making the day successful
Posted by: admin in Social Software, Web 2.0, blogging, humour, opinionJane has tagged me because Miguel would like to know …
List the top 5 to 10 things that you do almost every day that help you to be successful. They can be anything at all, but they have to be things that you do at least 4 or 5 times every week. Anything less than that may be a hobby that helps you out, but we are after the real day in and day out habits that help you to be successful.
Source: Around the Corner v2 – MGuhlin.net, Ed Tech Journeys’ Guest Blogger, Sylvia Martinez (GenYES Blog) writing on this meme by Thea Westra, Simply Successful Secrets
I am never sure if this sort of thing is the blogging equivalent of a chain letter or something interesting to reflect upon. I do find interesting things in what other people respond though so here goes.
What do I do to manage my day successfully? In no particular order ….
1. Laugh!
I laugh a lot. Some people find this disconcerting, but I can usually find the lighter side of most things. I have read somewhere that children laugh many, many times each day. Most adults need to re-find this skill. Life is too short to be serious all the time.
I also think that laughter is infectious and is certainly part of any place I want to work or learn in. I laugh at home a lot and rather wicked senses of humour is something both our children have inherited from their parents.
2. Having a good Diary ….
I use iCal on my laptop and have a Palm Treo 650 that I sync every couple of days with my computer. I could never remember all the things I need to be doing without this electronic support system. I also have a notebook for all the notes, ideas, etc that I need to keep. I stick in business cards, notes, and other things as well and find one spiral bound book does me a year.
I also use voice recording software on my phone to ‘jot down’ the things that flash through the grey matter (soon to be forgotten!) as I am heading to or from school in the car.
3. Listen more than I talk
Some people who know me may debate this one …. more of a goal than a strategy? (lol)
One of the things from PLOT PD that really resonates with me is the difference between listening to listen and listening to talk. I hope I am doing a lot more listening to listen ….
This is especially important for me at the moment as I am relatively new to my school and need to find out how things REALLY work. I like to ask lots of questions and probe peoples thinking ….
4. Family and Friends
… after all these people are the reason it is all worthwhile. I try hard not to make principalship a lifestyle choice and keep it as my job. But I suppose the reason any of us are good at what we do is commitment and passion for the role.
Having said that I do make sure I spend time with Jane and our children each day. They keep me grounded and Jane always is able to provide me insights or ideas about things I may be mulling over from a completely different perspective.
There is nothing better than family, good friends, good wine and good food!
5. A big whiteboard in my Office
I have to have the big picture and am a ‘model’ person. I like to figure out how the pieces look all together before I pull them apart for planning etc. I use a whiteboard in my Office to draw diagrams etc and write notes to help this.
6. Listening to music
I always have music playing in my office and use it to match what I am doing …. To keep focused, motivate, etc. My tastes are pretty eclectic so i can usually find something in the nearly 30GB I have on my laptop.
7. Connecting with people
My bloglines is my homepage on my laptop, we have a wireless network at home, Skype and iChat are login items …. there are numerous ways I connect with people virtually.
I also like to bounce ideas around with people face-to-face and value opportunities to find what others think and why about any particular issue. Collective wisdom is greater than mine alone.
So … tag – Jedd Bartlett, Derek Wenmoth, Graeme Wegner, Paul Wilkinson
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