Teacher’s Diary
Teachers and lots of people hustle through their day in activity-packed muddles and end them with throbbing headaches, no achievements or under-achievement. Conversely many people ‘sit-out’ their days sedentarily and end them with throbbing headaches that arise from disorganisation, poor-circulation and regret-laced mental convolution.
So what then makes a day rewardingly lived? To my mind, in my 50 odd years of living, the answer is this across the board is what I’d like to call prioritised-purpose .
‘Purpose’ for the purpose of this writing refers to the: intentions, chores, requirements, tasks, enterprise, jobs, duties, responsibilities, assignments, study, trainings, qualifications, commitments or obligations, that you and I need to complete in a day, or within a space of time.
Note that I have used the word ‘need’ as lots of people: acquire, earn and wade about with tasks and obligations they say, and are convinced, that they are obligated to complete.
The following five tips gathered along life’s journey and by comparing ‘notes’ with family, friends and colleagues will help you sort out your day in the most rewarding ways:
• Limit your impulsiveness and spontaneity to absolute minimum levels. Banish chaotic thoughts and reactions. Rather, get into the habit of listing out your intended tasks, duties, plans, targets and obligations. Next organise each into essential and desirable tasks. Take a critical look at your list and triage the tasks in both groups in an order of priorities. Break each task into a simple timeline that has taken cognisance of the realistic time to its completion. Other variables to then factor in, include resources such as: people, skills, money, implements, tools and fuel necessary to complete the job.
• Appraise your energy and keenness levels. You might need to critic the need to embark on a task at all, or to finish it within the timespan you’ve allocated to it. Let wisdom reign. If it’s to earn a living, further a course or save lives, then you know the task needs to be done! Some things may need to be delayed until clarity in their need is achieved. So your honest appraisal allows you space out yourself so as not to wear yourself out on the one hand, or invite failure on the other.
• Will yourself to start. Just do it! Commit to the task and get on with the job. Be a person of integrity; a man or woman of your words. A famous cultural maxim entreats us to, “suffer now and enjoy later.” There is often good rewards for those who wait behind after working hours to toil or work unsocial hours to meet a deadline. To add more value to their work or study, you must commit and be consistently committed to your purpose. Consistency is an invaluable ingredient for your target’s pot of soup!
•Evolve a way to assess how you are doing on your work. This could be by way of self-assessment or inviting others to evaluate your work. People’s varied evaluations are good in the way that, if honest and constructive, they can be invaluable for your progress. Accept that some people would be negative or give damning criticisms of your efforts. Learn how to guard your heart and maintain your momentum of progress towards your purpose. Tracking your progress this way enables you to judge how far you have moved towards your target.
•Go to your study or task timeline and determine the points you would be celebrating each progress. As you reach each point, celebrate the milestone you’ve achieved. Celebrations could range from buying yourself a drink, hanging out with a friend or two to allowing yourself a treat. However, keep level-headed to sustain your commitment to purpose. Celebrations over, recharge or regroup and will yourself to restart the task. Just do it!
Omoru writes from the UK
