Today, as I was working 'from home' aka the campus closest to my house (I've discovered I am super productive there and they have AMAZING flapjacks) I overheard a conversation between some students working opposite me. It went something like this:
Student 1: I am really stressed out about these deadlines in May
Student 2: Why? That's ages away!
Student 1: Well I have 2 due in one after another
Student 2: Oh no, that is really stressful
Student 1: And it's only 2 weeks after my dissertation is due in, so I only really have 2 weeks to do them.
Student 2: *sympathetic, concerned noises*
I internally rolled my eyes a little at this exchange a little and went back to my work. But then it got me thinking as on Monday I had had a similar meltdown about how much I had to do, how little time I have and how on earth would I work out what to focus on?
I have always been a busy person- even in my year book I have comments from peers saying I do 'too much', I have frequent 'discussions' with my boyfriend about how much training I do (my opinion: nowhere near enough. His: FAR too much) however it is rare that I feel overwhelmed with work and often 10 minutes and a list later I feel more in control and focused.
But is this a natural aspect of my personality or it is something I have learned from years juggling life as a teacher, exercise and training and (thankfully) a social life? The Teach First program is built on the belief that skills you learn in teaching can help you to become a better employee in almost any career; patience, team work, problem solving and good communication skills are all developed within a good teacher but is this also the ability to keep many balls in the air and effectively multi task?
I'm not saying all teachers are hyper organised, super productive beings (I can name many who aren't) however does teaching increase your capacity to get stuff done better than a run of the mill office job?
There is a well known adage, 'If you want something done, give it to a busy person' this is an idea backed up by Jordan Peterson in a Joe Rogan Podcast where he talks about how we improve. He identifies than in challenging ourselves we increase our capacity, similar to when we train in the gym we increase our strength or cardiovascular fitness. So in making ourselves busy and taking on an additional load we become more able to cope with that load. This takes training and persistence (a lot like physical training) but if we challenge ourselves we will increase our capacity. So perhaps those busy people, or those who have worked in teaching have stretched their capacity for work to allow them to be capable of more.
So, in answer to the student earlier on- give yourself more to do alongside your other work commitments. Have a part time job (to be fair, she may already have one), break down your assessments into small tasks and allocate some to be achieved each day. Giving yourself lots of small goals enable you to chip away at the bigger ones and increase your productivity (bullet journals may help- see my earlier blog post here). For all those involved in teaching these methods will help you to move forwards when it feels you are drowning in a sea of paperwork and enable you to celebrate your achievements (no matter how small).
Student 1: I am really stressed out about these deadlines in May
Student 2: Why? That's ages away!
Student 1: Well I have 2 due in one after another
Student 2: Oh no, that is really stressful
Student 1: And it's only 2 weeks after my dissertation is due in, so I only really have 2 weeks to do them.
Student 2: *sympathetic, concerned noises*
I internally rolled my eyes a little at this exchange a little and went back to my work. But then it got me thinking as on Monday I had had a similar meltdown about how much I had to do, how little time I have and how on earth would I work out what to focus on?
I have always been a busy person- even in my year book I have comments from peers saying I do 'too much', I have frequent 'discussions' with my boyfriend about how much training I do (my opinion: nowhere near enough. His: FAR too much) however it is rare that I feel overwhelmed with work and often 10 minutes and a list later I feel more in control and focused.
But is this a natural aspect of my personality or it is something I have learned from years juggling life as a teacher, exercise and training and (thankfully) a social life? The Teach First program is built on the belief that skills you learn in teaching can help you to become a better employee in almost any career; patience, team work, problem solving and good communication skills are all developed within a good teacher but is this also the ability to keep many balls in the air and effectively multi task?
I'm not saying all teachers are hyper organised, super productive beings (I can name many who aren't) however does teaching increase your capacity to get stuff done better than a run of the mill office job?
There is a well known adage, 'If you want something done, give it to a busy person' this is an idea backed up by Jordan Peterson in a Joe Rogan Podcast where he talks about how we improve. He identifies than in challenging ourselves we increase our capacity, similar to when we train in the gym we increase our strength or cardiovascular fitness. So in making ourselves busy and taking on an additional load we become more able to cope with that load. This takes training and persistence (a lot like physical training) but if we challenge ourselves we will increase our capacity. So perhaps those busy people, or those who have worked in teaching have stretched their capacity for work to allow them to be capable of more.
So, in answer to the student earlier on- give yourself more to do alongside your other work commitments. Have a part time job (to be fair, she may already have one), break down your assessments into small tasks and allocate some to be achieved each day. Giving yourself lots of small goals enable you to chip away at the bigger ones and increase your productivity (bullet journals may help- see my earlier blog post here). For all those involved in teaching these methods will help you to move forwards when it feels you are drowning in a sea of paperwork and enable you to celebrate your achievements (no matter how small).
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