Well, hello there, top teachers. We are your host, Bridget Spackman and Michelle Emerson, and we are here to make your life easier by helping you master your time, organization, and productivity as a teacher.

Last week, we dove into a book review on Cal Newport's book, Deep Work, to help us understand how we can successfully focus on the work without all the distractions that we

have around us. In this episode, we wanted to share a recap of the strategies we used to help us be

successful in our own deep work. But first, let's hear a time-sucking hurdle from Nicole.

Nicole says, we've all been there. You're searching sites for

habitat activities and spot a really cool teacher site, so you click on it. On that site, there's a

link to a new, amazing, and free resource, so you click on it. In that resource, there's an amazing

lesson plan you could use for math, so you sign up. This reminds you that you need to

update your math objectives. So you look for that file and spot a folder you totally forgot

about that contained incredible center activities for writing. And two hours later, you begin to panic

because you realize you have absolutely nothing for habitats. Nicole, I love this TSA because it resonates with almost

every single person listening. It better resonate because I know that I have definitely been there.

And what's so interesting is I think that a lot of the strategies that we talked about in the podcast

episode before, so 184, when we were talking about deep work, is that we talked about in the podcast episode before. So, 194, when we were talking

about deep work, is that we don't have that deep work, right? It's like we look at that shiny

object syndrome and like, oh, yeah, I need to do this or I need to do this. And it's how can we

help our brain really focus on the objective that we have, which is obviously going out and looking

for habitat activities. And yet you did something for math and also writing in all this process.

But I think the biggest piece here and some of the strategies that I have used, even from

David Allen's book, is that when you have something that's like, oh, wait,

that's a cool site or I need to check out this resource or do this, write it down versus actually

engaging with that task itself because then you can allow your brain to focus back.

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