“FacDev Notes” - AY 2010-2011 monthly faculty development emails:
July 2010: 5 Rules for an Effective "Distance Dialogue" in Today's Virtual Workplace
August 2010: How to Handle Criticism: Accepting feedback with good grace
September 2010: Five Reminders for Boosting Your Effectiveness as a Teacher
October 2010: 10 Ways to Use Online Videos
November 2010: Writing Effective Goals and Objectives for Learning
March 2011: Tips
for Effective Use of Visual Aids
1.
Establish the Purpose
and Importance Up Front
Sometimes, especially if people are distant from one
another, different needs, agendas, concerns, or problems can create multiple
expectations. To avoid this obstacle, everyone needs to be clear about why the
discussion is taking place and why it is important.
2.
Listen!
Some distance communication tools present obstacles to
open, interactive communication. In a face-to-face meeting you may notice
someone’s confusion or desire to make a comment
3.
Avoid Monologues
The tendency to “tell” can be exaggerated by the technology
being used and the reluctance of dispersed participants to speak up as readily
as they would in a face-to-face discussion. Therefore, you’ll need to
carefully avoid the “monologue trap” by clearly and frequently inviting
interaction and input by others.
4.
Summarize Often and
Confirm Understanding
This gives you the opportunity to review what’s been
discussed and decided. You can also clear up any misunderstandings in the
moment. Do this periodically throughout a virtual interaction, and also at the
end.
5.
Agree on Actions /
Follow-Up
A specific effort to confirm agreements and follow-up
activities helps you avoid confusion about who’s doing what by when. Depending
upon the nature of the interaction, the time urgency, and the complexity of the
situation, it may be helpful to also follow up with a summary of actions by memo
or e-mail. We all know how easy it is to forget what we discussed with
someone; so having a written record can save time and frustration in the future.
Source:
Walk The Talk:
Our mission at
www.WalkTheTalk.com
is both simple and straightforward: to provide you and your organization with
high-impact resources for your personal and professional success. They
offer hundreds of tactical and practical tools… each designed to inspire,
inform, and most important, take you to higher levels of skills and confidence.
August 2010: How to Handle Criticism: Accepting feedback with good grace
There are important differences in how you
should respond to fair and unfair criticism, so you need to be able to tell them
apart.
Fair criticism is given in a
respectful, non-threatening way. It includes factual statements, and focuses on
actions to be taken, rather than on the person responsible for them. For
example, your boss might say to you after a presentation, "Your slides weren't
as effective as they could have been. If you'd had less text on them, people
would have listened more to you, instead of just trying to read your slides.
Some extra pictures would make it more interesting next time, too."
Adjust your Attitude: Start by
looking at criticism as an
opportunity
to learn and do better. The person offering the feedback is usually keen for
you to improve your performance. You can make sure that the conversation starts
on the right note by approaching the situation with an open mind, and by having
a sense of gratitude that someone's taking the time to help you. Resist
the temptation to be defensive!
Disconnect: It's important to
realize that fair criticism is about something you've done or said, not about
you personally. Try to disconnect your personal feelings from the criticism, so
that you can see the truth in what the other person's saying.
Really Listen: Make sure that
you actually listen to what is being said. It can be easy to just nod in
apparent agreement, while, in reality, you're busy thinking about what you're
going to say as soon as the other person has stopped talking. That isn't really
listening: you need to listen actively in order to understand just what it is
that they're saying.
Be
Thankful: After you've gained
perspective on the experience, thank the person for taking the time to give you
feedback. Many people feel uncomfortable giving criticism, just as many people
are uncomfortable receiving it. Explain how it has helped you, and what you've
learned from the experience.
Source:
http://www.mindtools.com/community/pages/article/newCS_89.php
September 2010: Five Reminders for Boosting Your Effectiveness as a Teacher
NOTE FROM STEVE: We are all teachers…in fact doctor means
teacher. However, we are often uncritical of ourselves as teachers.
This month’s reminder is about taking a moment to reflect, review and revive
good teaching practice as we model and mold the next generation of healers.
======================================================================================================================================
I have observed, sometimes in myself and sometimes in colleagues, a certain
tendency to be ironically unaware of (or inattentive to) a crucial disconnect
between what we say and what we do.
We’re good at talking the talk, but we are not so good at walking the walk,
particularly in terms of our audience awareness.
