Wednesday, January 25, 2006

I want my time back!

As we prepared to sit down for our weekly staff meeting I commented that staff meetings are on the top 5 list for things that I despise. As I talked with a coworker I thought this would be a good topic to comment on.

Top 5 Things I Feel Like My Time Has Been Wasted and I'll NEVER Get That Time Back:

5. Wrong turns: I'm talking about BIG wrong turns. On our way from St. Louis to Cincinnati I missed the cut off and ended up adding 3 hours to our trip and missed part of the funeral visitation. My fault? Or was it Illinois poor signage? Mine I guess. I hated driving knowing we SHOULD already be there.
4. Traffic: I HATE sitting in traffic and I am so glad I don't drive in traffic. I work 3 miles from my house and encounter 1 major traffic light.
3. Childcare: At church I am on a rotation to watch kids from 9:30-11:00 once every 10 weeks. I HATE THIS TIME!
2. Staff meetings: I'm talking about the team building ones. Some staff meetings are okay, but a few I've attended have wasted an hour or so of my time and I'LL NEVER GET THAT TIME BACK. Going to a writing meeting when I teach math and science. OR, sitting for an hour learning about our new online appraisal system only to be told 3 days later it isn't going to happen this year.
1. Staff developments: As teachers we are required to attend up to 18 hours of professional developments. Some apply, most don't. These are OFF CONTRACT time. Right now I have about 40 hours, 22 above what I NEED.

What situations cause you to feel like your time is being wasted and you can't do much about it?

8 comments:

Pigs said...

40 hours, huh? That's about a day and a half of your life! Interesting. Clearly, we were both still revved up about this one! My time wasters are also unnecessary staff meetings. I will add waiting in line at a restaurant and waiting on the cable/phone/utility guy who's coming "sometime between 8 and 4."

Artistic Soul said...

I don't even know where to begin...the litany of events that waste my time on a daily basis are baffling.

MommyProf said...

Sitting in a meeting listening to someone read verbatim off of slides. I can read, really.

The MAN Fan Club said...

Reply to pigs: This time last year I was scrambling for hours. I got 6 hours helping out with a Saturday volleyball clinic.

The MAN Fan Club said...

Reply to wiccachicky: Don't even waste your time thinking about it.

The MAN Fan Club said...

Reply to mommyprof: I did that this week listening to 24 different student groups read verbatim off of their powerpoints.

Jennifer said...

I took a class last year, we had to watch movies and do little reports. There was a bunch of different movies to pick from unfortunately I picked some real dogs...man I'll never get those six hours back.

Most of the time I take my knitting with me...then I don't feel like whatever I'm doing is such a waste.

I can't wait for my first staff meeting, you and pigs make it sound soooo exciting!

The MAN Fan Club said...

Reply to jennifer: Wait until you have to lead the staff meeting. YUK! Wasted hours of preparation too.