Dear colleague,
In his new book Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout, Georgetown professor Cal Newport argues that the working lives of knowledge workers are filled with pseudo-productivity. Pseudo-productivity, in Newport's parlance, is a “mood” of busyness that equates visible activity with actual productive effort.
In terms of us teachers, pseudo-productivity can look like…
- Me as an early career teacher being proud of how much time I spent working in my classroom.
- Checking your email a dozen times a day.
- Grading all the work your students complete.
- Volunteering for all the things (clubs, leadership, committees).
So the problem, Newport argues, is that pseudo-productivity's most reliable product is burnout. It looks like work and it feels like work, but it doesn't actually do much good. I could've been in my classroom eighty hours per week as an early career teacher creating profession-advancing pedagogies…or maybe I was just making cool-looking bulletin boards and lots of busywork.
What I for sure made, after three years, was career-ending burnout.
Okay, Cal Newport — thanks for defining a problem we teachers face. What, pray tell, is your solution?
Newport puts forth three principles:
- Do fewer things.
- Work at a natural pace.
- Obsess over quality.
This is where Newport's book becomes much harder to apply to teaching. Some immediate questions you might have as you look at that list:
- How do I do fewer things when my class sizes keep growing?
- How do I work at a natural pace when district pacing guides demand I keep in lockstep with my colleagues?
- How do I obsess over quality when I'm struggling just to keep my head above water?
In the weeks to come, I may address more ideas from Newport's interesting book. In the meantime, I'm thankful that it's given my mind something to ponder during the transition into spring break and the end of the year. If you want to read along with me, the book's significantly on sale at Amazon right now (hardcover / Kindle / audio).*
Best,
DSJR
*Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. There’s no extra cost to you, and it helps support this blog. Thank you for your support!
Kelli Smith says
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Dave. I just bought the book in hopes it will help me figure this out too! I look forward to hearing more of your ideas!
Emily Mayer says
I actually just finished reading Slow Productivity a week or so ago. I’ve loved Cal Newport for a while now, but this recent book might just be my favorite. It gives me permission to slow down a little, and not feel like I have to cram tasks into every second of my day.
As a high school English teacher, I’ve found it easier (and very helpful) to apply Newport’s principles to my non-instructional time (i.e. planning periods and before/after school). One of Newport’s suggestions is to block off an equal amount of unscheduled time for every meeting that you commit to. For example, if I have a meeting during my planning period, I make sure that I don’t schedule another meeting before school on that same day.
I’ve also started to keep a running list of tasks (which I already did consistently before reading the book), but now I add a due date to each task, so I can schedule those tasks more effectively. And I try to reduce my scheduled tasks by 25%, per Newport’s suggestion, which leaves me some breathing room to take a quick walk, or make some tea, or read a few pages of a good book. I’ve found that instead of cutting into my productivity, slowing down has actually made me more productive, since I don’t run out of energy and focus as quickly as I used to.
These are a few of the things that I’ve tried…I’m looking forward to hearing others’ perspectives, too. 🙂
Larry Waite says
Am just listening to the book now and as a teacher am finding it fascinating. Looking forward to your insight as to how to apply the 3 principles in our vocation.
nicoleandmaggie says
I’ve had trouble with Cal Newport’s previous advice… I generally find it frustrating because it assumes a level of privilege that I just don’t have.
BUT– some of what you’ve written here sounds a lot like Robert Boice’s Advice for New Faculty Members. There’s a lot of focus on thinking hard about what you want students to walk away remember for the rest of their lives or at least for the next class, and to focus more on those instead of the things they will forget after each exam. He also suggests letting others do the work for you– are there ways to unload what would be busy work for you but are actually useful exercises for the students (ex. I don’t enjoy lecturing on the details of government programs, so each student picks a government program, learns about it, and gives a powerpoint presentation on it– its something that an undergrad can do well and gives them lots of beneficial practice).
Work smarter not harder does make sense in teaching.
James D. says
I haven’t read the book but I’ve heard him talk about the book on a couple of podcasts.
His idea of having a seasonal work schedule connects with me as a teacher. We have time off and we should actually use that time for NOT working.
Also, Dave has mentioned how he has spent one school year or one semester focusing innovating on one of his “These Six Things” (like writing) and de-emphasizing the others in order to really good big on that priority. That feels like seasonal work, too.