We feel things just like you (Ray Parker Jnr)

Photo by Filip Bunkens on Unsplash

James Clear has this to say about interruptions and distractions:

"Life presents an endless series of interruptions and distractions.

You will continually be pulled off course or asked to put out a fire created by someone else. People will disrespect your time and steal your attention—usually with no intention of malice, but simply because different people have different priorities.

When your day is interrupted or your progress stalls, it's easy for your mindset to collapse as well. You may feel guilty for not following through on what you intended to do. But you are not guilty, you are human.

Everyone gets distracted. In many ways, the real divide is between those who get back on track quickly and those who let interruptions expand into longer periods of inactivity.

Top performers get back on track faster than most. This is the skill to develop. You will be interrupted, but you can choose to keep it brief."

​My takeaways: 

I'm human. 

I'll be interrupted. 

Everyone...gets... gets...sorry... distracted. 

I gotta take a step back and think this through; I gotta know it's true (Black Stone Cherry)

Photo by x ) on Unsplash

The student leadership team in the OSG Hamilton Campus has asked me to address their assembly.

They have two topics that they'd like me to discuss - motivation and their value of the week responsibility. Plus some introduction to who I am.

Here goes:

I love that you've chosen motivation! 

What's the most important skill a school can pass on to its students?

You may be sitting there thinking it's creative thinker; problem solver; collaborator; effective communicator; being ethical and empathetic.

Although they are all important, I'd argue, the most important skill a school can pass down to its students is the ability to motivate themselves. So much comes down to how much self belief and zest we have for things.

So thanks for that topic!

My thinking is that I'll link the two - motivation and responsibility.

Being motivated is about making the right choices and asking the right questions.

My motivation rises hugely if I can see meaning and purpose in what is ahead of me. I suspect our students are the same and I think the closer they get to graduation day the more motivation they have because they see a finish line and a job on the other side.

The trick is to have the motivation earlier and maintain it along the way.

[Sidebar: some introductory words about me - when I was 12 I knew I was going to be a teacher. Along the way, even though I failed many times - I had to repeat my Year 11 year for instance, I wanted to get a masters degree in English - and my belief never wavered, even when I was turned down twice for a place at Teachers' Training College. My motivation levels and dedication to my goals were high. Just saying]

You probably know this, but motivation levels move along a continuum from at one end -'extremely motivated' along to 'not motivated at all' at the other end.  

OSG teachers and CAs are most likely all around the 'heavily motivated' end.  They front up, they volunteer and they stay the course.

How students match up to that continuum is their individual decision. Yes, decision. Not that motivated now? That can be changed.

The most powerful questions are the questions you speak to yourself. What drives you?

We're not all built the same way. What motivates me may not motivate my students. For instance, I am not motivated by extrinsic reward. Well okay - I am a bit, but no teacher became a teacher to make money.

Instead, purpose aligned with developing and using my skills drives me intrinsically.

It's all about choice and your ability to self-direct yourself (or in other words - take responsibility for your learning). See what I did there with responsibility?

Here are some crucial questions that only you can answer:

• What choices do I have?
• What choices have I made?
• Which choices am I glad I made?
• What choices would I like to do over?
• What choices do I have from now onwards? 

Here are a few more as we head into our planning for 2023 and beyond:

• What am I learning?
• What could I learn?
• What skills do I have?
• What skills could I develop?
• Where do I want to be?
• How am I going to get there?

I can't answer those questions for you. 

But you can - if you are motivated to do so that is!!

Swim with the current

Recently, SwissMiss suggested this short film about a 90 year swimmer on her blog.

It was highlighted on Vimeo as being about the power of ritual. But I think it's about so much more.

It's about loneliness, hope, depression, meditation, mindfulness, and retaining a sense of wonder. 

It's also about application, persistence, stickability, problem solving and the never give up/never surrender school of thinking.

It's also about integrity, commitment, self-directedness, self-discipline, self-esteem and self-efficacy.

It's also about emotions, change, aging and questions and answers.

