Time Strategies

Time Strategies

I chose two articles on time management to focus on:

How Checklists Train Your Brain To Be More Productive And Goal-Oriented 

by Lauren Marchese

Increase Your Creative Output With 14 time Management Tips Just for Creatives

by Amanda Oliver

Lauren's article is more than just suggestions about checklists, although the article is full of great suggestions- dividing a large task into smaller tasks, for example.  She goes into the psychological science behind why checklists work and why the simple act of checking off a box on your to-do list feels so darn good!  Personally, I like writing my to-do lists on Post-it Note tab strips so I can crumple up the paper and slam-dunk it in my desk trash can when I complete a task.  This is considered gamification, or making mundane tasks fun by adding competitive or rewarding elements.  My reward is the tactile feeling of crushing a goal in my bare hands.  It makes me feel powerful, probably because of the rush of dopamine that Lauren points out in her article.

Amanda's article may say "Just for Creatives," but the article is excellent for neurodiverse individuals as well.  I have ADHD, and time management is a major struggle for me.  To many people the suggestions in this article may be "well, duh" suggestions, but for those of us that tend to let our tasks run us rather than taking control and running our tasks Amanda presents these mindfulness tips to help us redirect how we expend our energy through the day in order to maintain control over our day.  

Technology Experience

Technology Experience

(Image courtesy of BestFunForAll.)

I feel confident using the site and browser recommendations for this class.  It helps that my husband is a computer applications developer, so I have free tech support!

Assignments Anticipation

Assignments Anticipation

I am looking forward to reading stories.  I love mythology and folk tales.  I don't have a lot of exposure to Indian mythology, so I am excited to focus on their traditions.  I am also a big fan of modern adaptations, so I'm looking forward to reading how my peers fold these classic tales into their own life experiences.  

I'm glad that extra reading is part of our extra credit options.  I tend to fall down the rabbit hole when I'm reading mythology since the characters often cross into each other's stories.  I've started making my own encyclopedia to help me keep track of what I learn about each character featured in the Character of the Day post.  

I feel a little overwhelmed right now.  There's a lot of information coming at me, and I'm not always sure what is relevant to class and what is extra information.  I'm a category and list person, and having to sort through announcements and hyperlinks to piece together what is supposed to be going on is stressing me out.   

(Image Courtesy of e993.)

Comparing Growth Mindset with Thinking Fast and Slow

Comparing Growth Mindset with Thinking Fast and Slow

Image courtesy of Transforming Education

Learning about Carol Dweck’s growth mindset philosophy makes me wonder about what is going on inside the brain and how we can affect the thinking process to move between a fixed and growth mindset.  According to brain scans performed during Dweck’s research, fixed mindset students had less brain activity than their growth mindset peers.  Why is that?  Are the fixed mindset students refusing to think about a difficult problem, or is something else happening within their brains?

I think that analyzing the growth mindset philosophy through the concepts presented in psychologist Daniel Kahneman’s book Thinking Fast and Slow will give insight into what is going on mechanically within the brain and help us find ways to access a growth mindset.  Kahneman divides thought processes into two systems.  System 1 is the quick thinker that filters through previously obtained information to develop a quick response to an external stimulus.  System 2 is the slower process that makes a conscious effort to analyze an external stimulus.  Each system serves a purpose.  One is not better than the other and they often work together.  The major difference is that System 2 consumes a lot more energy to process information than System 1.  That’s why after performing deep thinking you tend to feel the same amount of hunger and exhaustion that your body would feel after a strenuous workout.  It’s also why the brain scans of the students lit up during growth mindset thinking versus fixed mindset thinking. 

I propose that growth mindset encourages a paradigm shift that boosts students desire to increase how much time they engage in System 2 thinking.  I would like to spend my extra credit time exploring this proposition further.      




Currently Reading: 

Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Hammer of Thor 
by Rick Riordan

Introduction of the Eden

Introduction of the Eden

Hi!  I’m Eden Cook.  I am married.  My husband and I have two children (Ce’Nedra- 12 and Wesley- 9 5/6^th), three cats (Jasper and Ginger- twin fire tips and Ari-a tuxedo kitty), and one dog (Lexi- German Shepherd/Lab).  We’ve lived in Moore for over nine years.  Before that, we lived in Stillwater.  My husband is a Stillwater graduate. I graduated from Marlow High School.  My husband is an OSU alumnus.  We met when he was in the OSU marching band and I was in The Pride of Oklahoma.  We’re not really a house divided.  I’m not that into sports, but I’m a huge Gundy fan.  I don’t really care who wins, as long as it isn’t Texas.

Jasper acting spoiled.

