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14388 Talawa Dr, Oregon City, OR, 97045
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Hello, I’m James
UX DESIGNER/ FRONT END DEVELOPER
What is one approach/tip/tactic you use to manage or assist your productivity that others may find helpful too? (It doesn’t need to be ground-breaking!)
I need a system. I need to know what I need and how I can get it. I define things by simple rules. The rules are not like restrictions but more like folders. Each practice has its exceptions which you can visualize as subfolders. Once I know where to go, I have everything I need, and I reuse templates or copy and paste the content. Once I finish the main task, I return to the details. I include symbols and placeholders in my documents to search for the items that need adjustment. When I was teaching, the first IEP I had to prepare in a new classroom would take me about 5-6 hours which is the average amount of time for most teachers. After the first couple of fine-tuning the system and creating the folders, I could finish an IEP in less than an hour.
A practical example is if we could figure out the connection between all the states that use common core, we could create a system that helps update all the related standards simultaneously. Starting this process involves creating rules around figuring out the structure. Once the rules are in place, we can find the relationships between the different variations and prioritize them. Eventually, it is as simple as following a decision tree until you find the template that best fits those standards.
Credentials
Graduated from Oregon State 2010
Bachelors of Science in Human Development and Family Sciences
Bachelors of Science in Education
Initial 1 Teaching License
- Pre -12 – Multiple Subjects
- Elementary – Multiple Subjects
- English to Speakers of Other Languages
Do you have a particular structure to your day that works the best for you, or does it seem to be ever-changing?
Needing routines and falling into habits have much to do with my ADHD. I can turn ever-changing into some structure or routine. It was why I was able to work with the students I did. While we had a schedule, we could not follow it because some event would derail us. I must have structure, whether it is intentional or not. In most cases, it is helpful. Somehow, I can also create a system without knowing it, resulting in a wrong structure or routine. One I corrected was getting up at 3 am and getting something to eat. I had to wake up with the babies, then our dog needed to go out, so I grabbed an Oreo or two. When the babies did not need anything at 3 am, my body would still wake up craving an Oreo.
An example of what I attempt to do is figure out when I can do something consistently; then, it becomes a natural thing. If I plan to work out or run at a particular time each day, I can do it several times implanted. It is hard to get out of a routine once I am in one. A structure can be positive and negative. If I start something good, I am on auto-pilot and exceptionally reliable. As my wife asks me to do something enough times, I will start doing it without her reminders. It just takes time to get there. The bad is when something unexpectedly gets in the way of my routine; it takes me time to adjust my expectations. If I know my performance will be interrupted, I can adjust, and everything will go as planned the next day.
Universities
Undergraduate Hours
Graduate Hours
Graduate GPA
When it comes to data loading and managing multiple projects, tasks, or deadlines, what are your “carrots?”
Simple Answer:
a) I work until it gets crossed off.
b) When I worked at a coffee shop, and it got slow, I would ask to go home. They asked, “Why I didn’t want the easy money?” I responded, “It is not about the money because I would rather pay money to do something productive instead of sitting here being paid to do nothing.”
My Real answer when I first saw this question:
I have never worked in the exact location for more than two years. Sometimes it was my doing or something out of my control. I had a lot of time to reflect when I left teaching. I have never told anyone this, but at some point, I started a competition between myself and my parents. I wanted to do it better. My mom was a teacher of the year of Oregon and won a national award for being one of the best science teachers in the nation. My goal was to eventually reach the same level at the end of my career. In the meantime, I went into each week hoping to make a big enough difference to be nominated by a parent to be the teacher of the week on K103. That way, I would know I was making a difference.
I mention all this because my carrot was my motivation to be the best and to reach a level my mother achieved. To my detriment, my carrot was the cause that inevitably forced me to have to give it all up. I realized that my efforts to reach my goal were working against me. My internal drive or motor affected how others perceived my intentions, and often it was negative. I felt like I had lost my purpose. So, I tried many things to figure out how to replace that void. Instead of trying to be the best at something, I decided to make an impact that made a difference. At Safeway, I realized that trying to make a difference and to help things improve can inadvertently make others feel like they are doing something wrong. I learned that what may drive me also affects others, and I need to be mindful of that. To explain it differently, I need to be better at focusing on just folding laundry without figuring out how to organize the closet better.
Now the carrot is to finish what I am asked and do whatever it takes. It is nothing spectacular, but when things do not go as planned, consistency becomes the goal, and hopefully, I get rewarded for it.
Transcripts and Licenses
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