Search results: coaching office

My Coaching Office

I don’t know about you guys, but I just love love {yes two loves, not a typo} peeking inside the work spaces of other coaches and teachers. Educators have some seriously creative super powers when it comes to organizing and decorating and there’s so many good ideas we can steal from each other! Since it’s nearly November, I thought it was high time for me to give you a peek inside my own coaching work space. Take a look around and if there are any ideas that catch your eye, feel free to steal away!

To start, you’ll likely notice I’m no longer in my PD Pad. Our school recently received a remodel, so I now have an office to work in, which makes me feel pretty official. There’s a retractable wall just to the right of the round table which we slide back every Thursday for PD to create a large gathering space for teachers.

I use the larger table when I’m meeting with teams of teachers and the round table for smaller gatherings.

front-office-view

I set up the desk on the left as a space for our school designer to work when she visits on Mondays and Thursdays.

up-close-at-desksA few years ago I made the decision to do away with my big, bulky file cabinet. After some ruthless purging, I was able to downscale to a tidy little file box that I tuck away behind my bag. I’m pretty discriminating when deciding what paper documents to keep. The large majority of my files I now store electronically.

file-box-with-textMy desk is fairly small so there isn’t space to stack a bunch of unnecessary stuff. I try to keep it as clutter free as I can.

my-desk

close-up-my-desk

I just made this fun desktop wallpaper. If you like it too, download it here.

HustleAnything that needs to be processed goes into my inbox. At the end of each day I process away.

inbox

To the right of my desk I set up a teacher resource book area.

window-bookshelves

Rafe Esquith is one of my favorite educators and I love his motto, “Be nice, Work hard.”

be-nice-work-hard

Feel free to steal this download!

Screen Shot 2013-10-30 at 6.33.23 PM

Here’s a view from the back of my office.

at-back-office-view

These are our five staff habits. They’re nice to have displayed in a location that I can easily reference.

habits

Rather than going with the offer of standard Staples bookshelves, I chose to hunt down a more stylish option. I went with the Ikea Expedit shelving unit in grey and worked in a mix of open and closed storage.

bookshelves

I added labels to the baskets so I can quickly find what I’m looking for.

labels

And of course my space wouldn’t be complete without a coffee station. I splurged this year and bought a Nespresso machine and I love it! Everyday I look forward to my 3:00 espresso break. Mmmm…coffee…

coffee-stand

Well there you have it! What do you think?!

Thanks for reading,

ms-houser

How to use Binders for Organizing Your Coaching Notes

Say what?! Binders?! Aren’t those a totally old school way to stay organized?

Well, I guess it depends on who you ask, but for me the answer is — Uh…no! Let’s chat.

At the end of the year, one thing I like to do is reflect back on all of the systems and structures I used to help me with my work and stay organized. I’m pretty much always tweaking, revising, or trying out different ideas.

One of the new systems I tried out this year to keep all of my notes organized, was a binder system. And I loved it!

Paper helps me think, process, and solidify all my various types of notes much more deeply than my laptop.

As explained in the article, “The Pen is Mightier than the Keyboard,” taking notes on your laptop may result in shallower processing and less effective learning. In using pen and paper to take observation notes, coaching meeting notes, or planning notes, you’re forced to more thoroughly process the information coming in and record key takeaways you know will be valuable, versus just transcribing everything.

And for coaches, this is super important!! I would also argue that paper notes support focus, and are less distracting than having a screen in front of you all the time.

To be clear, I’m not anti-tech. I use G-Drive and Evernote as an extension of my note taking system, but largely paper is where it’s “mightily” at for me :)

OK, paper vs. tech debate aside, let’s talk binders.

I always thought binders were kind of dumb and annoying because the only ones I had ever really used were the standard plastic, flimsy ones. Then I watched a video of Alejandra (fellow neat freak!) share how she uses Better Binders to organize her home office. She got me thinking that these binders could be the ideal tool to help me keep my paper notes and plans organized.

I headed to Staples, grabbed a few, and found that they would be the perfect fit for my binder storage system.

