Genius Hour Project: Week 3
15 minutes for myself? Seems easier said than done. With our busy, scheduled lives, how does anyone have time to sit and reflect for 15 minutes? It's funny because I teach a communications course to seniors about the human psyche and self-acceptance, and yet, as adults, it's hard to find time to do what we are teaching the kids! I chose writing for my passion project. Narrowing it down was fairly easy. However, spending 15 minutes writing for fun has been difficult!
I started writing in the morning, as suggested to find a good routine. However, it completely threw off my morning routine! I couldn't find the 15 minutes to reflect in the morning because my internal distractions were too heavy. My mind was constantly on the other 9 million things I should've been doing. So, then I tried at work, during my prep time. My classroom is quiet, with no distractions. That worked. I liked it, but I did get distracted sometimes. Maybe someone at the door, maybe my hunger, maybe my phone buzzed. I tried at home, after I put the kids to bed. I bought a journal years ago that I never wrote in.
This worked. I liked writing at night mostly because I have so much to say! I start by journaling a little bit about the day, emotions I felt, and things unsaid. Then I transition into my "story writing". I started writing funny stories of the students and me as a teacher. I think if I ever did write a book that's what the premise would be! But for now, baby steps. So, when I reflect on: "What can you do now that you couldn't do last week?" I made time for myself. And I started writing some short stories, that I dont even care if they are any good, it feels productive.
I am glad you were able to find a great time of day for writing! I agree that mornings and in your classroom can be a challenging time of day to focus on something like this. Is there a specific topic you are hoping to write about by the end of this project? Best of luck this week!
ReplyDeleteErin,
ReplyDeleteWhat you said about it being hard to do what we are teaching our students to do and making time for ourselves is so true! I feel that way with our social-emotional curriculum this year. It was also hard for me to select a time to put everything else aside and focus on myself. I'm glad you found the time that was best for you. I love that you are writing down funny things that happen in class. Those would be good to look back at on rough days!
Persis
Erin,
ReplyDeleteI read this amazing article that Steven King, no matter where he is in the world or what day it is, will write something every single day. I like how creative genius also involves some habit patterns in order for it to work. I appreciate you letting us know that it was not productive in the morning. In order for me to work on my personal projects in the morning, I would have to wake up at 4 am. That's too much sometimes. Make sure that you include writing in our nighttime routine and before you know it, you might have a skeleton for a book. That would be an incredible life accomplishment.
Juveriya