The Simplest Way to Get EVERYTHING Done on Time
Do the students you work with struggle to get started with their work? Or have a hard time finishing up work that’s been started? Maybe you do, too?
Today I want to share the (arguably) most valuable study skill (and life skill!) I teach students. Whenever I share this––with the educators in my Anti-Boring Learning Lab or with students and parents at a talk I give––the feedback I get is, “This single strategy is so powerful!” Even my assistant has told me that she also does this strategy when she struggles to get work started––and has shared it with her own coaching clients, to much acclaim.
Sheesh. Can a single strategy seriously make such a difference? I say YES! In fact, I’d say that if you only share one of my anti-boring tips with students in your classrooms and coaching sessions this year, this is the one to share.
What is it?!
The Set Up Routine.
The Set Up routine is a series of tasks that students do to set up (duh!) all the work they need to do during their homework session. It involves the following two main tasks:
Making a To Do list (preferably in a planner) of all the tasks that need to be completed today
Preparing the supplies needed to do all those tasks. For example, open up the tabs that will be needed in your browser, get out your textbooks and open them to the first page you need to read, etc.
Once they’ve set up their supplies, students can take a break if they need to––or if they’re feeling motivated, they can dive right into the work.
That’s the sneaky thing about the Set Up Routine…. It works to beat procrastination in two different ways, and I’ll switch to the “I” pronoun here because I’ve noticed this most dramatically in my own work processes, and not just my students’:
I often really struggle to get started, especially as someone who works from home (which most students do, too). If I tell myself, “Go to work!” I just won’t. I’ll stay at breakfast longer, or go for a walk. But if I tell myself, “Go do a Set Up Routine for your morning first, and then you can go for a walk if you want,” I’m much more likely to stop whatever I’m doing and do that.
Once I have prepared all the supplies I need to do the work, and I see it all visually laid out in front of me, my brain often thinks, “Well, why don’t I just get started?” And so I do.
Can you see the power of the Set Up Routine? Would you benefit from being more intentional about setting up your work before you do it? Would your students? I recommend you start experimenting with it.
As powerful as the Set Up Routine is, however, I’ve been reflecting lately that it’s incomplete––at least for me. Over the years as I’ve practiced this routine, I’ve gotten good at STARTING tasks and projects. However, I still suck at FINISHING them. And I know I’m not alone––I’ve had many a student client who always got all their assignments started, but struggled to actually turn them in.
So this year, it has occurred to me that I want to get better at doing what I’m calling the Wrap Up Routine. (Watch the video to see why the Wrap Up Routine is really just another part of the Set Up Routine!)
Ideally the Wrap Up Routine would happen at the end of the work session. In it, I do two things:
Reflect and Celebrate. I reflect about what I got done and celebrate the successes, even if they were few and far between. I choose to celebrate by checking off the items on my To Do list (gosh that feels good to my system!), but I highly recommend you brainstorm with your students what feels good to them.
Make a To Do List for the Next Work Session. This is the part I resist so much. What remains unfinished that needs to get done? When will I do it? All of that needs to be mapped out in my planner or calendar.
The time I most wish I would do a Wrap Up routine is on Fridays at the end of my work week. I’m rigorous about taking weekends away from work, but that means Monday morning is often procrastination ridden!! However, the couple times I’ve experimented with doing a Wrap Up Routine on Fridays, I’ve hit Monday ready to go because there is a clear list waiting for me.
Your Turn!
As usual, I like to end every blog post and video with a script you can use in your work with students. For today’s, please imagine that you have already shared the idea of the Set Up and Wrap Routines with your student(s) in a previous class or session. They committed to playing with one or both of those routines. When you see them next, try asking:
“How did it go? What did you NOTICE about that?”
I love this question for a few reasons:
It is open-ended. I often get surprised that a student noticed things that weren’t even on my radar, which becomes very helpful during our coaching session. If I ask a question that’s too specific, it’s often a sign I’m dominating the conversation, and I won’t hear what it was like from the student’s perspective.
It is metacognitive. Taking a moment to “notice” about our actions helps us get in the practice of thinking about our own thinking. Students are often not very practiced at observing their own processes. The more we ask them to notice, the more we are building their metacognition.
Give it a try! Next time you meet with your students, notice your desire to ask a super specific question, and instead keep it general. Ask them, “What did you notice about that?” and resist the urge to keep talking. Instead, listen deeply and you might be surprised and delighted by what comes out of their mouths.
Then maybe you can take a moment to reflect on what YOU noticed about THAT! ;-)
Drop your noticings below! I’d love to hear❣️
