Life Of E's

Although most faculty use many high tech innovations in the classroom, let’s not forget the necessity for some of the basic accoutrements. After a couple of years of hearing frequent requests for some basic office supplies and also recognizing that there were times I wished I had some sticky notes or whiteboard markers in a [...]

Tags: college, Professors, Teaching, Toolkit

One of my “colleagues” got very angry with me one day (we taught courses that tended to share the same students). He said, “Students don’t put out much effort in my class to get their assignments done because they say they have so much work to do for your class. You convince them that what [...]

Tags: college, grades, Professors, school, students, Teaching

Over the years, I got smarter about keeping up with my students and their assignments. Once I figured out that numbers were easier – and faster – for recording grades and returning student work, I refined my system. Here are ten tips to help you if you are ready to do the same.     [...]

Tags: assignments, college, grades, Professors, students, Teaching

Delegating is an essential part of being productive both at home and at work. There are certainly tasks that I am sure you have done where you asked yourself “did I earn a master’s degree to qualify me to stuff these envelopes?” Other times, you wonder, “Hmmm….why am I doing this when a machine can [...]

Tags: delegate, distractions, Productivity, time, tips, work

To be productive as a writer, you need to actually write. I know this doesn’t come as a shock, yet I also know how easy it is to let other tasks, projects, people, or any number of other distractions take us away from our writing. Consider using the following words to describe your writing time [...]

Tags: Productivity, Professors, success, tips, work, writing

Here is a question asked by one our the Life of E’s members. Q.What “end of the day/debriefing” strategies do you recommend?  As a follow-up to that question, what do you recommend doing when you are finished teaching a class (a single-day lesson)?  I mean end of class techniques to bring closure to the class [...]

Tags: educators, feedback, Professors, teaching tools

There are a variety of ways that your office, workspace (and home) end up partially cluttered with things that belong somewhere else (or to SOMEONE else). You can do some major de-cluttering just by designating a box or some other type of container labeled “belongs elsewhere.” Depending on your situation, this could be a rather [...]

Tags: clean-up, clutter, cluttered, relocating

Your desk should be the place that simply works (and works simply) for you. It shouldn’t be a place of distraction or entertainment. If you don’t feel productive, schedule a Saturday or off-work day (give yourself a productivity furlough day) to give yourself a mini-makeover. If you spend money, save the receipts for tax time. [...]

Tags: clutter, distractions, focus, Productivity, tips, work, writing

As a leader, there are certain qualities and characteristics of lions that you might find useful to consider – for yourself and your “pride.” Let us just take a few minutes to explore these and as with all metaphors, we aren’t going to beat this one to death. 1. Protective You don’t have to watch [...]

Tags: boss, employer, leader, leaders, leadership, lion, team, team members, teamwork

Faculty members don’t get behind in their grading until after the semester gets started, however there are distinct measures you can take BEFORE the semester gets started that will help you avoid getting behind. 1. Make sure that you have a planner (either paper or digital) that shows all of your major commitments throughout the [...]

Tags: grading, homework, paper, Productivity, professor, school, student, teach, teacher, Teaching, tips, tricks, writing