Sunday, August 15, 2010

Getting into Gear

For many, the new year starts on January 1st, but for me and most other educators the first day of the year is the day our students come back from Summer holidays.  For me this was last Tuesday, and I'm pleased to say that I made it through the first week and lived to tell about it!

But as I sat home today, I realized that despite every years saying I want to be organized and stay on top of things, I inevitably get behind and never seem to catch up. This week I made a concerted effort to stay on top of work. I did grading everyday , and when I left work on Friday I wasn't panicking thinking about Monday morning. It was a nice feeling. I only have one more batch of tests to grade and input into my data folder on Monday and I know what I'm going to be teaching once class starts.

It's almost 6pm and I just realized that maybe I can carry this over into other parts of my life. Going to the gym is always the last thing on my mind, but it doesn't hurt to go anyways. I've already been trying to go more often (as in once or twice a week) but really, I know that with the number of hours I spend on the computer a week writing I should be going at least four times a week.

Writing is the other part of my life that needs a bit more organization. I keep saying that I'm getting back on task, but it never seems to happen. I get distracted, because honestly Bejeweled Blitz is just too addictive. But even as I played yet another round today I knew I had to get to work. When I first started writing The Evolution of Janie I set daily goals for myself and each day tried to beat that goal. Most of the time I was ahead and could get as much as 5,000-6,000 words a week done.

So, since it's the beginning of the year for me, I'm setting goals for myself:

1. Get grading and lesson plans done Friday BEFORE going home

2.  Work out 4 times a week

3. Set up a daily writing goal calendar and post it beside my computer.

On my iPod:

Hate Every Beautiful Day by Sugar Cult

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