Saturday night at 2:00 AM, we will turn back our clocks as part of daylight savings time. What will you do with your extra hour? How we perceive time is one factor that can lead to burnout. As educators, when we begin to feel that we don’t have control over time, not enough time to do what we feel is important, or an overwhelming amount of work that we just can’t get out in front of, it becomes more difficult to be effective or to be a good colleague. I have written about polarities before. Time can be a polarity. The first strategy for bringing time back into balance is to look at the two sides of this polarity - Time for Yourself and Time for Others. What are the upsides of each? What are the signs that one or the other is out of balance? Once you have identified those pieces - write a few goals for yourself that will help you take advantage of the upsides.
Another way to think about time is to look at how you plan your class time/ personal time for a week holistically. You have 168 hours to work with. Decide how much time you will need to focus on your priorities - expanding foundational skills or background knowledge, applying learning, collaborative discussions. Try not to think about “finish unit 4” instead, reflect on what experiences and opportunities are a priority that the activities in unit 4 can provide and what activities can be set aside because they aren't a priority. I will admit that one of my must haves for prioritizing time last year was to eat lunch at least twice a week. Block out the time you think you will need to accomplish those priorities. Once that is in place, schedule in a few open blocks of time to do nothing. You need that space for your brain to recharge and be innovative. How much time will you need to accomplish your “ nice to be able to get to” goals? These are your secondary priorities. Finally, be sure to include time to do things that bring you joy. Think about this model like you have a large box that you are going to pack - you would start with the larger objects that you have to put in the box, then fill in the spaces with smaller objects and bubble wrap. By intentionally arranging them, you can fit it all in the box. If you just put the objects in as you grab them, they won’t all fit...just like filling in your calendar day by day, or as things land on your desk.
Finally, research has found that cuing a mindset going into a workday or a weekend can make all the difference. Setting the tone at the beginning of class by saying “We are going to be working together to explore, investigate, evaluate, collaborate…” provides a positive connotation for how time will be spent and students will be more likely to enjoy the learning, even if they are working hard. Starting a class or a meeting with “We have a lot to get done today, we need to get started, we don’t have time for… ” sets a tone that time is a finite commodity and may actually limit collaboration or interaction and students may feel frustrated or have a negative connotation for the time they spent in class and may actually get less done.
One of my colleagues, Dr. Marin Burton, refers to “time confetti” - the idea that even when we feel like we just don’t have time to do something for ourselves, we often fritter away these little chunks of time that exist in the spaces between activities by doing trivial tasks rather than reading a few pages of a book, enjoying the scenery, listening to a song, writing a note to a friend… finding joy. I hope you use your extra hour this weekend to do something you love.
Resources To Spark Your Thinking - Using Time
High Impact foundational reading strategies for closing gaps K-2 https://achievethecore.org/collection/9/early-reading-accelerators-k-2 [Open Education Resource- no cost]
High impact math routines for closing gaps in Gr 2 https://icue.nd.edu/intervention-materials/ [Open Education Resource - no cost]
Podcast - Amplifying Student Agency With Formative Assessment (WestEd)
Doing What Works- Girls and STEMS WestEd library of podcasts, videos and resources
Webinar Series and Strategies- Supporting Unfinished Learning In Math Gr 3-12
How to Increase Your Learning Agility - Center for Creative Leadership
Work Life Balance Is A Faulty Metaphor - Center for Creative Leadership
Hidden Brain Podcast - Taking Control of Your Time [NPR - 50 minutes]
TedTalk - How Daylight Savings Time Affects Our Bodies, Minds…and the World
TedTalk - How To Gain Control Of Your Free Time
9 Quick Tips For Students Struggling With Time Management Skills (Cengage Blog)
AND…. Infohio.org - All you need for election day https://infohio.org/blog/item/infohio-has-what-you-need-for-election-day
Upcoming Opportunities
Greater Cleveland Council of Teachers of Math Fall Workshop - November 12
Become an Infohio.org I-coach - new cohort starting. Applicants will complete up to 15 hours of online, asynchronous training using INFOhio Learning Pathways. Open to any K-12 educator interested in integrating digital resources into their classrooms https://infohio.org/blog/item/new-process-for-infohio-icoach-apply-now
SolutionTree Free Webinar Series (and archive) https://www.solutiontree.com/webinars.html
It’s not too late to register … ODE Academic Conversations by Jeff Zweirs and Marie Crawford book study. It will meet virtually monthly from 4:00-5:15 - you don’t need to join in every session. If you do, you can complete 6.75 hours of professional learning. You must purchase your own book. The first meeting is Nov 9 at 4:00 - Chapter 1. https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=xPz4UNiUB0-E6zbtV8fIojITTj2glOxIq_SzZahgSFBUOVFON0Q1WlRIMlJYWjlESE1UVE1PVEg5Ni4u