Slides from a productivity workshop from the Woodrow Wilson National Teaching Fellowship Foundation's 2014 Convening Event. This presentation focused on how to use horizontal planning, systems, goals, and decision-making skills to set your school year up for success and integrate your work and personal lives as an early or mid-career teacher.

1. Getting Things Done:
The Teacher Edition
Woodrow Wilson National Teaching
Fellowship Foundation

2. The Opportunities Project is a mission-driven talent
development, career coaching and recruitment consulting
company. Over the last two years, we have helped over 1,000
individuals get closer to their professional goals and assisted
organizations hire over 900 employees in the education
industry.
Our vision is that through coaching and education, everyone
can develop the skills, behaviors and attitudes they need to
create their own opportunities.
About The Opportunities Project

3. Tracy Brisson is the Founder and CEO of
The Opportunities Project, a national
talent development, coaching and
recruitment consulting agency.
She is a former Director of Teacher
Recruitment for all of New York City’s public
schools. Over her career, Tracy has
reviewed 20,000+ educator resumes and
hired thousands of applicants into teaching
positions.
Tracy is available to talk about topics related
to the teacher workforce, educational
recruitment, school or district hiring policies,
and teacher career management, among
other topics.
Author Tracy Brisson is a recognized career and recruitment
expert with in-depth knowledge of the education industry.
http://confessionsofateacherrecruiter.com

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5. Confessions of a Teacher Recruiter is
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7. Agenda
• Horizontal and planning
• Task management and focus
• Importance of goals for a productive and
balanced life
• Making decisions

8. “You can do anything, but
not everything.”
― David Allen

9. HORIZONTAL PLANNING, TOP TO
BOTTOM

10. I want X… but Y!
1. Waiting for the perfect circumstances
2. I’m not that person!
3. Lacking resources

11. Waiting for the perfect circumstances
“I want to pursue a teacher leadership
experience, but I don’t have enough
years on the job.”

12. I’m not that person
“I really want to speak at a conference,
but no one will be interested in what I
have to say.”

13. Lacking resources
“I want to get in shape, but I don’t have
enough time to go to the gym four times
per week.”

14. Solution: Horizontal Planning
David Allen Stephen Covey
• 50,000 feet to Runway
• Life Mission
• Five Year Plan/ End in
Mind
• 1-2 Year Goals
• Current Projects
• Runway
• Life Mission
• The End in Mind
• The Quadrants (Important
and Urgent)

15. Top Down Planning Down

16. David Allen’s Horizons of Focus
Horizon Questions
50,000 Feet: Life Mission What contribution do you want to
make to your family, organization,
community, the planet?
What are your “no matter what...”
qualities for your life?
40,000 Feet: 3-5 Year Vision and
Intentions
What is your 3 to 5+ year vision and
strategy, personally &
professionally?
30,000 Feet: 1-3 Year SMART
Goals
What are your 1 to 2 year goals and
objectives, personally &

17. Examples
Horizon Questions
50,000 Feet: Life Mission I want to change how we work with
immigrant children in education.
40,000 Feet: 3-5 Year Vision and
Intentions
I want to work abroad in a Spanish-
speaking under resourced
community in need.
30,000 Feet: 1-3 Year SMART
Goals
I will earn bilingual certification
within 18 months.
How are your horizons aligned?

18. What is “Bottom Up” Planning?
• “You can’t really define the right action until you
know the outcome, and your outcome is
disconnected from the reality if you’re not clear
about what you need to do physically to make it
happen.”- David Allen
Horizon
20,000 Feet: Areas of Responsibilities
10,000 Feet: Projects
Runway: To Do List

19. Collecting and Meaning
Quadrant One: Urgent and
Important
Quadrant Two: Important and
Not Urgent
Overall Focus
Quadrant Three: Urgent and
Not Important
Quadrant Four: Not Urgent
and Not Important
Parking space (Someday/Maybe)
Why are you doing these things?
What leads you toward fulfillment or economic satisfaction?