Each binder would essentially be a different “bucket” for organizing my notes. I didn’t want too many, so I narrowed it down to four binders:

Each binder would also have different sections. So for the section tabs, I went with the Avery Ready Index Tabs. They’re super light weight, so they don’t take up a bunch of space, and I like how they provide a friendly table of contents view right up front.

OK, now that we’ve gone over the set-up of this binder system, let’s talk about how I actually use them to keep me organized!

In my Coaching Kit, I have a section titled, “Daily Materials.” At the start of each day, I’ll plan out what notes, observation forms, materials, etc. I’ll need for that day. Some of these notes/materials are often a continuation of work from the day before or earlier in the week. When this is the case, I’ll reference the appropriate binder, grab what I need, and quickly be ready to start the day.

Then at the end of the day, I’ll go through all my “Daily Materials” notes, check for any to-dos to add to my Time & ToDo Planner, then file the remaining notes back into my binders.

note taking system

This overall process ensures that my notes remain active and alive, rather than being buried in a notebook and forgotten about. I’m constantly reviewing and reflecting on past work which helps me to more accurately plan upcoming work. Furthermore, it’s hard for me to miss a “to-do” captured in my notes since this system of review just doesn’t allow it.

I’m feeling pretty good in my end of year reflection, as this will definitely be a system that I use again next year.

And speaking of next year, I’d love your feedback!

If you have a second, I would really appreciate if you shared your thoughts for how I can continue to support and motivate you in your work as a coach. As a thank you, here is a free download of the binder covers I use! They’re also editable so you can customize them with a monogram and title, to your liking :)

Share your thoughts, Get Free Binder Covers

Thanks so much, and hope your year is winding down well! If you have any questions, always feel free to ask in the comments.

7 Ways to Build Your Coaching Confidence

I’ve been thinking a lot about confidence lately.

And it all started with a recent trip to the grocery store.

So there I was, Saturday morning, groceries in hand waiting in the check-out line at Safeway. As I was looking around, I recognized a girl I knew through a mutual acquaintance. And not just any girl. This happened to be the girl who you look at and immediately think Confidence, with a capital C. Even on a Saturday morning in the grocery store, she walked with confidence, dressed with confidence, and even carried her vanilla latte with confidence.

First thought — Where’d she get all that dang confidence, and how could I get more of it?!

Confidence is something we all naturally want more of. It helps us feel better, do better, and achieve more.

And in our work as coaches, I’d say we especially want confidence on our side.

From one-on-one coaching convos, to leading whole staff PD, to facilitating grade level meetings–confidence comes in real handy.

So let’s talk about it. If confidence is something you struggle with, don’t worry. We all do! Even if we do a good job of hiding it, we all have insecurities that creep up now and then.

But don’t let that fear stop you from doing hard things.

Confidence can be developed and strengthened just like anything else. Here are a few tips and tricks I use to help me build my own confidence as a coach.

1. Check Your Language

If you catch yourself using or thinking any lame-o language like:

I can’t…
I hate…
I stink at…
I’m not…

STOP IT. Stop it right-this-second.

Your thoughts and words create your reality just as much as your actions.

So if you want to create a more confident reality, make sure the language you use reflects that. Be your own biggest cheerleader. Switch out those lame-o thoughts with others like:

I’m awesome at…
I can…
I AM…capable, smart, positive…

When I was in the classroom, one of the things I always used to say to my kids was: You Can Do Hard Things. And guess what? They could! And so can you.

Surround yourself with positive language. Post it on a sticky note, in your coaching office, and in your planner! Use this poster to get you started.

Download Here

 2. Use Your Strong Voice

Dana Perino is a news anchor who sure has achieved a lot in her career. And she needed a lot of confidence to do it.

In a recent interview, Dana shared that one of the best pieces of advice she could give to women in building their confidence: find and use your strong voice.

I appreciate this advice so much, I think I’ll say it again.

Find and use your strong voice.

When you have conversations with your principal, or with other teachers, pay attention to how your voice sounds. Is it weak and whiny, ending in a lot of question marks???

Share you advice, thoughts, or ideas with confidence. Use your strong voice.

Thanks Dana.

