In the year 2017, we are more connected than ever. More educators are on Twitter every single day. We have exposure to so many cool things that are happening in other classrooms. I have seen dozens of ideas that I want to put into place in my classroom or try out at least once. There’s a new tech tool every week, and because educators are all following each other on Twitter we are exposed to it quickly.
There’s simply no shortage of ideas, which might just be a bad thing for the average teacher. George Couros suggested that some of us might consider the role of isolation in teaching, so that’s my focus today, albeit in a roundabout way.
Gerard Dawson’s article on decision fatigue made the rounds recently. It was an excellent look at how we make decisions and how to cut down on those decisions in order to be able to continue making good decisions throughout the day. I strongly recommend that teachers check it out. However, alongside decision fatigue, I would also posit that teachers are among the people hardest hit by analysis paralysis.
What is analysis paralysis? It is the tendency to analyze the potential decisions that can be made to the point that no decision actually ends up happening. We see this in meetings a lot, where the pros and cons are weighed and then the decision itself is tabled. I see this at home when I think about the opportunity cost of decisions (if I do laundry, then I won’t get these quizzes graded; if I go to bed right now like I should, I won’t get a chance to meal prep for tomorrow, and so on). And in this ever-connected world, I see it in lesson planning like crazy while determining how best to get students involved in a lesson.
Raise your hand if you’ve every over-analyzed a lesson plan to the point that you ultimately decided to go analog–not because it was the best method of presentation, but because you deliberated too long to actually go through the process of making the lesson the best it could be?
(Now put your hand down. You’re reading a blog post on your computer, silly).
Whenever I mention analysis fatigue to someone I know, they also tell me they suffer from it frequently. Here are the things that I do in order to fight back.
1. Block off your time.
Angela Watson of the Cornerstone for Teachers talks in her podcast “Truth for Teachers” about creating the Minimum Viable Product. What’s the best, most functional thing you can create in a 30-minute block? As teachers, we are constantly refining our lessons. Does this need bells and whistles this time around? Or is function the higher value?
I do the same thing at home. I set a 30-minute timer on my Echo and clean as much as I can in 30 minutes. Watson also advocates figuring out the Main Thing and doing it first, so I prioritize that and then get whatever else I can get done in whatever time is left. Advocates of Pomodoro time suggest that after this block you have a 10 minute break and then go into another 30 minute productivity block.
The key to those blocks? Don’t do anything else until the task at hand is done. And if you have time left, work regardless even if you end up task-switching once the first task is done.
And please, save yourself a lot of trouble and go into airplane mode before you do it.
Either way, determine what you have to do, do it the best you can in the time you’ve allowed for yourself, and at some point reclaim time for yourself.
Here’s the thing: Some of you are saying in your head, “But Mr. Lambright, that doesn’t actually help with analysis paralysis.” And you’re right. But by setting time blocks, you’re going to have to get something done. Don’t start a bunch of different things. Start one and when the timer is up, if the thing you’ve made or done is functional, you’re done. Value your time appropriately and it will help you produce.
2. Spend more time in isolation.
Sometimes we need to put our phones down and spend some time in isolation. An interconnected world means that we are often subjecting ourselves to internalized expectations that are wildly unrealistic. We see a lot of, “Do this to be a better teacher” without acknowledging two factors:
- That advice is not the only way to be a good teacher
- No good teacher does every single thing that is being advised
This is why reflective isolation is so important. I spend about ten minutes a day meditating, or more if I can feel my anxiety catching up to me. It’s a practice that helps me get out of my head and the expectations I have for myself and back down to business.
We say often that “No man is an island.” But I would suggest that this man should take an island vacation every once in a while. It’s crowded on the mainland.
So when it comes to analysis paralysis, we meditate to figure out our priorities. Whatever thought keeps intruding, whatever item on your to-do list seems to poke its way into our thoughts regardless or what we do, that’s the thing we need to prioritize. Don’t let the other things get in the way. Do your Main Thing first.
3. Use Random Chance
Sometimes we need to take the decision out of the equation for ourselves. If we have a list of tasks that we think are all equally important and have frozen because we don’t know what to do first, randomly select one by numbering them and randomly generating a number.
Likewise, we can always flip a coin to decide between two tasks. Like the old wisdom says, if you flip a coin and find yourself dissatisfied with the result, then you’ve found out which task is more important to you. Well, I’m pretty sure they said that about making decisions about your dating life, but still.
This is a key way to fight analysis paralysis. Stop yourself from analyzing by making something else make your decision.
Do you have tips that you use yourself? Leave them in the comments. We don’t always have to isolate ourselves, but when it comes to making decisions or worrying about what “everyone else” is doing, sometimes a little time to ourselves is key.
Hunter Lambright is a math teacher at Richmond High School in Richmond, IN. He’s participating in #IMMOOC, the Innovator’s Mindset Massive Open Online Course. This is a response to the assignment for week four. You can find him on Twitter at @hunterlambright.
Educating the Hunter 