Staying Focused
While listening to a recent Driving Questions podcast by Kevin Honeycutt he made an interesting statement in regards to a PLN. He said you can’t shoplift, you have to put something back on the shelf. This statement made me think I’ve been shoplifting lately. I don’t spend as much time as I’d like on Plurk and when I do I’m shopping. I give an occasional hello, good night, good luck or thank you but have not been sharing much as far as resources. I haven’t been writing blog posts or even reading/responding to other blogs. I really thought this year would be a little easier, it’s my second year in this position and our tech TA is really helpful and on top of things in the labs. But I still feel like I’m always behind and of course trying new projects with my students. I’m feeling like I’m on the computer a lot at home but I’m not feeling like I’m getting much accomplished. I flit from one of three email accounts, to Plurk, to the links from Plurk, to Ning, to whatever else pops up. I think I’m like the bird at the feeder always on the move. Meanwhile I have a growing to do list of school and personal tasks that doesn’t seem to get any shorter. I need to work on being more focused on one task and getting it completed. How do you keep yourself focused?
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Good question. If you get the answer let me know. I constantly get distracted when I get online. The only thing that works at all for me is to make a to do list and give myself x amount of time to do it and that’s it. Then I do tend to focus and do just those tasks that will accomplish my goals. If I don’t do this then I just have to go explore one more link or visit that interesting looking site, etc.
I think you are selling yourself short. You have created an amazing community on elementarytechteachers.ning.com site. You make sure you welcome new members and have given so many people a great place to gather. As a matter of fact, Kevin Honeycutt just joined today.
I drop by different social networking sites as I have time. I quickly share sites I find or things I am doing, but I don’t have as much time as others do. I connect via the web, not an iPhone or other portable device. I have middle school sons, a husband, a house, and a dog that all require my attention. I’m sure it’s very similar for you.
Enjoy the communities you join. Don’t get too hung up on shoplifting because you give a huge amount although maybe you didn’t see it.
Thank you for your responses. I should try the time limit and see if that helps. The time does to seem to fly by when I’m out there reading Plurks and browsing sites. I’ve been doing better at getting house tasks done before I even turn the computer on in the evenings or weekends. Thanks for the assurance Ann, that I’m not shoplifting!
Nedra As you can tell from this late comment, I seem to be on shelf with you. I find I do a lot of the same activities with the same results. I seldom take the time to comment on the blogs that I actually do find the time to read. Thanks for the kick start putting some stuff back on the shelf.