3. Develop Your Presence

On my walks with Sombra dog, I’ve been listening to the book Presence by Amy Cuddy. Amy does a great job of explaining the concept of presence, and how it contributes to us showing up more confidently in our daily lives.

One of the big things she talks about is body language. I have to constantly be reminding myself of this one.

Things like slumped shoulders, crossed arms, and your nail picking/biting habit (guilty) do NOT convey confidence.

Instead let’s try this: before your next coaching or PD meeting, strike a power pose. Essentially, stand like Super Woman. Hands on hips, shoulders back, and slap a big smile on your face. You might also envision your Coaching Cape flapping behind you :)

When you move into your coaching session, I’ll betcha feel more confident. Keep that posture straight, smile and nod as you listen, and coach away!

4. Prepare Your Booty Off

I read an interview recently with Megyn Kelly, in which she described owing much of her success to hard work and intense preparation.

Now if Megyn Kelly can’t teach us a thing or two about confidence, I’m not sure who can. She pretty much oozes confidence.

As Megyn said, when you’ve prepared well you know what you’re doing which leads to more confidence.

One of the things we’ll talk about in the upcoming Walk Through a Coaching Cycle Workshop (planning sheet included!), is how to prepare for (and feel more confident in) facilitating effective feedback sessions.

5. Get to Know Yourself

Guess what. You’re pretty awesome. And you should know exactly what makes you awesome.

Grab a sheet of paper right now, and write down 5 things you know you’re super good at.

Things like:

I’m a dang good compliment giver.

I can organize a classroom like a boss.

I’m pretty great at building relationships with other people. Even the sticklier ones.

I am ninja good at planning a guided reading lesson.

Knowing you’re strengths and what you have to offer your school and the teachers you work with, is worth a million confidence bucks.

6. Set Small Goals and Achieve Them

Try setting a goal, just a small one, then work to achieve it.

Maybe it’s something like setting aside 30 minutes to intentionally plan for each of your feedback sessions this week. Write it down in your planner, and check off each planning session accomplished.

You’ll look at that “got-it-done” check mark and feel great about yourself.

7. Get Outside of Your Comfort Zone

In your journey to increased confidence, you have got to push yourself outside of your comfort zone.

I’ll be the first to say, I’m not always great at this. I like my comfort zone and the ease that comes with staying in it.

But! Staying comfortable was never the factor that helped me achieve more, and in turn build more confidence.

Tough situations, those ones that cause you some anxiety and butterflies-in-the-stomach feelings, are the ones that will build your confidence. Move towards them, dance with them, and know they’re doing your confidence some good.

Bonus Tip: Exercise!

This one really does work. Some of my most confident days have come after a sweaty cycle class, jammin’ out to Lady Gaga.

Building your physical capabilities, builds your mental capabilities, which equals more confidence.

Even if it’s just a good playlist, and some dancing around to get those feel-good endorphins going, take advantage of movement as one of the most empowering activities out there.

And there you have it! Seven top tips for continuing to build your confidence. Try to choose one to focus on next week, and see how it goes.

If Coaching Convos and Cycles is an area you’re looking to build more confidence in, make sure you’re signed up for the Walk Through a Coaching Cycle Workshop!

The photo above of me working with Matalin, was taken during an actual feedback session. A video of this session will be one of the three offered as part of the “Coaching Cycle Case Study” in the workshop. With clear steps, a visual model, and a plan of action for moving forward, I am certain you’ll feel like a more Confident Coach after taking part in the workshop :)

Thanks for reading! You’re the BEST!

5 Ways to Spring Clean Your Coaching Life

You know those giant teacher bags that are overflowing with papers, notebooks, and who knows what else? The ones that weigh a million pounds and make a serious dent in your shoulder?

I used to have one. Actually, I had three. Luke used to affectionately (I think) call me “the bag lady.”

Then one year I made it my mission to be gone with the giant teacher bags. So I went all Spring Cleaning Style up on itpurged, sorted, and consolidated – until I finally emerged and found my way to one sassy leather bag that now holds all my coaching stuff, minus the shoulder dent.

Because I have less stuff in my bag, I have less stuff on my mind. And less stuff equals less stress, which feels gooood.