It's about life and education and learning and teaching.

It's a wonderful short film. It does a lot in less than 2 minutes.

Go look and learn!

It's amazing how the day fills up (Will in About A Boy)

Picasso painted 50,000 works of art in his lifetime.

 

This is a kind of ramshackle sequel to the previous post:

The ideas around dividing your day into meaningful segments appeals to me.

Will in About A Boy divides his day into units of time - each unit is 30 minutes.

Gretchen Rubin has this on rebounding from a mistake: “Instead of feeling that you’ve blown the day and thinking, “I'll get back on track tomorrow,” try thinking of each day as a set of four quarters: morning, midday, afternoon, evening. If you blow one quarter, you get back on track for the next quarter. Fail small, not big.” 

Ingvar Kamprad (founder of IKEA) advocates small units: “You can do so much in ten minutes’ time. Ten minutes, once gone, are gone for good. Divide your life into 10-minute units and sacrifice as few of them as possible in meaningless activity.”

What's good for Ingvar seems unworkable for Wozza's world. Ten minute slots??? Far too small. I'll stick to About A Boy I think.

Using Will's units of time as a guide, my Monday to Friday 11 hour school day is divided up into 22 units (3 units before school starts then 12 units of teaching/ learning time, plus 1 unit for morning tea and 2 units for lunch. After school there are another 4 units before heading home).

I like this concept - it allows me to use both Ingvar's no waste, and Gretchen's fail small ideas as well. Yes - 30 minute units is the way to go!

BTW: Picasso apparently worked each day from 2pm until 10pm - a solid 8 hours (16 units) hence his amazing productivity.

Incidentally, I had to get a blood test this week so I went to a local place, took a number, and waited my turn. It took 2 units (apparently I could have booked online and arrived at an appointed time, but, luckily, yes - luckily, I didn't know that). So I spent the time reading and then deleting stuff on my phone. I managed a complete catch up (and unsubscribed from The Literary Hub for good measure - mixed feelings but glad that I made a decision).

Who knows what's good or bad right?

My problem is you (Jackson Browne)

Photo by Egor Myznik on Unsplash

George Couros recently wrote about being paralysed with indecision through too much choice. He mentioned Barry Schwartz's TED talk on the paradox of choice - worth a look.

...as the number of choices keeps growing, negative aspects of having a multitude of options begin to appear. As the number of choices grows further, the negatives escalate until we become overloaded. At this point, choice no longer liberates but debilitates. It might even be said to tyrannize.

Barry Schwartz

On a minor scale I sometimes have the same issue with all of the great things coming into my inbox.

Currently I appear to have too many to handle because I don't get time to access them through my day and they quickly mount up.

Weekly newsletters are one thing: James Whatley; Austin Kleon; Warren Ellis; Edutopia Weekly; James Clear; Swiss Miss; George himself - I do get to them eventually in my week. 

The daily ones are the tricky ones I find: Leadership Freak; Seth Godin; Literary Hub; Morning Brew.

Yes - too much choice can lead to issues.

Of those the one I neglect the most is the Literary Hub. It's great but it's the one I often delete without reading.

A dilly of a pickle.

I support the left though I'm leaning to the right, but I'm just not there when it's coming to a fight (Jack Bruce)

Recently, I saw a tweet from William Shatner paying tribute to Star Trek crew member Nichelle Nichols - better known as communications officer Lieutenant Uhura. He mentioned her role being trailblazer for 'redefining social issues'.

Some Klingon on the starboard bow tweeted back - 'since when did Star Trek become political?'

Dude! Everything is political!! Human beings often do things or act in the interests of status or power. 

Was Lieutenant Uhura/Nichelle Nichols ever challenging that idea? You betcha black boots she did!

Part of her legacy is the way she as an actor and as a character inspired people, girls in particular, to reconsider their social standing.

She was definitely a trailblazer as she redefined social roles and issues from the Star Trek bridge. We can learn a lot from her example.

 

R.I.P. Lieutenant Uhura. Beam her up, Scotty.