Top 10 Time Management

You need to find out what you are doing, and when you are doing it, to ensure that you have enough time.

Tool to Try: TrackThisForMe

Your time is precious. You need to ensure that you get done what needs to be done, and not what everyone else wants you to do. Find that happy medium.

The equation matrix is similar to what is found in The Happiness Equation by Neil Pasricha, and can helpful in increasing your happiness and productivity!

Make sure that everyone is familiar with the library and it's processes. If you want things to move smoothly, you need to have your students and teachers clear with the expectations and where they can find what they need.

Deciding what to do next can be hard with too many ideas coming at you. In the video, the most interesting concept I found was that of Interrupt Coalescing. It posits that if I know that emails only need to actioned within an hour, I should only do that task once an hour, leaving my other time to be more productive. (And goodness knows I could use less time checking emails)

Beyond getting books, why would students want to come to the library. Too often, at my school, the library becomes a destination because a teacher wants to run a club in a quiet space. While that is a great idea, it doesn't lend itself to the draw that the library could be.

Ignoring the cheap labour, students, in classrooms and in the library, take way more responsibility for what they have created. Have students take responsibility for running parts of a makerspace, or have them as experts to help students trying to make a film. Have the students become the drivers of the library. It can only make your life easier!

While it may seem counter-intuitive, a busy library can actually make your life easier. Combining a great library orientation with positive words that keep students understanding the collaborative power of the library can be a powerful tool for keeping up the popularity and respect for the library space.

Check out these quotes about books to get your started!

One of my least favourite things is being asked the same question seven times (even though I covered it in my instructions 2 minutes ago).

In the "School Library Media Specialist" article, they had a great idea. Have a question list of the questions you are asked in a day. If they same questions pops up at least twice, create a quick resource to answer the question, so you don't have to keep repeating the answer. No guarantee that people will read the helpful reminders the first time, but I promise, they will get there.

In my board, you need to get to know library services. They are your best friend, and the people that you can trust to help you out in any situation. While we have done away with most teacher-librarians, we do have 5 digital literacy support teachers who are playing that role. They work closely with both IT and Library Services to ensure that the schools have what they need. I am not yet a DLST (fingers crossed), but I do know my library service friends, and they, in-turn, help me to run the programs in my classroom and throughout the school.

Asking for Help is a Strength - I can't say it any better than the video.