Why Being Hard on Yourself Creates Failure
Are you one of the millions of people who compare yourself to others, judge yourself harshly, being hard on yourself frequently? Do you worry about not being ‘enough’ or not having ‘enough?’ Do you allow that silent inner critic to yell at you consistently because you weren’t quite perfect once again? Being hard on yourself minimises self-esteem, plants toxic thoughts or ‘weeds’ for more of the same, devalues self-worth and personal power. It is a recipe for failure. A recent Canadian University study also concluded that self-criticism was consistently associated with less motivation and self-control. This particular study tracked the procrastination of students over a semester. They found that many students put off studying for the first exam. The students…
Drowning in Life?
Reduce the number of decisions you need to make in any given day – This is one of the easiest ways to give a burnt out brain a break (decision making is incredibly tiring under normal circumstances – when we’re feeling overwhelmed, even more so.) Some ideas for reducing the number of decisions you make each day include eating the same thing for breakfast every day, getting up at the same time every morning, developing a work uniform and doing a meal plan so you don’t have to decide ‘what’s for dinner’ at 5pm. Have a morning routine – If your day starts off rushed and frantic then chances are, the rest of the day will continue in that same vein. To combat this, I…
Productivity Tips For Self-Leadership
Microsoft once undertook a study and found that a third of our day is unproductive. That’s more than 2 and half hours per day. That’s too much. If you feel like a lot of your day gets wasted, keep reading. You need to be looking a lot deeper at what you’re doing: we all do. You need to be paying attention to what’s going on around you and how you show up and impact on your won productivity. Self-leadership starts with self-awareness. Productivity and self-leadership go hand-in-hand. So here are three tips for you to think about. 1: What is eating your time? What do you let creep in and take over time for you? Do you watch too much…
Is Sleeplessness Killing Your Productivity- Part 2
Last week, in Part 1 we looked at the factors contributing to sleeplessness. You don’t need to have young children or a sleep disorder to have a restless night’s sleep. Most people have difficulty sleeping, particularly when stress is involved. According to the Sleep Health Foundation, one in three people have mild insomnia. If you’re lying awake at 3 am wondering how on earth you’ll get back to sleep, here are some tips for you. Practical solutions to break the sleepless cycle In pre-industrial times, people would go to sleep and wake with the sun. Today, we can spend half the moonlit hours awake, enjoying some downtime in front of TV, on computers or other devices. LCDs are like artificial sunlight that confuse…
Is Sleeplessness Killing Your Productivity- Part 1
Does this sound familiar? Worries and negative thoughts enter your head at night and become magnified. You check the time. 2.59am. You tell yourself ‘Go back to sleep’. Your neck, back and shoulders ache and you can’t get comfortable. The stress builds! Pretty soon the mind starts racing and worries from your day merge with anxiety about not being able to sleep. ‘How will I cope tomorrow if I can’t sleep?’ You check the time again. 3.33am! The cycle continues. A lack of sleep can alter your mood, motivation, alertness and ability to make decisions, which often leads to more stress and anxiety, then more broken sleep – and so on, in a seemingly endless cycle. The reason stress keeps…
How Can the Pareto Principle Help?
Working in schools, there is always a lot to be done and never enough time. Time is a valuable commodity. The Pareto Principle can be helpful in ensuring we utilise our time well. Whilst you might not have heard of it as the Pareto Principle, the 80 / 20 rule, as it is more commonly known can help us get more done. First identified by Italian mathematician Vilfredo Pareto in 1906, the Pareto Principle was used to describe the unequal distribution of wealth. Pareto observed that twenty percent of the people had eighty percent of the wealth. In the late 1940s, quality guru, Dr. Joseph M. Juran, attributed the 80/20 Rule to Pareto, calling it Pareto’s Principle. The 80/20 Rule…
Encourage Persistence Through Meaningful Struggle
The well documented research by Stamford University on the ability of four year olds to delay their gratification is commonly referred to as the Marshmallow Test. The children were given the choice of immediately eating a marshmallow or if they could wait and resist the temptation to eat the marshmallow, they would be rewarded with a second marshmallow. Of the 600 children tested, only 200 children were able to delay their gratification and therefore receive the reward. Stamford reported a high correlation between this ability and future success. This importance of persistence, focusing on a task and “doing the work” is not likely to be a surprise to most educators. This is consistent with the key messages in Dr Carol…
R U OK?
R U OK? Day is a national day of action dedicated to encouraging all Australians to ask family, friends and colleagues ‘Are you OK?‘ The day is held on the second Thursday of September (13 September in 2018). R U OK? Day is designed to target the whole population, to help all people understand the role they can play in supporting those grappling with a problem, big or small. Most people don’t openly share their feelings, particularly if they are struggling. The best thing we can all do is regularly talk to the people we care about. Schools are often the hub of a community. As well as touching base with our colleagues, staff in schools often have a connection with members…
Helping Children Cope With Loss
The death of a parent, family member, friend or even a pet can be devastating to a child. Parental separation, divorce, relocation, illness or accident may be traumatic as well. Yet, there are actions teachers and school counselors can take to help children cope with loss. When working with hurting children, remember, they do not “get over” a significant loss, instead they learn how to live with it. How can you help? Acknowledge a child’s grief through kind words, gentle actions and unconditional support. Whenever possible, coordinate with the family so that the child receives consistent messages. Help the parent see that protecting the child from the truth can have negative consequences like increasing confusion, fear and resentment. Together, help…
5 Ways to Combat Teacher Stress
Humour / Laughter I am a huge believer in bringing fun to my lessons and this is the major reason I don’t ‘stress out’ in my classroom. I believe that laughter is the best medicine – it always makes me feel better and a happy classroom reduces my stress! Research shows that laughter releases natural feel good chemicals from the brain. There is, however, a fine line between adding laughter and losing control. Always ensure you bring your students back to focus quickly. Give it a go! Believe in what you do and stay positive Having a strong belief in your own abilities and believe that what you are doing is making a difference! Even the worst lesson (in your mind), could…
Small Acts Create Big Ripples
Everyone in life needs help from time to time. Many people are afraid to ask for help. Some are too proud. Others have had experiences resulting in them placing a negative meaning on asking for help. However, asking for help can be beneficial for both parties – the helper and the beneficiary. Many people, do small acts of kindness for others and never realise the true power of their act. Think of the smile you gave or received from a stranger, the dollar you gave a homeless person, the chat with your elderly neighbour, or the hug you gave a friend. It’s the small acts that really count. It has been proven scientifically that, due to the holographic nature of…
6 Things Productive People Do Every Day
Schools can be crazy busy places. The most common response you hear when you ask someone who works in a school, how they are, is busy! However, there is a fine line between being busy and being productive. Here are six tips from international best-selling author Tim Ferriss. Establish Your Morning Routine Research shows how you start the day has an enormous effect on your productivity. If you start the day calmly, you are in a better position to focus and get the right things done. A hectic start to the day, where you are frantic and constantly feeling that you are playing ‘catch up’ puts us behind the 8 ball from the very outset. At times the hectic start…