If you find that you sit down to plan and suddenly feel the urge to do the laundry and organize your cabinets instead of working on a scope and sequence…. if you spend more time scrolling for ideas and inspiration than working on lessons… if you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by the amount of resources you have for planning… or if you feel stuck and unable to make decisions because you’re waiting for inspiration… I think this is the episode for you.
I’d like to encourage you to listen to episode 65 - Where to Start with Summer Planning - before this one, because it sets the context for our discussion today.
What It’s Like To Plan
Overwhelm, too much noise, time constraints, focus issues, and feeling stuck creatively are some of the recurring themes mentioned by teachers. In some form, I believe most of these are almost universal experiences for elementary general music teachers trying to plan their years!
Too Much Noise:
Often, when we sit down to plan, we tend to get sidetracked by seeking external ideas or resources. This excessive search for information can lead to a lack of progress and a sense of overwhelm.
We would do well to recognize when we are crossing the line from gathering valuable insights to drowning ourselves in an excess of information.
Planning Strategies:
To streamline our planning and boost productivity, let's explore three concrete actions and two expectation reframes that can help us overcome common challenges.
1. Sticky Note Savior:
Implementing a simple technique called the "Sticky Note Savior" can help manage distractions effectively. Keep a sticky note or a blank piece of paper nearby while working, and jot down any distractions or tasks that pop into your mind. By doing this, you can acknowledge these distractions without losing focus and address them later.
2. Come Back to This Comment:
Similar to the Sticky Note Savior technique, "Come Back to This Comment" allows you to handle distractions within your work. While typing or working on a document, leave comments for yourself when you get caught up in specific ideas or details that deviate from your main objective. This ensures you capture those thoughts without derailing your progress and can revisit them later.
Reframe: The First Six Minutes
Our brains need about six minutes or so to settle into the activity we’re doing. Before we sit down, we can expect to feel a little distracted, a little unsettled, a little unfocused. If we can sit with a brain that feels distracted, we have a better chance of gently transitioning into a longer period of focused work.
Let’s extend these strategies and the expectation reframe with another set of things I find to be helpful:
3. Just Keep Typing:
Using the approach described by Lauren Graham, the "Just Keep Typing" strategy is especially useful when we’re facing a creative block or feeling overwhelmed. If you find yourself stuck or lacking ideas, continue typing or writing, even if it feels disconnected from your main task. This process keeps our momentum going.
Reframe: There’s No Such Thing as Writer’s Block
Author Seth Godin suggests that there actually isn’t such a thing as writer’s block. We’ve probably all felt like we’re stuck as we’re planning, like we don’t know where to start or we don’t have any inspiration for how to make decisions. Godin believes this is actually a struggle with fear of producing imperfect work, rather than not knowing what to type. We can embrace the idea that it's okay to start with a rough draft or imperfect outline, and move toward improvements along the way.
Overwhelmed by Overwhelm
At the end of the last episode we talked about the difference between feeling overwhelmed, and feeling overwhelmed by the overwhelm.
Another way to say that - is it possible for me to tolerate feeling a little uncomfortable? Is it possible to practice making imperfect plans on my way to better plans?
I’m not talking about a mentality that says “get over it and power through by having more self-discipline and willpower.” I’m talking about an approach that has some resilience paired with awareness. We’re building a muscle.