How about you? Do you have a giant teacher bag?

If not, then where is all your stuff hiding?…Because I know it’s somewhere.

In this post, I’ll share the five most common places where it all tends to accumulate and some ideas for how to get all Spring Cleaning Style up on it. Let’s get started.

 

Organizing for Instructional Coaches

1. Your Teacher Bag

 

Organized Instructional Coaching Bag

I can just hear you shouting at me all the reasons why you need all the stuff in your giant teacher bag. While there may be certain days when you really do need to pack a ton of stuff with you, I’m going to present the argument that for the large majority of days during the school year, there really are only a few essential items you should be packing along in your bag:

  1. Laptop/iPad
  2. Planner/Calendar/Notebook
  3. One file folder (for catching loose papers)
  4. Phone
  5. Wallet
  6. One pen and one highlighter (a few more only if you have space)
  7. Computer charger (only one charger allowed!)
  8. Essential Beauty Stuff: one chapstick/lipstick, small hand lotion, gum/breath freshener

That’s it! If you have more than this, it’s time to purge, sort, and consolidate. For some more ideas on how to organize your bag, check out this post.

2. Your Paper Files

Does your filing cabinet look like…

Back in the day I used to have a giant four drawer filing cabinet in which I stored every lesson, extra photocopy, and holiday craft project I had. When it got to the point where I had to pull and yank just to get the drawer open, I knew it was time to…you got it! – purge, sort, and consolidate. I worked my way down to a two drawer filing cabinet, then when I transitioned to coaching, I was able to say see-ya to even more paper stuff, and I now have one nice and tidy filing box. It sits quietly in the corner of my coaching office, and is reserved for only my most needed and used paper items.

3. Your Car

Yes, your car! Seriously. If you get into your car in the morning only to be greeted by crumpled up papers, empty cups, a pile of school books and who knows what else, the likelihood of a pleasant, stress free ride to school goes way down.

Instead, let’s do this. Take your car in for a good carwash this weekend, and clean out all the stuff inside.

Then on Monday morning, open up your back car door and put your one teaching bag inside. Then grab your water or coffee and place it in the gunk free cup holder. Fire up a good podcast or an audiobook for some learning on the way to school, smile, and you’re off to a great day!

4. Your Digital Files

OK. Now depending on how deep your black hole of randomly named computer files, downloads, and photos is, this could take a while. But don’t get discouraged. The most important step is to start.

This will be my big Spring cleaning project for the year. I’ve let things go a bit too long, and it’s time to shape em’ back up.

For some strategies on how to tackle your digital files, check out this post.

5. Your Desk

Organized Desk

If you’re not careful, your desk can get really bad. Eeek! Check out this post for some ideas on how to keep yours nice, neat, and organized.

Alright, now it’s time for me to give you a gentle nudge (or maybe push) to choose one area to go all Spring Cleaning Style on.

Decluttering and doing a bit of organizing in your coaching life, will go a long way towards saving you time and energy in the long run. Which will be well worth it.

Love organizing and want more? Or maybe you don’t love it so much, but know you might need to learn more? Here are a few books to check out. I’m listening to the second one on Audible right now, and it’s awesome.

Happy Organizing, and I’ll talk to you soon!

2015-2016 Simplified Coaching Planning Kit – It’s Here!

I couldn’t be more excited that The Simplified Coaching Planning Kit for the 2015-2016 school year is now available in my coaching shop!

Simplified Coaching Planning Kit

This is the second edition of the planning kit and I’m super excited about some of the changes and additions I’ve made this year. It has many of the same great planning tools as last year’s version, however, has evolved with a new design and new planning tools.

PD-Planner1

new-tools

This year’s version has five new cover options for you to choose from.

covers-included2

One of the big changes I made this year was color coding the entire planning kit! I thought I’d give you a bit of a brain break on how to set-up your planning kit, by organizing it for you.

Using the table of contents as a guide, you can divide your planning kit into six different sections: Planning, Observations, Debriefs, Meetings, Projects, Reference. You could also color code your dividers to match the planning pages if you wanted to get really fancy.

table-of-contents1

The planning kit is editable again this year, so you can fill in your planning tools directly on your computer then pop them into your planner, or just print and write!

