Ironically, I am struggling with my
productivity level the very week that I have been asked to submit a blog on
productivity. I am a mother of four
children ranging in ages from 8 to 14.
They dance, sing, play soccer, basketball, and baseball, run track, and play
the guitar, drums, and piano. I teach special education full time and run the
school’s extra-curricular theater program with two shows per year and up to 150
kids involved. I am the director of the
children’s ministry at a small church, and I somehow thought there might be
some extra time in the scant twenty-four hours we were blessed with to go back
to school to pursue my masters. Productivity
is high on my list of concerns. In a time of squeezing all we can out of our
busy weeks, we all need to use the tools that are available to us to maximize
our time.
One of the apps I use every day is
a low-tech, easy to use, free app on my phone.
The ColorNote app is a fancy sticky note. I organize my to do lists by
color, keep track of the payroll for my Sunday morning employees, and can jot
down notes using voice to text. I can
then cut and paste with the swipe of a screen and send out my lists or
notes. Since my phone is always (mostly)
with me, it’s a convenient tool. While
not the most exciting, for a woman who’s computer screen is covered with actual
yellow post-its, these virtual sticky notes are a huge time saver for me.
Google is my productivity’s best
friend. With Google and its many facets
of bright and shiny apps and helpers, I can manage my wonderfully messy and
complicated world from soccer practice or guitar lessons. With Google calendar, I have all of my events
in one place and can send my colleagues invitations to IEP meetings, my husband
an “invitation” to pick up our daughter from ballet, and all of the
grandparents invitations to games and birthdays. My calendar emails and texts me reminders for
every event I have scheduled. Our school
is using Google calendar for our school activity calendar. I can link it to my
calendar and it save me hours of entering dates and times. My 6th grade math PLC shares a
Google docs link with all of our plans and worksheets in one easily accessible
place. No more searching for a worksheet in a binder. Copies are easily printed when a student is
absent or has a missing assignment.
My productivity tools are not
exciting or new or flashy. As my kids
grow and my career expands, I find myself clinging to the precious few moments
when there is nothing to be checked from a to do list, no place to which I need
to rush, and no pressing matters needing my attention. These easy to learn,
user friendly tools allow me to have more of those moments by keeping me
organized and prepared.
And also I still love yellow sticky
notes.
