Problem Solving

This week we focused on problem solving. For me, the biggest challenge each week is knowing what work is due for what class. I always seem to mix up, confuse, or forget specific dates important things are due. I tend to be disorganized, but I have been looking for structure. So this week I decided to try Ranking Priorities in two of my classes. I chose to Rank Priorities for a number of reasons. First of all, I am a visual learner so being able to a visual reminder of what I must do was very helpful. Also, since I am a kinesthetic learner as well, I made sure that I could actively use my list by checking off each task as I completed it.

The first class I used Ranking Priorities for was CLS 105. I found this strategy very useful in this class because I had a lot of work that I needed to get done. Since I get overwhelmed easily, the ranking of each task helped me a lot because I knew exactly which tasks I had to accomplish before the others. I was able to see the things on my list that were necessary to complete, as well as see the things I didn't have to worry about. After I ranked each of my tasks on my list, I broke them up in to two groups, A and B, and then ranked them within the groups. I also added a finished column where I could add a check if I had that task complete. Adding the check also helped me because it gave me a visual reminder of which assignments I had completed and which assignments still needed to be done. Because CLS is my class with the heaviest amount of HW, I know that using Ranking Priorities in the future will benefit me greatly. I suggest using this strategy in any class with a lot of work because it is a great way to visually remind yourself what is due and what is necessary to complete, and what isn't.

I also tried Ranking Priorities for PSY 205. I found it worked wonderfully in this course as well. I thought about other problem solving strategies I could have tried in this course such as COST, but I realized that I didn't have a specific problem that needed to be fixed that Ranking Priorities didn't already! What is great about Ranking Priorities is that it shows your exactly what needs to be done and when. It also doesn't take a lot of time to do, and it works for classes with all different amounts of work. PSY 205 may not have a lot of work, but there are still things that I have to accomplish each week, even if it may be just studying. All around I think ranking priorities can work for any class and really recommend it for students who are easily overwhelmed, such as myself.