Thursday, February 14, 2013

Time Card?

Do you chart the time you spend on work endeavor?

In days of old, many of us punched time cards to start and end our work days.

The work of educators has the potential to be limitless, and it's up to educators to set limits.

Yet, some don't realize the time you invest each day.  With this in mind, a colleague suggested that I start charting the time spent for the following activities:
  • Unit design and research.
  • Email response.
  • Newsletters and website updates.
  • After hours conferences including family conferences, professional development events and leadership events.
  • Student response.
  • Other categories?
As the colleague shared this idea with me, she alerted me to the notion that some may not understand what it takes to create an awesome unit, respond to student stories or have a meaningful coaching meeting with colleagues or families.

I think this is a good idea.  As you know, I enjoy my work and see education as more of a lifestyle than a job, but as an effective communication piece, it might be worthwhile to understand where I invest my professional time each day.