We teach students to assess the communication context and adapt their
messages to respond to the audience’s needs and desires. But how often do we
fail to do that same thing with our teaching? If we are honest with ourselves,
I believe the answer is “far too often.”
Here are five principles I try to reclaim when I feel myself slipping into
that dark night where even my best efforts are revealed as ineffective and the
only remedy is a candid self-assessment.
5. Try and try again. We have all heard colleagues wax
eloquent about students’ inability to translate knowledge from one context to
another—for example, to think about something they learned in an economics class
while reading an assignment for an English class. Are we guilty of the same
silo mentality? I wonder. If we only view “revision” as a topic related to
writing, then we are missing the point in a serious way. Revision is a life
skill. The point is that experimenting with new instructional strategies is
going to be at best a series of educated guesses. Know when to cut your losses
and move on to the next method. The more you try, the more likely you are to
succeed now and then. And when we succeed, our students succeed.
Excerpted from Talking the Talk, but Not Walking the Walk: A Meditation on
Irony, May 2008,
The Teaching Professor. Author: Kim Taylor, PhD and
instructor at Trident Technical College, SC. Permalink:
http://www.facultyfocus.com?p=12701
October 2010: 10 Ways to Use Online Videos
NOTE FROM STEVE:
Taking advantage of the plethora of online videos has become quite easy and it’s
almost guaranteed you can find a video (or easily make one) that illustrates
your lesson points.
Try inserting one in your
next lecture …it’s as easy as copying and pasting a URL into an object – just
highlight any item on a slide (picture, word, table, etc.), right click your
mouse, select “Hyperlink,” type or paste the video URL into the “Address” block
on the hyperlink pop up and save.
When you show that slide
and move the mouse pointer over the object it will transform the arrow pointer
to a hand with pointing index…then if you click on it the movie opens and begins
(assuming your classroom computer is connected to the internet).
The normal human capacity for attention is 9 minutes (John Medina, Brain
Rules) so plan on something (a short video perhaps) to get them engaged and
recapture their attention every 10 minutes or so.
All the best and thank you
for choosing to be a medical educator…you shape our future medical care
individuals, teams and systems!
10 Ways to Use Online Videos
1. Online Video Anchoring: Use online videos to anchor your instruction
and make it come to life.
2. Online Video Ender: Employ online videos to wrap up a class, activity,
lecture, or other course event.
3. On Demand Key Concept Reflections: Play a shared online video when
appropriate to illustrate points, concepts, principles, or theories from the
current unit, chapter, or lecture.
4. Pause and Reflect: In a live class, you can play a portion of a video
in YouTube or some other source and reflect on the content and then play another
section and so on; continuous video, chat, and reflection.
5. Online Class Previews and Discussion: Post useful online videos to the
course management system for students to watch prior to or after class.
6. Cool Resource Provider Handouts: Ask students to sign up to be the
person who finds and presents relevant online videos (i.e., the “cool resource
provider”) after which the class can discuss or debate them.
7. Anchor Creators: Require students to create their own YouTube videos
to illustrate course concepts or ideas.
8. Video Anchor Competitions: Assign students to find relevant videos for
the week and send the list to the instructor(s) for viewing and selecting (with
class recognition or bonus points if used).
9. Video Anchor Debates: Create a task where students are required to
find YouTube or other online video content representing the pros and cons of a
key class issue or topic which they discuss or debate.
10. Anchor Creator Interviews: Require that students find YouTube videos
relevant to course concepts and then interview the video creator or invite that
person in for a class chat.
(List by Curtis J. Bonk, Professor and author of The World is Open: How Web
Technology is Revolutionizing Education (http://worldisopen.com)
Instructional Systems Technology Department, Indiana University Personal
Homepage: http://php.indiana.edu/~cjbonk
Email: cjbonk@indiana.edu or
Curt@worldisopen.com)
November 2010: Writing Effective Goals and Objectives for Learning
Greetings from the Office of Faculty Development,
Effecting teaching begins with the end in mind, therefore, understand the
science and art of developing educational objectives is KEY!
Objectives should be brief statements of observable and
measurable outcomes that specifically and clearly address a single skill or
content area.
A common guideline for writing learning objectives is known by the acronym
SMART. This reminds us that learning objectives should be:
•
Specific
•
Measurable
•
Attainable
•
Results-Focused
•
Time-Focused
The Three Components of a Good Objective:
-
Timeframe
for learning the skill or content, an action verb, and a single content area.
