Do you ever feel like you have more things to do than time to do them?
For teachers, every day is busy. The busier you are, the more you need to focus your time and energy on the things that are most important. A teacher’s to-do list is never done. When you have more things to do that time to do them, you need to prioritize where you put your attention.
Prioritizing is hard, especially when all the things feel important.
But let’s be realistic- without prioritizing what you do, your day easily gets hijacked. Have you ever had a day when you feel like you got absolutely nothing done? You probably did a lot of things, but they weren’t the most important things, and you are left feeling frustrated.
If you don’t focus on what is most important, it is easy for others to make demands that seem like priorities in the moment but may not be your priorities in the bigger picture.
We have an easy strategy that helps us prioritize what we do each day. We learned this technique at a live workshop from personal development trainer Brendon Burchard, and we both quickly adopted it for our mornings.
This quick strategy helps us to start each day with intention. It allows us to focus on what is most important. We consider our values as we think about how we want to show up in the world, who needs our time, and what we want to get done.
Take a few minutes first thing in the morning and answer the following questions. Answering these questions will help you to be focused, resilient and positive. You’ll set your intentions for the day and get the day off to a good start.
- If one word could describe the kind of person I want to be today, then that word is__________ and I chose it because….
- Who needs me on my A game today?
- I would know today was a success if at the end of the day I did or felt these things…
These questions don’t take more than a minute or two to answer. You can jot them down in a journal or your planner. If you answer the questions repeatedly, it will become a habit that will help you start your day with intention, which in turn, leads to living a life that is centered on your values and one that exemplifies how you want to show up and who you want to be.
We hope you will give this activity a try!
Our best,
P.S. If you want to extend this idea, we have created a journal just for teachers:
The Inspired Teacher’s Journal: A Weekly Guide to Becoming Your Best Self.
In this book you will find more questions to help you focus on what is most important. We’ve even included habit trackers and quotes and tips from other teachers.
You can get the book here.
https://amzn.to/3RMIq1i
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