20. Achieving Goals and Milestones
1. Creating path from deadline
2. Making adjustments
3. Scheduling a regular review
4. Outsourcing?

21. TASK AND TIME MANAGEMENT

22. Rules of Good Productivity Systems
and Tools
• You can capture, prioritize, & filter
• It is portable
• It is easily searched, yet everything has a place
• You do not need to spend energy on
duplicating efforts
• You can track progress and be reminded of
tasks

23. Essential Task and Time Management
Tools
Systems Tools
• Collection- Digital Evernote
• Collection- Paper Bins, folders, boards,
notebooks
• Email SaneBox, tags, 2 minute rule
• Task Management Remember the Milk,
Gqueues
• Calendar Google Calendar, Sunrise

24. What are your favorite productivity
tools as a teacher?

25. GOALS: A BETTER LIFE

26. The Art of Making Things Happen
• Inspiration
• Creativity
• Independence

27. The Science of Making Things Happen
• Planning
• Specificity
• Metrics

28. The Anatomy of a Goal
The Art
• Why?
The Science
• How?
• What?

29. SMARTER GOALS
• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Relevant
• Timebound
• Evaluate
• Revise

30. “I want to get in shape.”
How can we make this SMARTER?

31. What is Your SMARTER Professional Goal?
What is Your SMARTER Personal Goal?

32. Resources: Wheel of Life
Finances
Spirituality
Health
Relationships
Work
What can you
borrow from
to meet your
goals and
then
replenish?

33. Case Study: Shonda Rhimes
“As a very successful woman, a single
mother of three, who constantly gets asked
the question “How do you do it all?” For
once I am going to answer that question
with 100% honesty here for you now.
Shonda, how do you do it all?
The answer is this: I don’t.
Whenever you see me somewhere
succeeding in one area of my life, that
almost certainly means that I am failing in
another area of my life.”
Dartmouth
Commencement
Speech, 2014

34. “If I am killing it on a Scandal script for work, I’m probably
missing bath and story time at home.
If I am at home sewing my kids’ Halloween costumes, I am
probably blowing off a script I was supposed to rewrite.
If I’m accepting a prestigious award, I’m missing my baby’s
first swim lesson.
If I am at my daughter’s debut in her school musical, I am
missing Sandra Oh’s last scene ever being filmed at Grey’s
Anatomy.
Whenever you see me somewhere succeeding in
one area of my life, that almost certainly means
that I am failing in another area of my life.”

35. 6 Steps for Managing Obstacles
1. Accept there will be obstacles
2. Have the conversation
3. Maintain a community
4. Letting things go
5. The task vs. the ego
6. Fight vs. flight and creating safety

36. MAKING DECISIONS

37. Making Decisions: Heath Brother Way
1. Expand your options.
2. Consider opportunity cost.
1. Run the “vanishing options test.”
2. Multitrack – think AND not OR.
3. Toggle between the promotion and prevention mindsets.
4. Find someone who has solved your problem.
5. Try “laddering.”

38. Tracy’s COACHING Formula for Decision
Making

39. Real Facts and Information
Time Alignment
Your
Emotions
Your Emotions: What does my gut
and heart say? Do I want to do this
and how much? What emotions are
real and authentic and which ones
are fake lizard-brain ones? Why do I
want this so bad?
Real Facts and Information: What is
reality? Am I making stuff up in my
head about this? What have other
people who had similar goals done
before me and how did it turn out for
them? Am I using the process of
collecting information and data as a
way to put off a decision?
Time Alignment: Have I made real
projections for how long something is
going to take? Have I thought about
what I want in the future as well as
right now?
*

40. Wrap-Up: Next Actions
1. Getting straight on your horizons
2. Select and refine a productivity system
3. Make some SMART goals
4. Prepare to make decisions

41. Contact Information
Website: http://confessionsofateacherrecruiter.com
Download our free toolkit featuring teacher resume samples
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Tracy Brisson
Author, Career Coach, Recruitment Consultant
Founder of The Opportunities Project