This summer I have an opportunity to teach a class at the
college where I work that I haven’t taught in 10 years. It is General Psychology, basically an
introductory course. I like General
Psych because it covers a little bit of everything: the brain, the neuron,
human development, learning, intelligence, memory psychological disorder, well,
you get the picture.
But because it has been so long since I have taught it that
means there was a new textbook. So that
means new lecture notes, new power point slides, and new exams. So I have been studying. I joke that my textbook is my new best
friend. I take it everywhere. If I can get a couple of minutes to read it,
I do. While I enjoy recreating my
lectures, it is taking up a lot of time.
But I have learned something in this process: you have to
take a break. So even though it meant taking me away from my preparation, I
made sure I did some needle work. (If
you read my last three blogs, you will know what needle work I mean). It was the best thing I could have ever done
for myself.
Taking time to do some needlework let me take a break from
the very cognitive work of preparing a course (we also cover cognition in my
class. haha). It let me think about something else and do
something a bit more physical with my hands than just typing. It actually felt like a mini-vacation (or
stay-cation). I usually spent an evening
while watching TV doing my embroidery.
It is good to change up the routine once in a while. It gives you a new perspective with whatever
it is you are doing. When I went back to
my class preparation after some stitching, I was more energized and I actually
found I was able to concentrate more on the preparation. And it helped me come up with new ideas on
how to present the information from the textbook.
So remember when you are working on a big project, take some
time to be creative. It may seem like
you are getting off track for your goals, but it will help in the long run.
©2019 Cheryl E. Fillion
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