The statements are learner-centered and usually begin with a phrase that
describes the timeline for learning the skill or content, such as “At the
conclusion of this course the learner will…”
-
Action verb - clearly illustrate
what the learner will be able to do after learning the content or skill. For
example, “At the conclusion of this course, the learner will be able to
differentiate between…” Avoid vague verbs such as “know” or “comprehend.”
Objectives developed around these verbs will be difficult to assess. See
http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/bloom.html for a list of verbs based
upon Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives.
-
Content area or skill
- linked to the design, purpose, and content of the course.
Establishing educational objectives is KEY to successful
learning! It sets clear expectations and provides an venue for feedback,
assessment and verified growth. If you’re teaching without them it’s like
driving blind. Try establishing one or more
for your next teaching encounter…have your protégé develop one or more so they
know what to expect and also develop that skill!!!
Source:
http://medschool.creighton.edu/medicine/admin/ome/educationalobjectives/index.php
·
Locally developed Power Point guides process and
has examples
·
Locally developed two page primer
synopsizing writing learning objectives
·
How to Construct Learning Objectives from American Physiological Society
December 2010:
Millennials (1977-1998 – Boomers kids)
Millennials (1977-1998 – Boomers
kids) and their life-balancing, tech-oriented, team-playing
doctors are taking over. But what kind of healthcare will they give us?
Part of their advantage comes from
training. Instead of the lecture halls and fact-based programs that Baby
Boomers came up in, younger doctors increasingly learn in smaller groups with
emphasis on teamwork, information processing, and problem solving, says Kirch.
"Previously,
we acted as if physicians could accumulate all the knowledge they needed and
carry it around with them. But the amount of relevant information for
making clinical decisions now far exceeds the ability of one brain to hold it,"
he says. "So the current student understands
that even more importantly than accumulating facts, they need to be adept at
accessing and judging information in real time while doing clinical work."
And
the healthcare system is slowly beginning to reflect the priorities of the new
training environment.
Medical homes and other pilot programs are teaming physicians together and
demanding more collaboration and coordination than ever before; processes and
outcomes are being tracked and used to improve quality, and even determine
payment; and hospitals and physicians are being pushed and pulled away from
paper records.
Elyas Bakhtiari, for HealthLeaders
Magazine, July 9, 2009
NOTE FROM STEVE:
The only constant is change. We are admitting amazing
students who’ve grown up communicating differently than (and many of our
patients) we did. In some ways better and in some ways perhaps not.
Regardless, that is our emerging reality. Do all you can to understand
them (quick overview:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_Y). Always remember and remind
them, no matter what, how or why medicine is practiced, IATP (It’s About The
Patient).
February 2011:
Building Rapport with Your Students (or anyone)
Rapport, defined as “the ability to maintain harmonious relationships based
on affinity”, is more colloquially thought of as what happens when two people
“click”—they connect, interact well, and respond to each other favorably.
Often it happens when two people are very much alike or have lots in common.
That’s one of the reasons it isn’t always easy for professors to establish
rapport with students—sometimes there’s a big age difference; others times it’s
having few (if any) shared interests. However, there are good reasons for
faculty to work on establishing rapport with students. The article referenced
below lists outcomes, all established by research, that result when rapport is
established.
Here’s a selection from the larger list that does seem particularly relevant
and that is supported by some research involving teachers and students.
Rapport does not result in learning, but it certainly helps to create
conditions conducive to learning—things like higher motivation, increased
comfort, and enhanced communication. Teaching doesn’t always result in learning
either, but, like rapport, it is one of those factors that can contribute
positively to learning.
Five factors for building rapport
…Research revealed what a teacher can/should do to establish rapport? Five
factors appeared almost twice as often as others.
Rapport is not something developed by announcement. Rapport is developed by
actions—it results from things teachers do. The good news, as demonstrated by
the content of this article, is that we know empirically what teachers can do to
establish rapport. The even better news is that the actions required aren’t all
that difficult to execute.
Source:
The
Teaching Professor, volume 23, number 6, page 2. “Rapport: Why Having It
Makes a Difference”
NOTE FROM STEVE: Grade yourself
from 1 to 10 on each of the five factors, pick your lowest score, make a plan to
move that score up a notch, share the plan with a colleague who’s doing this too
and hold each other accountable. Intentional improvement is
what faculty development is all about.
