What’s Your “Energy Sink”?

I started this six weeks ago planning to publish July 1st. I was sidetracked creating back to school products for adorable aliens, fabulous fish, and superhero kids, products that help teachers easily create a great classroom space with just one product. Now those products have been uploaded and I’m back! Here’s my question. Did you make a list of tasks to complete in the summer when you have LOTS of time? I’d like to add something to that list. Between chapters in the book you’re finally reading, closets that are getting cleaned out, and your plans for rest and recreation, think about your energy sinks. What’s an energy sink? In computers, it’s an object that absorbs heat so your computer can run much faster – yay! For teachers, I think it’s an activity that absorbs a lot of time. The results of the activity can be great but is it worth all those hours? Sometimes yes, sometimes no.

So, what’s your energy sink? What takes a lot of time and attention? Here’s a few possibilities to ponder:

• Does it seem like there’s always papers to grade? Students need timely feedback, you need information to plan, but does it take an hour or more every day? Do you find that the papers just sit on a shelf waiting to be graded?
• Are you implementing new curriculum? As an author of science curriculum, I’m sure I need to explain everything very clearly and, for me, that takes a lot of words. When implementing a new program it can take a lot of time to figure out the pieces and how they fit in your classroom.
• Do you publish a weekly communication? Parents say they love it, kids like seeing their names mentioned, it keeps everyone up to date, but what if it takes hours to prepare each week?
• Is there a large event you’re responsible for planning? A math night? A science night? A reading night?

I wrote a post that addressed these energy sinks. It’s over 800 words long and not finished. I think short posts work for busy teachers, even in the summer. So I’m breaking the post into at least four pieces. Stay tuned for those.

Do you have an energy sink that’s not on my list that I might include with suggestions and resources?