Get Organized!: Commute time

Saturday, April 28, 2007

Commute time

Like many of you, I have a bit of a commute to work. Mine is 23 minutes, small in comparison to many people, but gargantuan compared to the 3 minute drive to work from my early days in teaching. For the last year, I have turned what had been wasted time into an enjoyable and productive daily experience.

For the past year, I have never been without a book on tape or CD from the public library. The number of books I have experienced during that time numbers several dozen, and that is a conservative estimate. The latest has been The World is Flat. Listening to all 15 or 16 CDs kept me busy for quite a while, and proved to be fastinating listening. Of course, I have always been aware of the availability of audiobooks. Up until the last year, I had simply never made regular trips to the library for them a priority.

In today's world, lifelong learning is essential. Books are the shortcut to that learning. Their authors have carefully honed and summarized a body of knowledge into a coherent message. At the same type, the pace of today's world makes time for reading hard to find. Making commute time do double-duty has been a simple answer, and easy enough I will actually do it.

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Comments from Workshops

This morning when I returned to the office I did my first ever drag and drop to my calendar on Outlook - wahoo! The tickler file will come next week!

One of the most informative sessions I have been to in 5 years.

I saw your presentation at the ASCD conference in New Orleans and was blown away. Please send me your monthly email essays

Practical down to earth user-friendly content. Excellent!

One of my professional goals is to be more organized and to manage time more effectively. This hit the target.

Thank you. These are tools I can and will use! WHEW!

Practical, down-to-earth user-friendly content. Excellent!

Dr. Buck did a great job. I learned LOTS of things about Outlook that I did not know.

Where have you been all my life? This is a great idea! Thank you so very much.

FANTASTIC! One of the best I’ve been to! I could have stayed longer.

I was in your organization session yesterday. It was excellent. Came back to work today and set up my tickler file! I also moved all my messy (and vague) to-do lists into my iCal program and synced it to my Blackberry. Progress!!! Thanks for a very clear and applicable session. I'm excited to keep making the ideas come to life for me!!

Awesome ideas to get my life on track. Thank you so much!

You changed my life!

Great workshop. Fabulously well informed and entertaining presenter who shared his knowledge in a readily understandable format. Helpful handout. Thank you – well worth the trip from Ottawa.

I really loved the presentation!! Dr. Buck very thorough and entertaining. Great, practical ideas and the Faculty Club was a great setting! Well done!!

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As a new administrator, I found this workshop to be extremely helpful. I got affirmation on some of the things I was already doing and many great new ideas! Thank you. Would definitely recommend to others. Frank Buck provided many ideas that will make my job as an administrator 10 times easier.

This might very well be some of the most useful, timely and necessary professional learning I've done in years. Thank you!

Excellent presentation.
Dr. Frank Buck is friendly, interesting, and knowledgeable. Well done! This seminar was amazing.

I will put it unequivocally: yours is the first workshop for professional development I have been to that has had a daily effect on lowering my stress levels and being more aware of the things I need to do on a daily basis. I cannot thank you enough. Everyday is now easier knowing I know where my day is going and not worrying over where everything is. The simplicity is almost embarrassing – how come I never thought to do this 10 years ago? My answer to that is that we sometimes don’t realize that a slightly more open mind can reap benefits we didn’t imagine possible. Thank you again. I waited about 6 months to let you know, but this only proves that I’m walking proof your techniques work long term.