Joan Moser
May 24, 2013
I had a lengthy to-do list last week. One of the tasks was to write the lead article for this week's Tip of the Week. Each time I reviewed the list, my eyes paused on Lead Article as well as the brainstormed ideas I'd recorded below it, but feeling uninspired, I moved on to the next item. By the time the weekend drew to a close, all my tasks except for that one had been checked off.
Hoping that I might find writing inspiration in a different location, I tried the backyard, the bed, and the couch. I stood at the kitchen counter. I tried various times of the day, but still couldn't seem to get the words written.
I was chatting with Gail about my writing dilemma, explaining that I had multiple ideas but just couldn't seem to get my thoughts down. She mentioned that she often has similar experiences. In fact, her weekend to-do list included cupboard cleaning. She was determined to take care of the cupboards early Saturday morning so she could enjoy the rest of her weekend, but once she started the task she found it was taking forever because she wasn't enjoying it or feeling very motivated. She successfully retackled the chore later in the day, finishing three times the number of cupboards in less time than it had taken to finish one that morning.
As we talked and laughed about our to-do-list dilemmas, the conversation shifted to the children in our classrooms. How often have we asked students to produce a piece of writing that they care about within a time frame we arbitrarily set, or to throw themselves into a reading strategy or math concept before their motivation has produced engagement and buy-in?
Of course, deadlines are part of life. Yet we should keep in mind that sometimes being flexible about where and when they must be accomplished can lead to greater productivity, less frustration, and a better outcome.
Perhaps that is the ultimate strength of Daily 5: giving children choice over when to work on writing, read to self, or work on another Daily 5 choice. Once students are independent, the order in which they do two or three of these each day doesn't really matter.
I decided to look at my newly revised to-do list the Daily 5 way. I committed to finishing all the tasks, giving myself absolute freedom over the order in which I completed them. This eliminated the self-rebuke over skipping tasks and the eye-rolling at items I didn't feel like doing at that moment. Instead, I plugged along, choosing items throughout the day, accomplishing them one at a time.
The result? You are reading it.