GTD

When I first saw the abbreviation GTD, I instantly thought about Jersey Shore (sad). However, I am beyond happy to have found this resource! Getting Things Done by David Allen is a book that lays out how to "master" our work. He lays out a process that allows you to figure out what needs to be done and how to do it. Sounds easy enough, but when your mind is racing to keep track of things, easy becomes complicated.

There are five stages to Mastering Workflow as laid out in Allen's book:

1.Collect
2. Process
3. Organize
4. Review
5. Do

By working through all of the stages and fitting them to your life, you are able to master your workflow. So, of course I tried it.

1. First, I collected all of my information into my notepad. I wrote EVERYTHING that was on my mind. Then I began to highlight and organize them into groups.
2. After the groups, I began to process my information. I looked at what was "actionable" and for what was "not actionable." If it was not actionable at the moment, I skipped over it. If I found something that was actionable, like an email, I kept it on the list and stared it. If I found something that would take more time, like making a poster, I circled it. I also had things that were for the future, those I just left.
3. Once I had an idea of what my tasks were, I organized everything into four categories (I change this based on how it made sense to me). I put them into categories of pressing, if time and ongoing. I also put dates for pressing and ongoing tasks.
4. Once everything was organized, I worked the tasks into my planner (I use Franklin Covey). The pressing issues went on the daily page. The "if time" tasks went on a sheet of paper that I paper clipped to the page. The "ongoing" projects were written at the front of the month calendar.
5. The final step is to "do." After I got everything put together, I had about 10 minutes before I had to move on to my next meeting, so I worked on the if time page.

I feel the the GTD process will help me, however, I have to make it work for me. I found it helpful to be able to sit through the five steps to find how I could use and work through each step. I have always been attached to my planner. But, I never had any organization to my planner. My planner became a mess of a different to do lists that were never really done. Now, applying what I have learned with GTD, I feel I can actually make a dent in my to do lists and be more efficient in the process.

For more information by GTD and Mastering Workflow, click here.

Glogster vs. Blogs??

Glogster is a great tool I recently learned about! This would be great in the classroom for any subject. It would be great to see students my goal boards out of Glogster. They could post pictures, words and videos of things they hope to accomplish in the future.

My Glogster is about my Professional Learning Network. Every item on my Glog is someone or something that I network with and learn from on a regular basis.

Social Networking at Work

I always thought I was pretty informed in the world of social networking. I love Facebook, and I tend to waste a lot of my time on Facebook. But, Facebook was the limit of my networking. I had heard of Ning, and I always intended to open a LinkedIn account, but I never got to it.

I have used Facebook to connect with my job in Residence Life - after all, my main focus group is college students that are constantly on Facebook. I promote events, speakers and meetings through group pages. It is also a great way to build community because we post photos of everyone getting involved. However, I never looked at social networks as a teaching tool, especially Facebook. The reading, Social Networking Goes to School, opened my eyes to all the ways social networking can be used in the classroom. I love the idea of using Twitter to have students help each other with math, how cool is that?

Educational Networking is also a new idea to me - I knew social networking was a great way to stay in the loop with friends and family but I never thought about connecting with other educators. I have already spent a large chunk of time checking out MACUL on Ning. I have also found news ideas on Twitter - something I never thought I would connect with work! I intend to utilize the groups available to me on Facebook, Ning, Twitter, etc. to become a better educator.

I look forward to learning more about social networking tools in regard to work. Once again, finding ways to make teaching and connecting easier!