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Activity: Prioritising Work

Time Allocated: 60 minutes

Activity Aim: Develop skills to prioritise work and accurately estimate the length of time it will take to complete work.

Instructions: Ask learners to bring a list of their assignments to the tutorial. The assignment list should include an assignment brief so that the learner can assess the work load for each task and predict how long it will take to complete.

1. Divide learners into groups of four and ask each group to pick three assignments to discuss. Give learners twenty minutes to discuss the following questions (for each of the three assignments) with their group.

How long will it take to carry out research for the assignment?
How much time should be allocated for writing/typing the assignment?
How long will it take to proof read the finished assignment?

2. After the group discussion, ask the groups to nominate a person to feedback (in 2-3 minutes) to the class how they would approach completing one of the three assignments and the reasons behind their approach. Clarify/discuss feedback.
3. Introduce the grid below to the learners. Explain that the assignment start date will be determined by how long it will take to complete the assignment and the assignment deadline. They do not need to complete the priority column at this stage.
4. Provide the learners with ten minutes to complete the grid below for the three assignments they discussed as a group. Obviously they do not need to complete actual time taken at this stage.
5. Inform learners that they need to complete the grid for all of their assignments in their own time. Explain that the priority column can be completed once they have set a start date for all of the assignments. Explain that the assignment with the earliest start date is priority number one, the next start date is priority two and so on.
6. Ask the learners to make a note of the actual time taken to complete each assignment on the grid so that it can be discussed at a later date.

 

Assignment Title	Time allocated for research	Time allocated for writing and typing	Time allocated for proof reading	Total Time allocated to the assignment	Assignment Deadline	When do I need to start the assignment	Priority	Actual time taken to complete the assignment

Post Tutorial Evaluation

Set a tutorial date to for a short post tutorial discussion shortly after learners have completed their first assignment. During this discussion compare/discuss the actual time taken to complete the first assignment against the time predicted by the learner. Discuss lessons learnt and how they impact on future time management activities. Based on the review ask learners to amend their work priority grid. If necessary set periodic reviews of the work priority grid/assignment completion progress.