PD-Goals8

list-it

The planning kit has everything you need to organize and centralize all of your important coaching materials.

project-planner2

And with all of the different tools that I personally use to plan and implement coaching cycles, you’ll be totally on top of it!

meeting-notes1

This year’s planning kit does not include a calendar, as I’ve designed an even better option…The Time & ToDo Planner! This Kickstarter project recently reached it’s funding goal within 12 short days and the project is officially a GO! It’s not too late to pre-order this planner either. If you prefer to have your calendar within your planning kit, there is digital version available for you to print on your own {includes June and July for you to get a head start on planning this summer}.

I intentionally designed the Time & ToDo Planner to compliment The Simplified Coaching Planning Kit, in both functionality and style. The weekly planner is lightweight and ultra-portable, which will allow you to easily carry it with you wherever you go. At times you may need your weekly planner and your planning kit, or just your planner…now you have stylish options, without the bulk.

love

I’m confident The Simplified Coaching Planning Kit will help you achieve your goals as an instructional coach.

And with the planning kit available earlier this year, you’ll have plenty of time this summer to get set-up and ready to rock it next year!

Keep me updated!

ms-houser

 

 

 

PURCHASE HERE

cover-image-no-text

 

Planner FAQs:

  • I print on standard letter size, 8.5 x 11″ paper {98 bright, 32 lb}
  • I use the discbound notebook system.  A three hole binder would also work well though!
  • The Levenger punch works for the discbound system. This one is a bit less expensive than the one offered though Levenger.
  • This is the label maker I use.
  • I love the Pilot G2 pens.

Office in a Bag

As coaches, we’re always on the go. With an observation here and a planning meeting there, whose to say where we’ll be during any given day. When I began coaching I quickly figured out that I would need some kind of “office in a bag” so that I would always be prepared for wherever my day might take me. My first attempt at this was a big, bulky shoulder bag that I had previously used for hiking and traveling. It wasn’t bad really, but it wasn’t great either. It wasn’t organized in any useful way and it needed a good purge.

Sometimes you just need a little encouragement from seeing what others are doing to get going yourself, and that is just what Jen over at iheartorganizing gave me a few weeks ago when I read one of her posts. As I read how she organized her bag for blogging I thought, “I can do that for coaching!” Let’s take a look inside.

The first coaching essential you’ll find is my coaching planner.

cover-image

And here I have my much needed working folders. I picked up a great tip from David Allen’s book, “Getting Things Done.” In his book he shares that he carries an “inbox” folder in his briefcase. He explains that it’s just as important to have a mobile inbox as a stationary inbox. Brilliant! Who needs a mobile inbox more than coaches? No more crumpled up papers floating around in my bag. They will now all have a temporary, but intentional home. I use my “Inbox” folder for important papers that I know I need to keep and will file or process them as soon as I get back to my desk. My “Other Work” folder is used for any other papers I may need, but won’t keep. For example, papers needed for a planning or debrief session that day or copies that need to be made.

Teacher-Work-Folders

In Jen’s post she shares how she uses a small cosmetics pouch from Target to carry around smaller odds and ends. Love it! I immediately went to Target and snagged one myself. Next to it you’ll see my treasured Dot Grid Journal which serves as my space to write out thoughts and ideas connected to coaching.

Pouch-and-NotesOpen-Pouch2

In the first pouch you’ll find a few freshen-up items. I can’t live without coffee in the morning, but I’m also a little scared of coffee breath, hence the mouthwash. Also, never underestimate the value of a mini stain stick!

Inside-Office-Pouch

In the second pouch I have a few computer essentials such as a wireless mouse and a traveling mouse pad {that also serves as a screen cleaner, bonus!}. I don’t always use these, but they sure are nice to have on the occasions when I’m working on my computer for awhile.

Mouse-Pad

When I have a few free minutes at lunch or in between coaching sessions, I like being able to pull out one of my favorite education magazines.

