I was lucky. I hit the brick wall early.
Every productivity story has a beginning. Mine started in high school.
My senior year of high school was a busy time, and it was then I realized what had worked before wouldn’t be enough for the new demands. Jotting assignments on random pieces of paper stuck in textbooks was a disaster waiting to happen. Trying to just remember it all was an even worse plan.
I realized the answer would be a system…a single place that would handle everything for now and everything planned for the future.
Running into a problem caused me to search for a solution. If I hadn’t hit the brick wall then, who knows how long it would have been before I realized the need for a system.
Little did I realize the impact this one change would have on my career and the opportunities it would give me to help others.
And the dividends paid off for decades.
During a dozen years as a band director, the ability to organize was largely responsible for the success those bands experienced. During the next 16 years as an assistant principal, principal, and curriculum coordinator, the ability to plan, organize, and see a project through to the end gained attention. The question, “How do you do it?” was one I fielded regularly.
Now, my work centers around helping people get organized and make it look easy.
Sure, there have been honors along the way.
I was named to Who’s Who in American Education and Outstanding Young Men of America. A National Band Association Citation of Excellence hangs on the wall. As a principal, Alfa Insurance named me as its statewide “Teacher of the Month” as part of their awards program. As a central office administrator, he is a recipient of the “Chiquita Marbury Award for Technology Innovation.”
As a speaker, the University of Montevallo College of Education named me an “Outstanding Alumnus” work in professional development. My first book was an Eye on Education “bestseller.” A weekly newspaper column, two more books, and weekly content on my blog, podcast, and YouTube channel introduce and reinforce concepts about an easier approach to living.
But enough about me…
This story is about you. You want to accomplish significant goals and understand your ability to organize your time and surrounding is the key. How am I doing so far?
Let’s continue the story, your story…