Late in the afternoons when the maths office is quiet, I like to set aside the emails, form-filling-in, reports, lesson planning, and admin jobs, and just do some reading for the pleasure of learning something. Sometimes I read about maths teaching theories. I like to read scholarly papers. Or I read an article from Mathematics Teaching (the ATM journal) or Mathematics in School (the MA journal). I also usually find lots of ideas for things to read from my Twitter feed.
Is my afternoon reading habit a form of procrastination? I choose to believe that it is not. It is more of a break for my brain and a chance to recharge. I always feel really refreshed by learning something new. I often pick up a new idea about how to teach a tricky topic. Quite often I read about productivity and gain a bit of motivation to work more efficiently and effectively. Recently I have been reading about leadership in connection with my Links course.
If I’m honest, sometimes I do procrastinate by reading. It’s a chance to avoid things I don’t like doing for a while. At least I get something good out of it at the same time.
Today I stumbled upon this article about 15 things that good leaders do automatically every day. One of them was that they don’t procrastinate! I was really struck by the idea that good leaders are proactive and keep their progress moving by not avoiding jobs, even unpleasant ones. Good leaders know that “getting ahead in life is about doing the things that most people don’t like doing.” I feel a renewed sense of purpose after reading that. I want to be the kind of person who approaches life with determination, from the most important jobs (planning for great lessons) to the most mundane (administrivia). I’m glad I took my late afternoon reading break to gain that sense of momentum again.
Do you procrastinate? Do you have any procrastination tips?