Teacher-Magazines

One thing I’m pretty well known for {and made fun of for} is my use of screen cleaner.  I really, really don’t like having a dirty computer screen or keyboard so this handy spray and wipe gets a special spot in the side pocket of my bag. And my laptop sleeve is a must. Keeps my computer from scratches and wear and tear.

Computer-Cleaner

I also place my chapstick, lotion, and a pen in an easily accessible pocket on the side of my bag next to my water bottle.

Makeup

Although I don’t carry it with me throughout the day, I can also fit my clutch in my bag.

Clutch

Tada! Here it is all put together. It’s not too big and bulky, yet holds everything I need.

Office-In-A-Bag

Do you have an office in a bag? What’s it like?!

Thanks for reading,

ms-houser

8 Ways to Get Pumped for the School Year

I woke up on Monday morning this week and thought:

Oh man. This is it. My last week of Summer.

Sad day.

Here’s the thing: A little case of the Summer’s Over Blues is totally normal and allowed. So I let myself get a little blue-sy, thought about all of my fun summer memories, but then I knew it was time to move on and get those blues turned around. STAT.

So this week I swung myself into Let’s Get Pumped for School Mode. And I’m feeling goooood!

If you’ve been feeling a little Summer’s Over Blue-sy too, or you’re just looking to add a bit more swagger in your step as you head into the new year, I’ve got you covered. Continue Reading →

A Day in the Life of Ms. Houser

I keep a running list of blog post topics and one that has been on there for awhile is a “Day in the Life” post. I secretly love learning about the rhythms and routines of other people’s everyday schedules. When I’m out walking my dog at night, I’ll even walk a bit more slowly past open windows so I can peek inside. Is that weird?

Anyhow, I got to thinking that most of the posts I’ve written on this little blog of mine, have been more professional and less personal. I haven’t really shared much about the gal behind MsHouser.com. And I know that one of my favorite parts of reading a blog is making a connection with the person writing it. So in an effort to get to know each other a bit better, I’m opening up my window curtains and inviting you to take a peek inside.

day-in-the-life-cover3

My morning and evening routine is pretty standard, although my coaching days are always different. This day though {Wednesday of this week} reflects a pretty typical coaching day. Alrighty, let’s take a peek.

4:30am     WAKEUP

The alarm goes off and my chocolate lab pup jumps on the bed to greet/lick me good morning. I’m a super early bird, so I don’t mind the 4:30am wake-up time. It gives me a few extra minutes to enjoy a cup of coffee, write in my journal, and map out my day. Starting the day this way, helps me get focused and organized for the day ahead.

coffee

5:15am     EXERCISE

Most mornings I’ll head out for a long, brisk walk with the puppy, Sombra {spanish for shadow}. He’s pretty much the cutest thing ever, don’t you think? And he gives me a pretty good workout.

sommie1

6:45am     DRIVE IN

I hop in my car and head off to school, which is about a 25 minute commute. I’ll usually listen to a good podcast or audiobook on the way there.

kris-pic-car

7:20am     SET-UP FOR THE DAY & BREAKFAST

I head into my coaching office, unpack my bag and get set-up for the day. I’ll have my breakfast while I check a few emails and see if there any changes I need to make to my schedule or anyone I need to get back to right away.

Setting-Up

7:45am     COACHING VISIT

I’m working fairly intensively with a kindergarten teacher right now in the mornings. So I’m in there longer than I would normally be in a classroom. We’re digging into rituals and routines. We’re both learning a ton and enjoying it! Kindergartners are pretty funny.

MEs room

10:00am     COACHING PLANNING

I always build some time into my daily schedule to review my coaching observation notes and plan for my debriefs with teachers. I think it’s important to be prepared for when you meet with teachers, just as you would be prepared for teaching a lesson. Teachers are sharing some of their limited planning time with you, in the hopes that you can help them and their students grow, so it should be worth their time!

me-working

11:00am     COACHING COACHES

This isn’t a usual event in my schedule, but it was a fun one to add in! I chatted with a group of coaches about scheduling, the instructional coaching tools I use, lessons learned, goal setting and some Q&A at the end. Some of my lessons learned…be prepared and always be honest with teachers! It’s okay not to have all the answers and it’s okay to honestly talk through sticky situations.

