenshot of Logic Model
A Screenshot of The Learning Path
A Screenshot of Our Storyboard
A Screenshot of Final Plan
Results
We asked peers and potential users to test out the course and revised the course based on provided feedback, and we still used heuristic evaluation to evaluate the future improvements we can make for the course.
Visibility of the System Status
The users can track where they are within the system using the navigation tools on the left. Every Section was separated with 'continue to more contents' buttons and titled to remind the users where they are in the course.
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Match Between the System and the Real World
The scenarios used throughout the course were designed based on the concepts and objects that highly match the real world. For some specific sections, we provide additional materials for the users to download and practice independently.
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User Control and Freedom
Users can assess other lessons at any time throughout the lesson.
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Consistency and Standards
Every lesson includes a recap of critical terms of the sections and ends with interactivity, allowing users to review what they have learned and what may be missed.
Recoginition Rather than Recall
Every lesson was named with key terms of the sections and displayed on the left side of the webpage, allowing users to jump back and forth between lessons based on their needs.
A Screenshot of the Navigation Bar
Flexibility and Efficiency of Use
The users can jump back and forth between the sections by simply scrolling up or down the page, and some sections were divided with buttons of 'continue' as a reminder of new sections.
Help Users Recognise, Diagnose, and Recover from Errors
When the users are given a wrong answer to the interactivity sections, there are 'X' errors next to the incorrect selections and the 'V' signal next to the correct ones with detailed explanations.
What Improvements Can We Make?
Error Prevention
We did not design error notifications for possible situations, such as if the users have unstable internet connections, there should be a pop-up window that reminds users of the errors or issues so they could find the possible solutions.
Aesthetic and Minimalist design
Since we want the course to be more diverse and exciting, we included many interactivities and third-party resources. However, it may affect the minimalist design of the lessons.
Help and Documentations
There isn't a help tool on the site for the users where they can ask questions regarding technical issues, such as being unable to redirect to another link or download the files provided in the course.
Want To Access The Course? Click On The Image Below and Redirect To The Course Page.