 I am a Language Arts Education major.  I hope to teach high school when I graduate.  I’ve worked with high school aged kids for about fifteen years as an advisor for an organization called DeMolay.  DeMolay is a leadership organization for young men between the ages of 12 and 21.  We have a sister organization called International Rainbow for Girls that my daughter joined last year.

Ginger thinks she's going on a trip.

Ari's toe beans!

 In addition to working with DeMolay, I am also a Girl Scout leader for a multi-level troop.  We have girls from first grade through eleventh grade.  I started with the Daisies when my daughter was in Kindergarten and moved up with her group as they got older.  I now work with the Cadette, Senior, and Ambassadors groups (6^th-12 grade).  They are a lot more fun now than they were when they were Daisies and Brownies!  Yes, cookie season starts soon, and YES! my daughter would love to sell you some cookies!

I’m a huge literature nerd.  I consider literature any creative endeavor that tells a story: books, movies, television series, cool blogs, podcasts, cartoons, etc.  I. LOVE. STORIES! My current reading for pleasure is the Magnus Chase series by Rick Riordan.  I am currently watching Medical Police on Netflix.  My current podcast binges are My Favorite Murder and Wine and Crime.  I am excited to share my stories with you and to  read the stories that you all post. 

Lexi waiting for Robert to get home.

(Images information: Photographs of the Cook pets, 2019.)

Storybook Favorites

Storybook Favorites

I first storybook I am reviewing is How I Met Your Mother by Rachel Cunningham.  The storybook focuses on stories of men telling their children how the men met their wives.  The title caught my eye because I am a huge How I Met Your Mother fan.  Rachel incorporates running gags and sayings from the show in her retelling of the stories.  The one thing that stands out that I would like to incorporate is that there is a link at the end of each page to the next story, so I don’t have to scroll back up to the top to the site map to go to the next story. 

My second review is over King Arthur in India by Jake.  I am a big Arthur nerd and I took Dr. Coleman’s Arthurian Legend class a couple of semesters ago.  When I was reading about the Dashavatar, the embodiments of Vishnu- Parshurama, Rama, Krishna, and Kalki- made me think of Merlin and Arthur.  Parshurama and Krishna coordinate with the roles of Merlin in the legends, and Rama and Kalki coordinate with Arthur.  I want to keep this storybook in mind because I was leaning toward exploring the Arthur connections, but I want to make sure I don’t repeat any of Jake’s hard work.  I like how the main menu stays at the top of the text even when I scroll, so I can click the next story, but I like how Rachel made her links better.

The last review is the storybook Karma for Kids: Stories for your Unruly Children.  Sometimes my kids get a little unruly, so the title caught my eye.  The storybook focuses on a mother and her young triplets.  In the introduction and each story, the children cause trouble and the mother tells them a story that relates to the situation the children caused.  I like this focus because the author employs one of the major purposes of mythology- teaching life lessons through story.  Of the three, I think this storybook did the best implementing the images within the text to make it feel like an actual storybook.  

The image can be found at Clip Art Library.

Port Aransas, TX My Favorite Place

(Image Information: The Cook Family at Port Aransas, TX; photo from September 2016.)

     My family's favorite place to visit is Port Aransas, TX.  It is located on the Gulf of Mexico between Corpus Christi and North Padre Island (the non-party Padre).  We have visited Port A every Labor Day weekend for the past nine years, except for one.  In 2017, Port Aransas was part of the Gulf Coast that endured extensive damage and flooding from Hurricane Harvey.  The hurricane hit land one week before the Labor Day weekend, so we had to change our annual plans.  When we returned in 2018, we were surprised and impressed by how quickly Port A recovered.  Not only were they able to rebuild or remodel the damaged businesses, the city council was able to attract new businesses to replace the few shops and restaurants whose owners chose not to reopen.  

     We typically rent from Beachcomber Vacation Rentals.  They treat us very well and their properties are clean and comfortable.  When we get to town, we shop at the local IGA supermarket for breakfast and lunch items that we eat at the rental.  We eat at a different restaurant each evening.  We have eaten at most of the restaurants in Port A and we haven't been disappointed with a single meal.  

     We like to spend most of our time at the beach, but over the years we have tried the local dolphin tour and the pirate cruise.  We recommend both, but the pirate cruise is more engaging for children between 4 and 12 years of age.  We also drive to Corpus Christi to tour the Texas State Aquarium every few years.  The aquarium is just large enough for a day trip, but not so large that we're exhausted at the end of the day.  If it's ridiculously hot, there is a huge splash pad at the entrance of the aquarium to cool off and to burn off any cranky energy our kids might have before they get packed into the car for the thirty-minute drive back to Port A.