March 2011: Tips
for Effective Use of Visual Aids
“To
PowerPoint or not to PowerPoint,” this is a question that all presenters must
ask. Visual aids (PowerPoint, overheads, flip charts, DVDs, etc.) can add
power and depth to a presentation, often boosting attention, clarity, and
interest. But beware, used ineffectively visual aids can weaken a
presentation or, in the worst case scenario, alienate the participants.
Below are some common
sense tips to help you incorporate visual aids effectively:
·
Be sure your visual aids can be seen and understood by
everyone.
·
If you are using technology, be certain that you can use it
proficiently. Fumbling with the equipment will break the flow of any
presentation.
·
Don’t overuse visual aids; use them only when they support
your content directly
·
Don’t overload any visual aid with too many words or
graphics
·
Remember that your visual aids support your presentation,
they are not the presentation itself
·
Ask yourself if any particular visual aid will increase
learning. If it doesn’t do this directly, don’t use it.
·
Always ask yourself the question: “Why am I using
this visual aid and does it work to increase the impact of my presentation?”
·
Always have a backup plan if a visual aid fails (like a
bulb burning out)
·
Be sure to avoid using copyrighted material without
permission
·
Make certain that the room’s lighting supports your visual
aid. Watch for things like glare, a washed out screen, dark spots, etc.
·
Don’t allow visual aids to take your attention away from
the participants.
·
Be very aware of your timing. Don’t. for example,
rush through your slides so people can’t keep up or, on the flip side, don’t
break your delivery rhythm by lingering too long on one visual.
·
Remember that your audience is literate so you don’t have
to read everything on your visuals to them, assuming of course that they can see
your visuals clearly.
·
Overuse of one kind of visual is usually the kiss of death
for presenters. For example, taking the time to write every little thing
on a flip chart sheet will try the patience of even the most forgiving
participant.
·
If you are writing on a transparency or flipchart, be sure
your handwriting is legible and large enough to be seen by everyone.
·
Be color cognizant – contrasting background and font so
it’s easy to read
Source:
http://www.workshopexercises.com/Visual_Aids.htm
SEE ALSO: “How to avoid Death
by PowerPoint” and “Powerpoint on Creating Better PowerPoints” at
http://www.oucom.ohiou.edu/fd/links.htm.
NOTE FROM STEVE: at a minimum
use the above information as a checklist for your next presentation and/or
presentation feedback…also remember Rule #4 of John Medina’s “Brain Rules,”
We don’t pay attention to boring things.” Try to re-engage your audience
every 10-15 minutes with some sort of activity…question, drawing,
think/pair/share, story, picture, game, quiz, challenge, movement, etc. – build
it right into the presentation!
April 2011:
Learning through Teaching
“Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to
remember from time to time that nothing that is worth learning can be taught.”
– Oscar Wilde
Russell L. Ackoff tells a wonderful story in the podcast
for the book he wrote with Daniel Greenberg “Turning Learning Right Side Up:”
After lecturing to undergraduates at a major university, I was accosted by a
student who had attended the lecture. After some complimentary remarks, he
asked, “How long ago did you teach your first class?” I responded, “In
September of 1941.” “Wow!” The student said. “You mean to say you have been
teaching for more than 60 years?” “Yes.” “When did you last teach a
course in a subject that existed when you were a student?” This
difficult question required some thought. After a pause, I said, “September of
1951.” “Wow! You mean to say that everything you have taught in more than
50 years was not taught to you; you had to learn on your own?” “Right.”
“You must be a pretty good learner.” I modestly agreed. The student
then said, “What a shame you’re not that good a teacher.”
The story shows that the skill required to become a
college professor is the ability to learn, not the ability to teach. But Ackoff
is making the deeper point that most of our learning comes outside of formal
education. Even teachers learned most of what they teach outside of formal
education. But we also learn by teaching, and so one of the
best ways to teach is to turn students into teachers.
Teaching produces learning by not only forcing the teacher
to learn the material himself or herself, but also by forcing the teacher to, as
Ackoff says, “figure out how to link their frame of reference to the worldview
of the person receiving the explanation, so that the explanation can make sense
to that person, too.” The explainer must circle around the topic to understand
it, and its value, from different perspectives, and thus get underneath it in a
way that produces a deeper understanding for themselves.
