Battling with the Clock

I know many time management strategies.  Why is it that I find so many of them difficult to implement?  I'm a calendar person.  If it's on my calendar, most of the time, I can get the task complete.  But recently, I find myself also working from a task list of priorities - handwritten at that....

I've also been hitting the snooze button on the calendar reminders quite frequently.

Anyone else struggling?  Any other tips?  Do I just need to come to terms with the fact that some balls will get dropped.  Everyone enjoys the juggler, right?

Fitting it all Together

I've been richly blessed to attend a plethora of training since my tenure at ESC Region 11 began in December 2013.  Lately I've been trying to fit all of the pieces together to create a consistent train of thought/beliefs.

I've been inspired by an activity called 5th Grade Polyhedrons posted on the Art in the Big Green Room blog from Spalding Drive Elementary in Sandy Springs, Georgia.   I plan to "lift & edit" for Maker Camp.
My thinking....

Can I connect just 2 pieces?

What about 3 pieces?

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What about 4 pieces?

So why is there no image for 3 pieces?  I'm not saying it's impossible, but I wasn't able to make it fit.

Using that as an analogy.  As an Educational Service Center, we are charged with support the needs of our districts.  I attend trainings and conferences to learn about the trends, gather ideas, and make connections.  Some of those ideas will apply to one campus, some to many, some to none at all. 

It might not all fit together....but, then again...I may not have discovered the strategy that makes it connect

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And later this afternoon....

....as I left the Polyhedron pieces on my desk...I discovered WHY we collaborate....

Creativity and Thinking

Our group had a "summit" yesterday.  We pondered our digital presence.  We outlined topics that need to be shared more widely:  our professional development opportunities, the great instruction and learning going on in ESC Region 11 districts, Tools to recommend, and how-to tutorials.  But we got stuck.  I had a creativity/thinking block.  Looking for the big picture....the brand....the logo....the motto...that describes who we are, what we do, and what we are about.

It will come...but it got me thinking again about THINKING and CREATIVITY  and COLLABORATION.
I came across this blog post today.  I love the simplicity of the statements.  In fact, I'm going to print for a poster in my office as a reminder prompt.  Then I came across a great video on CREATIVITY.

Again, the simplicity!  A video I need to watch until these simple ideas are ingrained.

Last week, while visiting North Crowley High School, I was blessed to witness some amazing students collaborating.  I don't think they were intentional about their strategies, I just think it is what they  do.  But I started to script to capture their tools.  My summary of behaviors of good collaborators:

• think aloud
• use appropriate and precise vocabulary and terminology
• summarize
• ask questions
• clarify
• defend responses with facts and data
• check with team
• double check with team
• independently return to task when distracted
• honest
• focus on the work, not the people

It was an exhausting week, with lots of hard thinking.  I am finding that I need to be more intentional and reflective on THINKING and CREATIVITY  and COLLABORATION.  Am I employing simple tools that seems to work for others?