Priorities

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you may have noticed that I had not yet posted this week.  Normally, I post on Monday or Tuesday.  This was a particularly busy week.  Christmas is, of course, busy for everyone.

For secondary teachers, it is also exam time.  Our exams were due last week.  Once we got approval for them, we make the key and copy them because they are due to our special needs team soon.  It was also Christmas concert time.  Our school has an exceptional fine arts program, so we have two concerts, one for chorus and band and the other for dance, theater, and strings.  For my students to properly prepare for exams, I need to get everything graded and back to them for study use.  And, of course, you still have all the regular duties that you always have.  These aren't complaints.  It's just an exceptionally busy time of year.

This brings me to the point of this post.  It may not be possible to get everything done that you want to during a week like this.  That means, it is important to prioritize your to do list.  Some items matter more because they have due dates, and some matter more because they are very important.  Some of the tasks can wait.  In this particular week, writing my blog post was the thing that could wait.

If you are a teacher, taking ten minutes to make a list and number in order of priority is well worth your time.  Giving yourself a break on the last items helps too.