Learn to Manage Your Most Important Resource: Energy
Your motivation at work is directly related to how you spend your personal time. If you don’t do anything after school that is re-energising, you are going to go back into the classroom the next day feeling even more depleted. The job will take even more out of you and you are going to get sucked into a downward spiral. I try to do something that is inspiring and energising for me as a person on a daily basis. Even though I’m busy, this is the choice I consciously make because I know that the way I choose to spend my evenings makes a tremendous difference to my creativity level, attitude and productivity the following day. I can’t afford not…
Using Time Well
Often in schools we have too much to do and not enough time to do it in. Time is a precious commodity. It is vital that we use the time we have available well. One of the challenges of working in schools is that much of our day is FIXED. There are classes to be taught, duties to be fulfilled and meetings to attend. This makes it even more important that we use any flexible time effectively to do the things that are important. With so much to do and so little flexible time available it is essential that we prioritise ruthlessly and do the most important work; the work that makes the most difference in our role. We need…
Actions Speak Louder Than Words
We all know the importance of actually taking action, rather than just talking about what we are going to do. I have certainly come across a lot of “gunnas” in my career. People who are “gunna” leave teaching, “gunna” write a book, “gunna” sell real estate and “gunna” make a million dollars. The following are THREE key examples where ACTIONS speak louder than words – changing habits, establishing your reputation and doing good deeds. Changing Habits We all know what we SHOULD do but saying something and doing it are two different things – we SHOULD exercise daily, we SHOULD eat 2 serves of fruit and 5 serves of veggies, we SHOULD reduce our intake of saturated fats, we…
Difficult Parent Conferences
There are many reasons why a parent conference can be difficult. Sometimes the content is difficult to talk about. Sometimes the student is difficult to deal with in class. Sometimes our own lack of comfort causes the difficulty. Sometimes the parent is difficult. Often there are misunderstandings that make the conference difficult. Controlling our eye contact during a difficult parent conference is critical to our success. The following are the four stages of a Difficult Parent Conference, with a commentary on the non-verbals. Our goal is to have a piece of paper eg mark book, anecdotal notes, incident report or assessment piece, represent the source of the problem. This preserves the relationship with the parent. Parent’s stage and…
If You Can’t Change It …Don’t worry about it!
The final term of the school year is inevitably busy. As well as the teaching, learning, assessing and reporting on this year, you’ll also have the planning, budgeting and preparing for next year as well. I never cease to be amazed at the staff who appear to be surprised when the demands of final term ‘hit’ them. It’s as if the stressors are unexpected. We all know that the photocopier will break down, the computer network freeze and the printer jam in the final 24 hours before end of year reports are due. It happens every year and yet many are surprised. Worrying about things that we can’t change is a waste of time and emotional energy. The following are…
7 Day Attitude Adjustment Challenge
The most important decision we make every day is our attitude. Each day you make a choice – you can be cranky, sarcastic and negative or you can be positive, enthusiastic and full of energy. We can choose to be positive and upbeat or we can choose to be negative and be filled with doom and gloom. Whilst some people make the choice about their attitude subconsciously, it is a choice that you get to make every single day. Nobody else can make that choice for you. Attitudes are important and have a massive impact on our energy levels. Our energy level is closely linked with our attitude. People with lots of energy tend to have a positive, ‘can-do’ attitude.…
Rituals to increase your happiness
Working in schools can be challenging. The uncertainty of COVID has exacerbated this. The following rituals can help to increase your happiness. They are based on the work of UCLA neuroscience researcher Alex Korb. What am I grateful for? This is the most important question to ask yourself when you feel down. According to neuroscientists just thinking about what am I grateful for releases dopamine and serotonin. Even if you feel that things are particularly tough at the moment and you are struggling to find things to be grateful for, the act of searching for the positives is beneficial. Remembering to be grateful is a form of emotional intelligence. Label Negative Feelings When you feel you are becoming overwhelmed by…
Mindfulness Practices by John Shackleton
Focus on the breath Whether it’s a demanding boss, a difficult relationship or an unexpected bill, life gets to all of us from time to time. Something happens and before we know it, we’re exploding in anger or retreating into a sulk, or worse, turning to food, shopping, alcohol or drugs to help us cope. This simple strategy can help: focus on the breath. Rather than thinking of all the things we can’t control, if we focus our attention on something we can control (our breathing) we gain stability and composure. This is a simple form of meditation. Just a few minutes of focusing on the breath every day has been shown to have many benefits. Try this: Find a quiet place, close your eyes and…
What To Do When There Is Too Much To Do
Time is precious. Schools are busy places. There is almost too much to do and not enough time. No matter what time of year it is, the problem is the same: our list of tasks is never-ending and our time available is never enough. How can we deal with this in a sane way? Realise That You Can’t Do It All Right Now You might have 20 things to do or 100….but you can’t do all of them right now. How many can you actually do right now? ONE! Realising that we can’t do everything right now is an important step in having realistic expectations about what we can achieve. Research shows that most people UNDER estimate how long tasks actually…
Successful Parent- Teacher Interviews Over the Phone
Due to COVID restrictions, many schools are now conducting Parent-Teacher conferences over the phone or using ZOOM. This creates some different challenges to the usual face-to-face meetings. Here are some tips to optimise your parent-teacher conferences. BEFORE THE CALL – Be prepared – Make sure you are absolutely clear on the following. What are the key messages you want to communicate to the parent? What outcomes are you trying to achieve? Whilst this might be one of many calls that you need to make to parents, this is THE CALL that parent has been waiting for. It is likely to be an important call for the parent. Remember this is their son or daughter and for most parents their children…
5 Simple Ways to Stress Less
Instead of making a list of resolutions that you know you won’t achieve, set yourself the goal of being happy, calm and in control at work every day. Here are five provenpsychological effects that can help, or harm, your stress, productivity and happiness. 1. Confirmation Bias – What You See is What You Get We notice and remember things that confirm our beliefs and discard those that don’t. Keep this in mind when you argue with a difficult colleague, negotiate with a challenging parent, or complain about an unfair school leader. If you already see them as ‘difficult’, ‘challenging’or ‘unfair’, you’ll continue to do so, even in the face of contrary evidence. Resolve to put these biases aside and approach…
Top 5 Reasons Why Some People I Work With Are So Difficult
Whenever I speak in workplaces about difficult managers and co-workers, there is always one question that always comes up… ‘How do we get rid of them?‘ But I think a more important question to ask is, ‘Why are they so difficult?’ If you have the belief that the answer to that question is that they are … “100% pure evil!” “They cannot help it” or “They are beyond help”, it will certainly affect the way you interact with that person and possibly make a bad situation much, much worse. Here are my top five, less-sinister explanations for difficult people at work. Although these explanations do not excuse their behaviour, they certainly can help you see their behaviour in a kinder…