Dear Participants,
For your August posting, please consider the following:
1. Be sure that your Display Name is your first name and last initial. You can change this in your "Edit Profile" pane if necessary.
2. Post a comment to my original conversation string. Do this by clicking on the posting title or on "comments." Please avoid starting a "New Post." Use the "comment" feature instead.
3. August Topic: Post a brief comment which addresses one thing from the 7 Habits Workshop that you have been able to apply over the summer or that you are in the process of applying now as you get school back up and going.
Have a great School Opening!
One thing that I constantly struggle with is "Sharpening the Saw." Despite the best of intentions, work and stress often get the best of me, and I resort to poor eating habits without time for exercise. For this school year, I pledge to stop and "sharpen the saw" in all areas--especially the physical.
ReplyDeleteI have used putting first things first. I have found that making sure that the most important things rise to the top and that the things that usally just get in the way of the important things stay out of the way make me a more effective leader in my school. I also find that I am able to be more helpful to Mr. Carter when I don't allow the little things to bog me down.
ReplyDeleteThis summer has been great with ample time to sharpen the saw and get quandrant two planning time in. I look foward to a good start to my school year at JB Pennington and hope yours starts well also.
ReplyDeleteI have mostly focused on putting first things first. The same concept is one I hope to share with our teachers. If this is accomplished in class, achievement will go up and discipline issues will go down. This concept, while obvious, is often neglected. It applies to our professional and personal lives.
ReplyDeleteI have been working on "Putting First Things First". I have found that I have accomplished more by doing this. I plan my day and then work the plan. I still have to take thing one day at a time.
ReplyDeleteI have been working on my mission statement. My daughter made me aware of areas I had not considered, but were helpful.
ReplyDeleteSharpening the Saw for me involves spending constructive time away from work with my family and friends. It is easy to get engrossed in my work and it (work) can overtake valuable moments of our freedom.
ReplyDeleteI am a strong believer in putting first things first. This is not only a seven habits principle but it is first a Bible principle. I hope that I can relate this to my faculty at HHS this year.
ReplyDeleteI want to focus more on the positive this year than the negative. Which will require more of the Putting first things first approach.
ReplyDeleteI have been "Sharpening the Saw" all summer long because I know that it will not be as easy once school starts. Believe it or not - I have not been spending my entire summer at school or engrossed in work. In my spare time, I have been working on National Boards (Entry 4) and spending time with my sweet husband and two great kids! "Putting First Things First" has also been my summer motto and will continue throughout the school year!
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to focus on "Put First Things First" so I can spend more time in Quadrant II personally and professionally. I'm also going to schedule some physical activity into my day so I can work on "Sharpening the Saw" physically.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate what David H. said about relating "Put First Things First" to his faculty. I intend to purposfully reinforce this by consciously voicing that our decisions and actions should reflect that "we" as a school and as individuals, are putting our students first.
ReplyDeleteIt is my goal this year to be a more proactive person rather than a reactive person. I want to focus more on things I can control and less on things I cannot. I have not learned to say “no” often enough, but I am working on it. I am also making an effort to use proactive language more often. We should all remember we are a product of our choices.
ReplyDeleteWhy do we sometimes think professional development is a waste of time? Have we failed to fully develop the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People or is it because it takes us out of our comfort zone? Effectiveness lies in the skill building and character building roots of our personal and professional life. I am in the process of working on Habit 6: Synergy, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. My goal is to increase positive energy and create a more cooperative spirit in our school.
ReplyDeleteI like the very first quote in the 7 Habits Book..."When we can no longer change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves," by Viktor Frankl. I am a huge control freak and always want to be in control of the situation but often I find myself just sitting back letting the situation control me. Therefore, I am striving to be more proactive so I can possibly change the direction of a course before it turns into complete disaster. But, at the same time, I want to be reflective enough to step back and determine if the situation needs changing or if I need to change. My attitude is a huge henderance for me. That is an area I want to be proactive in as well.
ReplyDelete