Recognize When to Give Yourself a Break

I was typing away about something like finding my niche, myself, my identity. I was on a roll. Before I knew it the earth was on a roll. The earthquake only lasted a minute. But, there were news stories and Facebook posts for the next hour. Then my grandchild rocked my world. My daughter found out the sex of the baby today. I just had to make phone calls and send text messages again.

Today my writing time was interrupted by an unforeseen interruption and then a happy one. I think I need to give myself a mental break for this one. My heart and mind are still racing. I did read another writing blog and am more focused than I was. However, I think today my writing is a lost cause. The niche article was good. It will appear later this week.

Deadline Anxiety

This afternoon I saw a strategy presented for parents to help their children complete dreaded homework. I know and use this strategy when I teach with good results. Here it is: to get a child to complete overwhelming and seemingly difficult homework, break it into chunks. Completing small chunks at a time makes the child feel a sense of accomplishment and increased self-esteem as smaller tasks are successfully finished.
The same strategy is supposed to work for getting long term projects handed in by the due date. However, there are people who are just not motivated until the stress that occurs as the deadline approaches makes them difficult to live with. Some children and even adults need that stress before getting motivated like a junkie needs drugs. I understand that more now. But what's a teacher of parent to do about it?

Various Voices in Development

This blog will be about writing and using language to communicate. We all say and do things that others interpret. Others interpret our communication through filters. Filters of values, judgments and goals determine how well others hear what we say. How do we get our voices heard? Whining is certainly audible and annoying enough to get a response. Often someone will cringe and cover his ears, but not listen. Supposedly, talking quietly will get someone to listen more attentively. Maybe they'll listen for a minute, but not for long when there are other distractions. Yelling might make someone do what you say out of fear, but the impact will be lost over time or others will avoid you. There are many reasons people tune each other out. So what works to get others to listen?   We have to break through the filters, find common ground and respect each other. No one judges a baby. The goal is simple; to help the baby thrive. As the baby gets older, the goals are not so simple. The whining starts. We tune it out. Other things compete for out attention. And their yelling becomes embarrassing. Communication gets out of control. Communication is a back and forth exchange and relies on mutual understanding and listening. We must learn where the other person stands.