For this one I thought I’d tackle my own version of “How We Work” and share some of my favorite productivity tools and strategies. I actually found it pretty helpful to think some of these answers through-I’m definitely more in tune with what has been working for me (and what hasn’t!) this year after writing this one. I hope it helps some of you as much as it helped me.
Location: Savannah, NY
Current gig: Elementary School Librarian for Oswego CSD (Fitzhugh Park building)
Current mobile device: iPhone 6
Current computer: MacBook Pro (circa 2010)
One word that best describes how you work: Strategically
What apps/software/tools can’t you live without?: Stitcher! Podcasts have turned my hour long commute to work into something I enjoy and look forward to-I love learning something new or hearing an entertaining story and have been known to sit in my car in my garage when I finally get home just so I can finish an episode. Being able to customize my podcast playlists with Stitcher has made my podcast listening that much more enjoyable.
What’s your workspace like? Colorful, whimsical, organized (obviously ;-)
What’s your best time-saving trick? Planning and prepping ahead of time whenever and wherever possible. Some of my favorite ways to do that include:
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- Planning all my outfits for the week on the weekend after I finish all the laundry. Before I start pulling them together, I pull out my planner to see what I have to tackle that week (meetings I have to attend, after school commitments etc) and check the week’s weather forecast. Armed with that information, I plan out every outfit from the undergarments to the accessories. I hang everything for each outfit on their own hangers and hang them up in my bedroom in order, from Monday to Friday, with the shoes I’ll wear with each lined up under them.
- Packing my lunch the night before (as soon as I get home from work-before I even change out of my work clothes!). Since I don’t have to worry about picking out my clothes for the next day when I get home from work I focus that energy on packing my lunch for the next day.
- Prepping my breakfast smoothie the night before. Since I’m already in the kitchen preparing my lunch and most mornings I have a smoothie for breakfast on the way to work, I take care of breakfast as soon as I get home from work the night before as well. I pre-blend all the non-frozen ingredients for my smoothie and put the blender jar in the fridge. That way, the next morning, when I’m grabbing my lunch from the fridge, I pull the blender jar out, throw a few handfuls of frozen fruit in it, blend up my breakfast and go.
- Prepping for the next day’s lessons/needs before I leave work each night. I try to never leave work without making sure the craziness of the day has been cleaned up/reorganized and the as many of the things I’ll need for the next day are gathered together ready to go (books for read alouds, handouts, craft supplies etc).
What’s your favorite to-do list manager? I have a 3 part system I like to use for managing my life and my to-do lists (surprise, surprise).
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- Part One: For managing the big picture to-dos (what monthly to-dos and obligations, curriculum mapping/planning) I like to use my Erin Condren teacher planner. These things aren’t cheap but I absolutely adore mine! I usually order the next school year’s planner in March because they’ll have a 30% off coupon code sometime around St. Patrick’s day you can use on the planner. I have been ordering these planners for years now so trust me when I say, 30% off is a great discount code. More importantly, while the site often offers up discount codes, they usually exclude the teacher planner for some reason. I know without fail that the St. Patrick day sale will be 30% off and will include the teacher planners so I just go for it and get next year’s planner before the current year has even started the 4th quarter.
- Part Two: Last year for Thing 37, I mentioned that I was reading Maia Heyck-Merlin’s book, The Together Teacher. To manage my weekly expectations and to-dos, I’ve been using her Together Teacher Weekly Worksheets. At the beginning of the school year, I printed off one for each week of the school year (and some of her other handy organizational handouts), holed punched them and, put them in a binder with labeled dividers. Now, on Fridays, as part of my end of week wrap-up, I pull a blank weekly worksheet and fill it in for the next week with everything and anything I know is on the next week’s schedule. I keep it clipped to the front cover of my planner and as the week progresses, things are added and removed from the worksheet as needed.
- Part Three: Finally, to keep track of the small, last minute things that get thrown my way when teachers are picking up and dropping off their classes (or just popping in during the day for other things), I’ve been using Google Keep. It’s like an electronic version of a desktop covered in post-it notes. I learned about Google Keep at a 2 day Google Bootcamp I attended this summer through OCM Boces. While I use it most often when I’m at the circulation desk (I always make sure it’s one of the open tabs when I set up the circ desk for the day), I love that I can also access it from my office computer or phone/iPad when I’m away from school. And because it’s a Google App, everything syncs and updates automatically. I cross reference the notes and to-dos on Google Keep periodically with my weekly worksheet and planner to make sure everything is accounted for and nothing slips through the cracks.
Besides your phone and computer, what gadget can’t you live without? I’d call it a tie between my blender and my coffee maker because if I’m not drinking a smoothie for breakfast, I’m drinking coffee. And starting my day without one of those isn’t a pretty situation for anyone!
What everyday thing are you better at than anyone else? This is so silly but, I’d have to say answering the phone. Before I ever went back to school to be a school librarian, I spent almost all of my 20’s working as an administrative assistant in the business office at a high end athletic club. This club prided itself on it’s customer service (our training program was developed by the same people who developed the Ritz Carlton’s customer service training program) and as such, there absolutely was a correct way to answer the phone (and transfer a call, and leave a voicemail message, and take a message, and even a correct way to hang up the phone). I can’t help it, even after all these years, when I answer the phone at work, I do it like I was trained back then. People often comment on how I nicely and professionally I answer the phone. And it drives me nuts when other people lack some of that same professionalism. For example, please don’t just answer a phone at a workplace with “Hello”. Ummm, who am I talking to, what room have I reached? If I’ve accidentally dialed the wrong extension it would behoove us both to figure that out before I’ve launched into whatever thing I needed to call you about. And even worse is when people leave me voicemails without identifying who they are or where they are calling from-and when you leave your number, for the love of everything, slow down and make sure you repeat it! People don’t want to have to listen to a message multiple times to try to get all the digits in that phone number you just rapid fired out. Whew! Like I said, I have some intense customer service training in my background and well, I can get kind of passionate about the topic.
