Motivational Monday: You Are Not Free From The Consequences of Your Choice

“You have the freedom to choose, but not freedom from the consequences of your choices”

Unfortunately I was unable to find the true author of today’s quote, which the internet seems to attribute to several people, including Steven Covey and a church leader named Ezra Taft Benson, but I thought it presented a really beautiful paradox. So, here’s some thoughts about choices we have in life to perk up your Monday!

The Freedom To Choose

Have you ever wondered what would have happened had you chosen another path? I’ve always found it incredible how much impact one small decision can make on our lives.

Everything from a course you decide to take, to walking into a different coffee shop one morning can alter the path you take and the people you meet.

Maybe you meet someone new that ends up being your best friend. I remember when I was 20, I stayed at the University Calgary campus dorms one summer, as it was the only accomodation I could find on short notice. Since I didn’t know anyone in Calgary at the time, I decided to go to an event to watch the hockey game in the common room – not my normal pass time by a longshot.

However, it was there that I met my friend Julie, whose normal pastime was also not being a hockey fan!  Actually, we’ve been friends ever since and had tons of fun adventures.

The Consequences: On Tradeoffs

It’s a paradox, really. The supposed freedom entangles us in another web of consequences; we can never choose everything.

Every time you make a choice, you give up something else. When you plan to spend time on one project, you lose time for the other, no matter how ambitious or determined you are. Lately, I’m finding this to be true with increasing committment to my blog and teaching while doing my best to finish my rollercoaster of a PhD.

Time Management Tips:

Here are 3 tips that help me stay on top of everything:

1) Organize!

In case you missed my post on 6 Simple Ways To Organize teaching materials, it’s here. I organize everything online and in paper, the latter only if necessary. Keeping everything together really keeps me sane when I get busier and busier each semester.

2) Plan!

Trello is my new favourite tool, and I’ll soon be looking into how to make it integrate with Google Calendar.  It integrates with a ton of apps, so I’m thrilled to check it out even more.

Here’s a video from Sproutspire that really helped me set up  my 2017 Blog Editorial calendar (for any teacher bloggers out there!). It’s a great way to set up other types of projects too, so go ahead and take five minutes to watch it.

3) Stick to it!

Accountability partners are gold, as sticking to your plan is vital.  If you missed my post on goal setting and accountability partners, it’s here. In fact, I’m meeting my accountability partner tonight so I can get cracking on my PhD data analysis.

What are your time management strategies? I plan to write a dedicated post on this soon and would love to hear from you!

Have a fabulous and productive Monday!

P.S. Photographer lovers, I took the photo for the main image in this post at the Columbia Icefields in Alberta, Canada in 2010 on a road trip with two great friends, Sean and Kristin.