* Shout out to any Jersey Shore fans who get the teacher version of "GTL" (Gym, Tan, Laundry). :)
GPL seems to wrap-up my Sunday pretty well today. I've been in and out of the office since 8:30 a.m. this morning and have been clearing through some e-mails, wrapped my head around unit planning for math and of course, have done a few loads of laundry. I haven't gotten to the "G" (Grading) part of GPL but I'm confident that it will happen today.
To be honest, this feels as if it has been one of my most productive work during the weekend in awhile. I have to admit that the start of the school year and factoring in strike days in Chicago hasn't caused me to be too productive on the weekends.
I've selfishly claimed those days as "mine" and have tried to use them to make sure that I balance out my work week by making sure I take time to rejuvenate myself on the weekends. Perhaps I've been taking that a little bit too much for granted??
In any case, the important thing is that I'm getting back in the swing of things but at the same time making sure that I'm being productive as well. Some tips to remind myself of in the future.
1) Work in the Morning/Afternoons::
I love the sunlight that comes into the office, which means I need to take advantage of it when I can.
4) Catchup on household duties, but leave certain projects for completing while watching favorite TV shows
Overall, I'm simply better able to focus, brainstorm and plan in the morning than after a long day of family activities or household chores. Why not leave folding laundry until all my brain cells have been used up from planning and I'm left with "mindless" work to do?
5) When in a planning rut, reach out to colleagues for questions:
There's no use in being frustrated when you get overwhelmed. Reach out via e-mail and see what they say. At least you'll have cleared your mind for you to get started on another project
6) Keep a running To-Do List:
Keeping a list next to you while planning will let you write down items you suddenly remember but let you stay focused on what you're doing
7) Create words for "Word Walls" while previewing a unit
As I walked through Ch. 1 of Everyday Math, I wrote important vocab. on sentence strips when I came across the words. I'm terrible at updating word walls, but at least the words are already done and it helps reinforce the main topics of the chapter to remember while planning. Now, it seems less scary to make sure they get on the wall.
I'm sure there's other tips to think of, but I still need to wrap-up my plans for today. Gah. 7 hours later and it's still not done. Oy vey. :-/
hey, join the "terrible at updating word walls" club! woo hoo! at least i've got company. :-)
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