I require all of my students to produce a digital teaching
module on a class topic. The students use wikis, videos, VoiceThread, narrated
PowerPoint, and other tools to deliver the content. They also must incorporate
an assessment such as an online quiz or game. The result is a much deeper
understanding of the material themselves, as well as pride in producing a result
that is public and could help others to learn as well. Consider the ways
that you can turn your students into teachers, and thus learners.
Resources
Podcast on Russell L. Ackoff and Daniel Greenberg’s book
“Turning Learning Right Side Up.” Access it
here »
“Project Based Learning Explained” Excellent Common
Craft video. Watch the video
here »
Source:
By:
John Orlando, PhD in
Teaching and Learning -
http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-and-learning/learning-through-teaching/?utm_source=cheetah&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2011.02.25%20Update
NOTE FROM STEVE:
Think about your next teaching assignment and think
of one tactic you can use to get your students engaged in developing some
teaching activity…one excellent suggestion is to have THEM develop some test
questions either individually or in small groups. That way you get help
writing questions. You can promise them you’ll use some of their questions
(with editing rights) so they’re invested and doing exact what you want…thinking
and learning the material.
May 2011: Brain
scientists offer medical educators tips on the neurobiology of learning
The research
“One of the most exciting advances, as a result of optical
imaging of the living brain, is the demonstration that there is growth,
retraction, and modifying connectivity between neurons," said Friedlander. "We
have also seen that the mature brain can generate new neurons, although, this
research is so new that the functional implications of these new neurons and
their potential contribution to learning and memory formation remain to be
determined," he said.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Repetition:
Medical curricula often employ compressed coverage over limited time frames of a
great amount of material. Learning theory and the neurobiology of learning and
memory suggest that going deeper is more likely to result in better retention
and depth of understanding. With repetition, many components of the neural
processes become more efficient, requiring less energy and leaving
higher-order pathways available for additional cognitive
processing. However, repetitions must be appropriately spaced. Addressing the
same information using different sensory processes, such as seeing and hearing,
enhances the learning process, potentially bringing more neural hardware to bear
to process and store information.
Reward and reinforcement:
Reward is a key component of learning at all stages of life. "The brain's
intrinsic reward system – self-congratulations with the realization of success
-- plays a major role in reinforcement of learned behaviors," Friedlander said.
"An important factor is the realization that accomplishing an immediate goal and
a successful step toward a future goal can be equally rewarding." In the
case of medical students, there are considerable rewards ahead of them in
addition to the more immediate rewards of the satisfaction of understanding
medicine. The students who derive joy from learning as they proceed through
their medical education may have a greater chance of using the brain's capacity
to provide reward signals on an ongoing basis, facilitating their learning
process.
Visualization:
Visualization and mental
rehearsal are real biological processes with associated patterned activation of
neural circuitry in sensory, motor, executive, and decision-making pathways in
the brain. Internally generated activity in the brain from thoughts,
visualization, memories, and emotions should be able to contribute to the
learning process.
Active
engagement:
There is considerable
neurobiological evidence that functional changes in neural circuitry that are
associated with learning occur best when the learner is actively engaged..
Learners' having multiple opportunities to assume the role of teacher also
invoke neural motivation and reward pathways -- and another major biological
component of the learning process: stress. Doing is learning. And success
at doing and learning builds confidence.
Stress:
Although the consequences of stress are generally considered undesirable, there
is evidence that the molecular signals associated with stress can enhance
synaptic activity involved in the formation of memory. However, particularly
high levels of stress can have opposite effects. The small, interactive teaching
format may be judiciously employed to moderately engage the stress system.
Fatigue:
Patterns of neuronal activity during sleep reinforce the day's events. Research
suggests that it is important to have appropriate downtime between intense
problem-solving sessions. Downtime permits consolidation away from the formal
teaching process.
Multitasking:
Multitasking is a distraction from learning, unless all of the tasks are
relevant to the material being taught. The challenge is to integrate
information from multiple sources, such as a lecture and a hand-held device.
Individual
learning styles:
Neural
responses of different individuals vary, which is the rationale for embracing
multiple learning styles to provide opportunities for all learners to be most
effectively reached. See
http://www.oucom.ohiou.edu/fd/learning_style_inventories.htm.
"By appealing not only to students' capacity to derive pleasure from learning
about medicine but also to their intellectual capacity for understanding the
rationale for the educational process selected … real motivation can be
engendered. … They become more effective communicators and enhance their
patients' success at learning the information they need for managing their own
health and treatments as well."
