It has been a couple of days since I've written, mostly because I haven't had time. Between lesson planning, doing projects for grad school and trying to maintain a social life, I'm struggling to fit everything in. Time management is still something I need to work on. And, because one of my grad school projects requires me to, I decided to try out the QHQ technique again to try to work out some solutions.
Question: How can I fit everything I need to do into a 24-hour day...and remain sane?
Hypothesis: First of all, there is so much to do. Grading is currently taking up most of my time, followed by lesson planning. I'm working so hard to plan exciting lessons, but I find it really hard to get the students engaged in learning about rocks. And that's another worry - I'm still on rocks! 3 whole units behind! I need to catch up, but how can I when they don't understand what I'm doing now? On top of all that, I have graduate school to work on, but at least my online class ends in two weeks. I'll be done with that, which will give me a lot more time to do other things. Then I'm also trying to stay sane by going out with friends and working out. And last but not least, sleeping. That always takes the back seat it seems. I need to prioritize, but absolutely everything seems necessary and important. If I eliminate fun stuff, I get more stressed out and sleep badly. I'm grouchy and then my lessons don't go as well. And if I eliminate sleep, well, that's just not an option. One thing I can do is cut down on the wasted, listless time between activities. I'm doing better at using commuting time and meal time to my advantage, but I still get stuck watching too much TV and sitting around thinking instead of doing.
Question: So, what can I do to limit my wasted time further and improve my efficiency?
I really like this technique. I find it very relaxing and it helps iron out the crazy thoughts running around my brain all the time. As I continue to settle into teaching, I will certainly try to get my students to use it to tease out their thoughts about science.
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