To many teachers, working from home and teaching online seem like the ideal. And I’ll be the first to admit there are numerous benefits. That said, teaching online can also be difficult – especially because life seems to be one big distraction.
As I’m typing this, I’m sitting in my home office. My children are home from school and playing in the front room while I finish up my workday. I have four devices on my desk – my work computer, my personal computer, my work phone, and my personal phone. Between my three children, three other devices besides the one I’m typing on, and the FedEx man dropping off a box of Christmas gifts, distractions and interruptions are high. Managing these distractions – especially when I have a class of 40 essays to grade – is an on-going battle for me as an online instructor.
Over the last five years, I’ve developed some skills to help manage the distractions:
1. Turn off the Internet –
Obviously, I can’t really turn off the Internet – I’m working in an online classroom! But I can avoid the distractions of the Internet by closing all other tabs. When I have a major task to complete, such as participating in a discussion forum or grading final papers, I find I am most successful and focused when I’m not glancing at the CNN headlines every 5 minutes.
2. No Social Media –
Working from home, my contact with the outside world is often limited. I often find myself working with my Facebook stream open on my personal computer. I like Facebook because it makes me feel like I’m still interacting with others while I’m sitting at my desk – but at the same time it can be a major distraction. It only takes a few clicks before I find myself lost in the rabbit hole that is the Internet.
3. Don’t Check Emails –
During my actual work hours I can’t turn off my work email – but I sometimes wish I could! I do find myself significantly more focused and successful at completing tasks in a timely manor if my personal email is not running. I’ve heard of others who turn off their phone as well but this isn’t an option for me – but could be added to the list for yourself or others.
4. Wake up Earlier –
When my house is quiet at 4 am, it’s easy to be focused and accomplish a significant amount of grading in a relatively short amount of time. This works for me because my children are not up for the day (no running into my office asking for a snack, tattling on a sibling, etc.) and because it’s not technically during work hours. I don’t need to have my email running, there is no one calling, and no visitors at the door. It’s the time of day when there are the least distractions for me – and therefore also the most productive time for me – when I can manage to roll myself out of bed. Find your most productive time and try to make it work for you.
5. Plan Your Day –
I’ve also found that a key to dealing with distractions for me is to plan my day around the inevitable. Before I stop working the night before, I make a list of all I hope to accomplish the following day. I divide the list up into the smallest chunks possible – both to be able to work in small chunks (leaving time for distractions and interruptions) and to be able to feel the satisfaction as I cross off each task. Planning my day in small bits instead of hoping for hours of distraction-free time is more realistic for my life.
Do you have issues with distractions when working online? What do you do to avoid them or manage them more effectively?
About the Author
Jamie Weitl is a WAHM teaching for several online universities and raising three precocious little ones. In her spare time she enjoys writing, baking, and running. For more info, see my Google Plus Profile.
