Calendar Books by Allen James - Daily Reading - "A Teacher's Daily Guide to Success"

December 9th, from A Teacher's Daily Guide to Success...

"Don't just look busy, teach smart" (James, 2012).

A recent blog entry discussed the importance of setting clear expectations, not only as a teacher, but as an individual as well.  Today's reading is again applicable to ALL of us, teacher or other.  It brings to mind the "posers" I've heard about since the inception of cell phones who stand around while they're waiting maybe at the airport, at the post office, you name the place; and they've  got their cell phone up to their ear to make it "look" like they're having a conversation.  They want to appear occupied, they want to appear connected.  They want to appear BUSY.

Although a busy classroom can indicate an environment where active learning it taking place, it more often than not (speaking from my 30 years in the classroom) is a classroom where students are not focused and the teacher has allowed the control to be thrown out the door just to be able to survive the day.

Busyness can and should be SMART.  Taking the bull by the horns, as they say, and learning to reign in yourself to be able to have actual "organized chaos" can, and most often does, encourage those with whom you're interacting to have a meaningful experience with you in whatever your endeavor.

As Meredith Fineman, a publicist and writer living in Washington, DC. She is the founder and principal of FinePoint Digital PR; "just because you clocked 15 hours at your office doesn't mean you've accomplished things in a smart way. Typically, you have 90-120 minutes before you devolve into internet fodder or social media. If you're putting in 15 straight hours at your desk, without breaks, how good is your output? How much time are you wasting?

The distinction between working hard versus smart has hit me as an entrepreneur. In high school and college I was always that girl who read all the assigned reading (and no, I was not giving you my study guide). I created outlines, outlines of outlines, and then flashcards. One of my greatest lessons as a businessperson has been to throw out that skill set. This isn't to say you shouldn't be diligent or that you should half-heartedly execute, but rather, that it's crucial to know what you have to do as opposed to everything you could do. It's about being strategic.

For once, I'd like to hear someone brag about their excellent time management skills, rather than complain about how much they can't get done. Maybe we could learn something from each other. In fact, I'll start—here are three tactics I've been using to work smarter:

Constrain the time. The more I constrain my time, the more focused and productive I feel, and the less I waste time on low-priority work. If you can only afford to spend 45 minutes on a certain project, then only spend 45 minutes on it—and move on, even if it isn't perfect.

Use a scheduler. If you're really up to your neck, it's very easy to find a scheduler, virtual or otherwise, to help put things on your calendar. Sometimes it's a matter of freeing up that time used for coordinating plans to actually doing them. Zirtual is a great answer to this. As is the DIY scheduler Doodle.

Cut the fat. Once I cut out superfluous meetings that were not: fun, productive, leading to new business, or really had something wonderful in it for me professional or otherwise, that plate emptied a little bit. (Here's a tool for figuring out what to cut.)

Yes, we all have some strange need to out-misery each other. Acknowledging that is a first step. But next time you speak to a friend and want to lament about how busy you are, ask yourself why. Try steering the conversation away from a complain-off. With some practice you might find yourself actually feeling less "buried" (or at least feeling less of a need to say it all the time).

Don't just look busy, teach smart.  You and your "students" will get then have something to actually blame the fatigue you feel as you head to bed at night.

(www.lifehacker.com)

Keep looking up.  :)  AJ