Tag: Back to school

Goal Setting · Quotes

Planning Your Work, Working Your Plan

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Summer is officially over.  It’s time to buckle down.  But it may be hard to get back into a routine if your productivity dropped off significantly during the last few months.  All the things you meant to do but didn’t get to may be spinning around in your head. That’s why you need a PLAN to help you focus on exactly what you want to get accomplished.

If you think about it, that’s just what schools do when they use a syllabus or a study plan. They outline the subject so that the objectives of the class are broken up into bite-size task. That way the students know what has to be done and can plan their time.

Now in the spirit of full disclosure, I have to confess I cringe at the thought of writing a syllabus. I used to put off writing them until the last possible moment and would end up scrambling before my first class to get it together. However, the activity of drafting a syllabus always helped me to think through the structure of the course. I’d build on what worked in the past and improve what didn’t.  I’d also think about timing and workflow.

I had a similar experience with writing study plans.  When I was a M.F.A. student, we had to write a new study plan at the beginning of each semester. Back then I thought they were a pain in the ass, but in retrospect they helped me to break up the work into manageable pieces.  I knew just how much I needed to complete in a given week.  And at the end of the semester, I could see tangible evidence of my progress.

So here’s how to develop your PLAN:

  1. Look back at your previous list of goals and write a few sentences listing your   accomplishments since January.  When we can acknowledge our successes, we’re more motivated to work on new goals.
  2. List five things you’d like to accomplish before the end of the year.  Write a positive action-oriented sentence for each item.  Example: I will write three new short stories.
  3. Ask yourself, what tasks have to be completed each month to move you closer to your goal.  Write a monthly task list. Make sure each item is measurable.  Example: Read one novel. Send out 10 resumes.
  4. Pick one day at the end of the month to check your progress. If you’ve completed your task for the month, give yourself a day or two to relax. It will motivate you to keep working your PLAN.
  5. Create a reward list for the successful completion of your PLAN.

Remember —

If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail.

Harvey MacKay

 

Images · The Writing Life

Back to School Blues

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School is back in, which usually means it’s time to get back into a productive routine. But for the first time in eighteen years, I don’t have to take anyone to school. My daughter is a junior in high school and drives herself. So consequently, the beginning of the school year doesn’t mean I have to get organized. I don’t even have to get out of bed at any particular time. In fact, the only thing that woke me up this morning was my daughter yelling good-bye on her way out the door. And though I used to fantasize about how much I’d get done when my schedule was no longer defined by the school day, this week has been a total flop. I’ve accomplished less this week than any other week this summer. The first two days I crawled right back into bed after my daughter left and slept another two hours.

I thought maybe I had a bug or something. But today I decided it could be depression.

 

I’ve been a mother for twenty-three and a half years. Caring for my children has always structured my day, even when I worked full-time. I’d get up, take a shower, get dressed and then wake up the kids.  Once they were dressed, I’d give them breakfast. We’d be out the door before 7:30 so I could be at work by 8. I tried to make their mornings as relaxed as I could. I didn’t want my kids to have memories of me yelling “hurry up” all morning like I had of my own mother. But as they leisurely ate their cereal, I suppressed a tremendous sense of guilt. I worried that I wasn’t giving them enough time and that I was going to miss some big milestone while they were at day care. Things got easier once they started elementary school. My husband had a new job that made it possible for me to work part-time. I arrange my schedule so that I worked while the kids were in school. It was the best of both worlds. I didn’t have a lot time of writing back then. I believed I would be able to write more once I wasn’t bound by my kid’s school schedule. In many ways, that was true. But as recently as last year, I seemed to only hit my stride about the time I needed to leave to pick up my daughter from school. I looked forward to this school year so she could drive herself.

This past Monday morning, a group of parents, including dads dressed for work, waited with cameras for the school bus to pick up their children. I wanted to join them and celebrate the first day of school. But instead I took a few pictures of my daughter before she climbed in her car. As I watched her turn at the corner, the last thing I wanted to do was write.

I decided to give myself the rest of this week to settle into this part of motherhood. After all, she is my baby. But starting next Monday I’m back on track with a fresh set of writing goals for the 2012-2013 school year.