###
Source:
Excerpted from - "What Can Medical Education Learn From the Neurobiology of
Learning?" by Michael J. Friedlander, PhD; Linda Andrews, MD; Elizabeth G.
Armstrong, PhD; Carol Aschenbrenner, MD; Joseph S. Kass, MD; Paul Ogden, MD;
Richard Schwartzstein, MD; and Thomas R. Viggiano, MD, MEd. Academic Medicine,
Vol. 86, No. 4 / April 2011
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-03/vt-bso032911.php
NOTE FROM STEVE:
Education should results in positive
knowledge, skill and attitude changes. To make this practical,
check yourself against the recommendations, discuss them with your colleagues &
charges, identify at least one thing you’ll try to do differently as a result –
write it down, share it for accountability and grow! Repeat for your
students…if you’re doing it, they will follow. They’re watching you!!!
For a bit more on the brain and learning see “Brain Based Pedagogy” and “Brain
Rules” on our FD website @
http://www.oucom.ohiou.edu/fd/programs.htm (third column, “BOTH”) about half
way down.
Success to you!
June 2011: 10
Common Time Management Mistakes
NOTE FROM STEVE:
I’ve often heard it said, time is most precious
resource. All of us can probably use it more wisely. For this
month’s note I’ve pulled from one of my favorite resources, “Mind Tools” (www.mintools.com).
There is an entire section devoted to “Time Management” along with 11 other
essential work skills sections J.
I frequent this site when I’m looking for quick helpful tips for my constituents
– like you!
Thank for your work in medical
education! There is no way to truly measure your impact except to remember
the impact your educators had on you…it’s profound, enduring, empowering and the
gift that keeps on giving.
10 Common Time Management Mistakes
Mistake #1. Failing to Keep a To-Do List
Do you ever have that nagging feeling that you've forgotten
to do an important piece of work? If so, you probably don't use a To-Do List to
keep on top of things. (Or, if you do, you might not be using it effectively!)
Mistake #2. Not Setting Personal Goals
Do you know where you'd like to be in six months? What
about this time next year, or even 10 years from now? If not, it's time to set
some personal goals!
Mistake #3. Not Prioritizing
Your assistant has just walked in with a crisis that she
needs you to deal with right now, but you're in the middle of brainstorming
ideas for a new client. You're sure that you've almost come up with a
brilliant idea for their marketing campaign, but now you risk losing the thread
of your thinking because of this "emergency."
Mistake #4. Failing to Manage Distractions
Do you know that some of us can lose as much as two hours a
day to distractions? Think how much you could get done if you had that time back!
Mistake #5. Procrastination
Procrastination occurs when you put off tasks that you
should be focusing on right now. When you procrastinate, you feel guilty that
you haven't started; you come to dread doing the task; and, eventually,
everything catches up with you when you fail to complete the work on time.
Mistake #6. Taking on too Much
Are you a person who has a hard time saying "no" to people?
If so, you probably have far too many projects and commitments on your plate.
This can lead to poor performance, stress, and low morale.
Mistake #7. Thriving on "Busy"
Some people get a rush from being busy. The narrowly-met
deadlines, the endless emails, the piles of files needing attention on the desk,
the frantic race to the meeting... What an adrenaline buzz!
The problem is that an "addiction to busyness" rarely means
that you're effective, and it can lead to stress.
Instead, try to slow down, and learn to manage your time
better.
Mistake #8. Multitasking
To get on top of her workload, Linda regularly writes
emails while she chats on the phone to her clients. However, while Linda thinks
that this is a good use of her time, the truth is that it can take 20-40 percent
more time to finish a list of jobs when you multitask, compared with completing
the same list of tasks in sequence.
Mistake #9. Not Taking Breaks
It's nice to think that you can work for 8-10 hours
straight, especially when you're working to a deadline. But it's impossible for
anyone to focus and produce really high-quality work without giving their brains
some time to rest and recharge.
Mistake #10. Ineffectively Scheduling Tasks
Are you a morning person? Or do you find your energy
picking up once the sun begins to set in the evening? All of us have different
rhythms, that is, different times of day when we feel most productive and
energetic.
Source, and to learn more about each tip:
http://www.mindtools.com/community/pages/article/time-management-mistakes.php