google-hangout

12:00pm    LUNCH {usually}

I always make time to eat lunch, but at what time that happens…it just depends on the day. As much as I love structure and routine, different things may come up during the day and coaching requires you to be flexible. When it is time for lunch, I’ll check in on email or do some reading.

lunch

12:45pm     WORK ON DISPLAY

Its’s College Friday in Colorado, and I’ve been working hard all week on creating a “college dreams” wall for our kids. This is the center of the display, and it extends down the hall. Creating different displays or walls such as this throughout our building, is something I enjoy doing, and offer to help out with on occasion.

dreams-for-college

1:15pm     FACILITATE VISITORS

A few times a year, we host groups of visitors from other schools. Today I facilitated a site visit for a group of 7 teachers, with a focus on identifying instructional practices that support the engagement and achievement of students.

visitors

2:45pm     MEET WITH CHELSEA

Chelsea and I are just kicking off our coaching cycle together and are meeting today to review her updated assessment data, so we can set a goal and identify some instructional strategies for the focus group of students we’ll be working with.

me-and-chelsea

3:45pm     DRIVE HOME

Time to head home for the day. Another podcast plugged in, a snack to munch on, and I’m home!

drive-home

4:15PM     PLAY TIME!

This is one of my favorite times of the day. Sombra is crazy excited when I get home and I’m pretty dang excited to see him too. Luke, my fiancé, hears the commotion upstairs and comes up to greet us {he works from home}. Then we all head out back for some bone throwing and chasing time.

PLAY-TIME

5:00pm     PREP FOR NEXT DAY

This time includes unpacking my bags, making breakfast and lunch for tomorrow, cleaning up the house a bit, picking out tomorrow’s outfit, mail…all that kind of stuff.

6:00pm     DINNER AND FAMILY TIME

We try pretty hard to have our meals planned out for the week and enjoy spending some time together in the kitchen cooking healthy meals. Tonight is one of our favorites, chicken burrito bowls.

dinner

7:30pm     BIZ WORK

I’ve been working super hard on my side business, so I’ve been using this time to hustle. I’m in the process of launching a new, unique weekly planner designed for educators and other busy professionals. It’s been a long time dream in the making and I can’t wait to share it with you! You’ll hear more about it in the coming weeks.

9:00pm     GET READY FOR SLEEP

I like taking a hot shower before I go to bed, just to wash the day off and relax. Then I’ll do a little fiction reading to help me get my mind off work stuff. Right now I’m reading The Maze Runner, and really liking it!

9:30pm     LIGHTS OUT!

Thanks so much for taking the time to get to know me a little better. I hope this post also gave you a better idea of what an instructional coaching day can look like. I know that’s something I’m always curious about.

Now it’s your turn!

If you’d like to send me a note or introduce yourself in the comments below, I’d love it!

Have a happy weekend and I’ll talk to you soon.

New Year New Gear

It’s that time of year for spicing up your teacher gear!  I couldn’t be more excited for the start of a new year. It’s the perfect time to reflect, set goals, and celebrate a fresh start!

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Over the break I did some New Years Resoluting, and I’ve got some pretty good new goals worked up for myself this year. Maybe you do too? Well, one tip I’ve found to be especially helpful in goal setting and maintaining, is to make it a treat! And who says the treat part has to come at the end? I’m all for treating at the beginning, as I really think a little something special tied to new goals or habits you want to build into your lifestyle, can really help with getting and keeping the ball rolling. So here’s a peek into a few of my treats.

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I’ve always loved a good workout in the morning. Whether it’s running, cycling, yoga, or lifting weights, starting your day off with some movement and a good sweat is a great way to prep yourself for a successful and happy school day. But somehow last year, I let my mornings get away from me and my workouts became less and less. And then like none at all. Well not this year! I’m getting married in July {yeah!}, so I’m bound and determined, committed to building this habit back into my schedule. Because I prefer working out in the morning and school starts pretty early for us (7:20), I needed a plan for being super efficient with my AM time. And this plan includes gear. Enter the most organized toiletry bag ever. I found it at the Container Store, and it helps me get in and out of the shower at the gym in 20 minutes. No time to dig around for shampoo or make-up on a teacher’s schedule! So far I’ve been to the gym three mornings this week. Sweet!

