Blog Entry
In probably most jobs that involve sporadic projects, it makes sense to define “filler work,” or tasks that can be done when there are the occasional quiet moments. What sorts of tasks might work for filler work? From work experiences, I have some ideas.
It seems like one part of the work portfolio always includes some long-term projects. These are those that may have evolved over time. They may have quieted down, and then there is only sporadic maintenance work needed. Or these long-term projects may still be very live, but one can value-add small pieces over time. Maybe the bulk of the work is done, and then one is evolving the work at the edges.
Having a few of these on hand can keep the instructional design work lively. It can enable the freshening up of a project over time.
Plenty of ID work involves staying up-to-date on new technologies. One can almost have a secondary parallel part-time job just keeping up with twists and turns in new applications, new platforms, new equipment, and so on. There are a good half-dozen websites that one can visit to catch up on the latest in technologies.
Another fresh aspect that can offer a channel for continuing work involves new learning—such as academic research on how people learn. The academic articles are constantly probing new territories. These can add fresh angles for professional development opportunities. (The Khan Academy also offers some very cool brief videos for specific types of learning.)
As part of professional responsibilities, we’re always engaging in environmental scans. These help us get a sense of the academic and professional landscape. They give us a sense of how to fit into that professional realm.
Another area of learning involves grant-funding opportunities. If one has a sufficient network of people around who can benefit from information about possible moneys, then this is an especially rich approach to take—because funding opportunities (those few that flesh out) can mean interesting work into the future.
Comments
TX-NR708 7 months, 1 week ago
I am not sure if there is filler work in mu place. But it might be nice if I will be employed for a long time. But is it applicable to self-employed too? I agree that many ID work involves staying up-to-date on new technologies so maybe I should improve my skills by browsing websites to catch up on the latest in technologies. Thanks for the interesting article.
/Kristen
Depression Facts 4 months, 3 weeks ago
It makes a lot of sense to allocate filler work to long term projects. Besides freshening up the project, it could be a useful strategy for staggering workload.
online rn to msn 4 months, 1 week ago
I think that the most important thing about instruction design is feed back. The feed back gives you the chance to improve your work and create a better project which can take of individual needs of the learners. Good luck!!
colleges in Colorado Springs 4 months ago
Instructional design is one of the components of education that should be consulted more often. We do have an education system, but unfortunately, we can't say that the school curriculum is up to date. We need to make major improvements in order to help our students prepare for life and for college.
Dale Winterton 3 months, 2 weeks ago
I think that for a regular project that doesn't provide quiet moments it's important to have a break and enforce your own 'quiet' moments. What you do with this time is up to you, but you must think of the long term benefits of looking at latest technology, new learning, opportunities etc. Excellent post.
Gail 3 months ago
With the increase in the number of people who work as consultants or free-lance this issue of using the "filler" time becomes more important. It should definitely be addressed as part of an educational program.
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