What are you currently reading? The Way of Mindful Education: Cultivating Well-Being in Teachers and Students by Daniel Rechtschaffen. I’m reading it for a book study I’m doing through Oswego Boces. As far as pleasure reading goes, I’m in between books right now but am on the waitlist for several ebooks at my local library including: What She Knew by Gilly Macmillan, The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking and, So, You’ve Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson. Also, ebooks are another one of my time saving secrets. I’m constantly forgetting to return books to the library on time, accruing overdue fees and then, I inevitably end up making some special trip to finally get the books back and pay my fines. When I checkout an ebook though, it just disappears when the loan time has expired. No special trips to the library, no more overdue fees.
What do you listen to while you work? When I’m out in the library, children talking and (hopefully!) learning; when I’m in my office, the sounds of my co-workers in the copy room attached to my office; and when I’m at home, whatever mischief my husband and dogs are up to. I also have a noise app I’m fond of called Noisli. I like that not only does it offer different sound options for background noise, it lets you create your own soundscape mix. My favorite soundscape I’ve made for myself is the noisy coffee shop, laid over the sound of a crackling fire, with the subtle sound of rain falling in the remote background. Sometimes, when I want (or need!) the library atmosphere to be more relaxed than normal, I’ll put Pandora on through the smartboard speakers and we’ll listen to the Calm Meditation channel.
Are you more of an introvert or an extrovert? I’m an introvert. People are often surprised when I say that because I’m not shy or quiet. I can actually be quite loud, outgoing and, talkative (I’ve been described as obnoxiously peppy and even my nearest and dearest have told me I’m “exhausting” and can be “a lot to handle”). However, I can only handle so much time with other people around. I need my alone time, I crave my alone time and I’m only able to be that peppy, perky, overwhelming person for so long before I need to recharge my battery with some solitude. I cram a lot into my work weeks so when it’s time for the weekends, I’m more than happy to only leave the house for my weekly grocery shopping trip and spend the rest of the time relaxing at home with my husband and dogs.
What’s your sleep routine like? Most nights, I’m in bed by 10 pm or 10:30 pm then, I’ll watch a little tv or read until I fall asleep. I like to get to work good and early that way I can leisurely prepare anything for the day I couldn’t get to the previous afternoon. But, that means with my hour commute I have to leave by 6:30 am. Rushing around trying to get ready for work is a sure fire way to put me in a bad mood before the day even starts so, to maintain that 6:30 am leave time, I have to get up by 5:30 am so I can start my day relaxed. I’m trying to get back into working out again and I know from past experience that I’m more likely to stick to working out if I get it over with first thing in the morning. Which means, unfortunately, I’ll have to get up even earlier than 5:30 am. I’ve been slowly trying to bump up my wake up time to leave myself room to work out, still get ready at a relaxed pace and, leave by 6:30. It’s definitely a work in progress situation!
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received? After finishing my bachelors degree (it would be another 6 years before I figured out what I wanted to go back to grad school for), I got my first “adult”, full time, year round job. The athletic club I had been working at part time was looking for a new administrative assistant for the business office manager so I transitioned from working part time in the child care center to full time in the business office. I shared an office with the personnel department’s administrative assistant, a woman named Nancy. Nancy had worked in a variety offices and industries over the years. She gave me two pieces of advice I’ve always remembered and frequently applied at work over the year:
- 1st piece of sage advice from Nancy: One day, early in my time there, the general manager asked me to work on something for him. Thinking I was being helpful, I outlined several things I had going on and why it might not be possible for me to get it done by the day he wanted it done. After he left, Nancy pulled me aside and said, “(General Manager) is a busy guy. He doesn’t want to hear why it might be difficult for you to get to the projects he gives you. He just wants to delegate and know it will be taken care of. The next time he asks you to do a project for him; smile and say ‘Of course I can do that. When do you need it by?’, ask any follow up questions you need to do it well and then adjust your schedules and priorities to get his job done when he needs it done. And whenever possible, get it to him earlier than you promised.” It seems obvious now, but at the time, it was an eye opening piece of advice. The people in charge want results, not excuses. And they want to know if you are the person who can get them those results. I started following Nancy’s advice with the general manager (and other department managers when they needed my help) and it completely changed how they perceived me and my abilities. I become a dependable, reliable, go-to person for getting things done.
- 2nd piece of sage advice from Nancy: “Sometimes, it’s better to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission.” This is an old saying but, at the time, Nancy was the first person who I ever heard say it. And I loved it. Truly, to get things done, you sometimes to just have to forge ahead and go for it. Bosses are busy people (see above) and don’t have time to be bogged down with every little detail. And some people by nature, only see the reasons why you shouldn’t do something or why something might not work and many people aren’t willing to take the risk and give the go ahead on something they don’t think will pan out. They need someone who goes ahead and just does it-just makes it work (they just don’t always know they need that). It’s advice that needs to be used strategically but, so far, it hasn’t steered me wrong yet.
Librarian On The Loose 
Love, love, love this post! And I want you to come organize my life and whip me into shape! I wouldn’t dare share a photo of my desk in it’s natural state. :) Thanks for doing this one!