How to Stop Procrastinating: A Fool-Proof Way to Conquer the World

For the majority of my life, I felt I didn’t know how to stop procrastinating. I fell into the trap of putting stuff off, and kept telling myself that I needed the pressure to actually get shit done. Original photo by Milos Tonchevski This is stupid and false, and the same damn trap my students […]

Transitions are Hard

Transitions are hard, y’all. And my job is full of them. Original photo by Sam X Sure, I do the same thing every semester, but the way the school year works is weird. There’s so much build up to the fall semester where you get everything set and then power through, and then you push […]

Writing for an Audience: One Simple Writing Trick That Will Save You Every Time

In all my grading rubrics, there’s a specific percentage of assignment points allotted to the audience. Basically, I want to see how well my students have addressed the concerns their audience has. Because writing for an audience is all about making sure you’ve addressed what your audience needs. Because if you haven’t addressed the concerns […]

Create Space to Breathe: 4 Tips to Help You Fight Overwhelm

When the things that need to be done start to pile up, I know I need to create space to breathe. We’re smack dab in the middle of grading season. Or, more accurately, procrastinating grading season. (Every day I manage to tell my students they shouldn’t procrastinate with a straight face. I have no business […]

The 10 Best Ambient Mixer Atmospheres for Getting Work Done

If you haven’t experienced Ambient Mixer atmospheres yet, you’re in for a treat. You’re also about to get a lot more productive. I wish I were the type of person who could just put my headphones on, blast music, and get work done. Unfortunately, I’m not. I’m a rather persnickety person, in fact. It’s hard […]

Keep It 100: How Moderation is Self-Sabotage

One of the things that always blows my mind about students is the lengths that some will go to NOT do the assignment. I’m settling in to that time of year where my days are filled with teaching, and my nights are filled with paper grading. And there’s always one student in every class who […]