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Something else you need if you’re going to be working it out at the gym and then later at school, is plenty of properly chilled water ready to guzzle down. I’m a water-bottle-aholic, and maybe I didn’t need this one, but I really love it. It holds plenty of water for a full day, and keeps it super chilled all the way until the end of the day and into the next, if you need it to. There’s different tops available if you don’t like the wide mouth variety, and plenty of colors to choose from.

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OK. So, I thought long and hard about this one. And then I decided to just pull the trigger already. Stitchfix is going to be my new personal shopper to help me out with stylizing and professionalizing my wardrobe for 2015, and I’m psyched about it! I have too many random t-shirts, boring colors, and outdated pieces in my closet. What you wear can send a message, especially when you’re in a leadership role, and I’d like to spiff my message up a bit. Stitchfix is a site I’d heard about from several friends, and after getting my first “fix” this past week, I’m totally hooked. They do the shopping for you, and send you five different pieces to try out. Keep what you like, send back what you don’t! Love.

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When I was teaching, something I always dreamed about was a big window in my classroom that would let in lots of bright sunshine and refresh my room with a nice breeze. So when I moved into my coaching office, you wouldn’t believe how excited I was to see…a window! I walked over to my window, thankful that my dream had come true, and then discovered…that my window didn’t open. Sad. Yes, I had some sunshine, but no fresh air. Well I decided to spruce up my office space a bit this month, and part of that sprucing up will be to add a little breeze to the room. Even if it’s not fresh. This little fan is super quiet, and helps circulate the air, which is real nice, especially in the afternoons. I’ve heard a fan in your office supports your health and may even make you more productive. We’ll see!

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I love coffee. The way it smells, the way it tastes, the way it gives me a little pick-up when I need it. Given that pumping up my fitness and health is going to be a goal of mine this year, I thought maybe I’d give up coffee. Think, think…nah! Although, I am going to switch up my afternoon coffee routine a bit to include my new favorite drink, a dirty chai. Just mix up a little coffee or nespresso with some chai tea in your new Vessel sippy-cup, and boom! You’ve got yourself a stylin’ afternoon drink.

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The start of a New Year is a great time to freshen up your planner and planning system. I think about what’s working well, what isn’t, and from there what improvements I may be able to make. For me, I’m pretty good with day-day and week-week planning, but when it comes to long-term, big picture planning, I’ve just never taken the time to do it well. And that big picture piece is so important for making your weeks and days come together with greater purpose and intention, so this was an improvement I wanted to make. Because I’m a very visual planner, I created a Year Planner for myself and a new monthly calendar template. First I mapped out everything I wanted to accomplish on my Year Planner, then I’ll use my monthly calendar to outline when I’ll get everything done.

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You can grab a free copy of the Year Planner here! For the monthly calendar, you can check out my shop here.

So how about you? What are you thinking about for 2015? Whatever it is, I know we’ll make this year awesome.

I hope your holiday was great and your New Year is off to an amazing start!

5 Tips for an Organized and Productive Desk

I did a little coaching office spring cleaning this past week and one of the areas I really focused on was my desk. It was all out of sorts. Not enough room, too much stuff on it, not the right stuff on it…I just didn’t like it. So I hadn’t really worked at it for a couple of months or so…I just used another table in my room. Bor-ing. It was time to reclaim my desk space, but in doing so I wanted to make sure I set it up in a way that would make me want to keep coming back for more. Here are a few tips showing what I made sure to consider:

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The thing about an organized and attractive work space, is that it really does make you happier and as a result more productive.

I’m totally diggin’ the new desk space I’ve set-up for myself. I decluttered, switched out my smaller desk for a bit of a bigger one, added an inbox, and some pretty pens displayed in a mason jar. And yes of course, I tidy up at the end of the day with my all natural parsley spray.

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Are you feeling inspired to do a little desk restyling of your own? Hopefully so! Even if it’s just one adjustment or two, I bet you’ll find it worth your time.

Thanks for reading,

ms-houser