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Here is your Learning Log image for today.
So far we've tried to zero in on some self-exploration in the context of the world you are, and will be, living in in the future. Part of this exploration has been to think about a sense of purpose and meaning in your life and this world, and how that might connect to choices you make about your future path.
Before we think more about some steps towards achieving some of those goals you may be starting to set for yourself, we're going to work on how we manage in the moment-to-moment of our lives -- and apply such skills to achievements now and in the future. Some of these skills include organization, problem-solving, and daily habits of sleep, nutrition, and exercise.
Fundamentally, much of this involves time -- how we manage it now, and what we plan to do with it in the future.
Sometimes, the easiest way to move forward on something -- particularly when the task seems rather daunting -- is to take it one step at a time. Lao Tzu, a contemporary of our friend K'ung Fu-Tze (Confucius) and recognized as the founder of Taoism, was on to something when he is said to have written:
"A journey of a thousand miles starts from beneath one's feet." Today, people often re-work this quotation from Book Two, Chapter LXIV of the Tao Te Ching to say, "the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
Either way, they are wise words. It's amazing what can start to accumulate when you take things one step at a time. Psychologically, a task that may seem overwhelming can appear far more do-able if you just break it down and work away at it.
That can even include something like getting through a day, or a week, when things seem tough.
Scheduling your time, time management, helps to release you from feeling like you have to think of or do everything at once. If you figure out when and how long you're going to do each part of a larger task, the larger task, by the end, can seem like it got accomplished on its own! (in Lao Tzu's Taoism, this concept of effortlessness is call wu wei).
It also allows you to very purposefully schedule some time to enjoy for your self -- giving you an additional motivator, something to look forward to as part of the process!
Managing your time wisely also acknowledges the idea that time is precious. There is something to be said for squeezing as much as we can out of any given moment or day -- to make the most of the time we have. And thinking about how you go about your day-to-day can help you understand what might trip you up on any given day -- what stumbling blocks, like "I stayed up too late," "the alarm clock didn't go off," "I didn't give myself enough time to eat a good meal," "I didn't leave enough time so I could walk to work and get some exercise" can easily derail how your day goes -- and can all be easily fixed.
The exercise below ("Two Days") asks you to visualize an ideal daily routine for you, and then to contrast it with a less successful model. Using the template and the prompts provided, set up a separate document to complete this exercise. You are essentially building a schedule (with times included) for two consecutive days. Both days will likely be quite similar, but be sure to purposely include items in "day one" that might impact "day two" -- things in YOUR control.
Put your completed product in your Careers folder. Afterwards, be prepared to discuss ideas in your fourth column -- what, for the best case scenario, were the personal management skills and habits that led to success?
Together, we will also explore further ways we can help and care for ourselves and each other -- to help get our health where we need and want it to be.
Here is your Learning Log image for today. Communication is another important personal management skill. This image relates to what is arguably the most fundamental communication skill. What skill am I referring to?
The skill we identified above is a crucial ingredient for us to be able to get along in, work within, and collaborate as part of a team. With humanity's ability to leverage communication platforms and other technology connecting billions of people together like we've never done before, collaboration and teamwork has perhaps never been more central to the work of society and the world. Whether it be challenges like climate change or finding the next pandemic vaccine, working together locally and globally, perhaps sprinkled in with a bit of enlightened leadership (let's educate ourselves and vote together too!) and most definitely some negotiation, is probably the surest way to unleash humanity's full potential to problem-solve -- another key life skill.
Negotiation -- a discussion designed to result in an agreement; and consensus-building -- arriving at a unanimous agreement among a group of people -- are at the heart of collaboration and teamwork. These processes require aiming to achieve "win-win" results, as opposed to deciding instead, for example, just to take a majority vote. In that case, some people end up not getting their way at all: it's "win-lose."
So how do you get to a win-win result? And, so obviously related, what makes for effective teamwork?
Of course, at the heart of any problem-solving is creativity and imagination -- that ability to think "outside of the box."
All of these are transferable skills you'll need in life and the workplace -- skills that you'll be able to "transfer" and apply to any situation. Certainly the organizational skills and academic skills you are developing and honing now will stand you in good stead in the workforce, and allow you to easily move from one job to the next. These are also considered "employability skills" that not only help you in the school setting, but also, with more and more practice, might give you that extra 'edge' in what can be a competitive job market and world.
More importantly, let's not forget those other personal management skills and positive habits we have been discussing that help us cope, help us manage that inevitable stress, sometimes just getting us through the moment-by-moment and the day-to-day: time management, SLEEP, nutrition, and exercise; AND, tapping into what motivates us and brings us joy.
Not only will you hopefully contribute to problem-solving challenges at work and in other settings now and in the future; life itself throws problems at you everyday. Important, sometimes life-changing decisions come along every once and a while, and sooner than you think: Which courses do you need to take as pre-requisites for educational programmes and work? Which university or college will you attend, if that is the route you decide to take at this stage at all? What about relationships? Before you know it, family, geographic location (and/or choosing one over the other?) are decisions that need to be made, problems that need to be negotiated and solved, more often than not, obviously, with other people.
Reversing these decisions is always possible, but you want to feel and know that you've tried to make the best decision possible.
We've talked about decision-making already (and played "Bingo for Life" to see the alternative -- leaving things to chance, or letting others decide for you, or succumbing to pressure you feel from family, society, and culture to do things a certain way, even though it may not be what YOU think and feel is BEST for YOU.
So being your own leader, listening to yourself, and problem-solving accordingly is all part of life's journey.
truck.pdf
Today's tasks will help us work on all of these skills: communication, collaboration, teamwork, leadership, negotiation, consensus-building, and problem-solving, along with the suite of academic and organizational skills we work on everyday in school.
Each of these tasks calls upon you to put all of these skills into practice.
Your first task is to try to problem-solve the following question:
"A number of children are standing in a circle. They are evenly spaced and the 5th child is directly opposite the 19th child. How many children are there all together?"
Take this first problem and tackle it together as a group. Maybe you want to take the lead. If so, what does that leadership look like?
Once you've solved the problem, consider what kinds of things you did to help you better understand the problem. What was the single most important factor that helped you find the answer?
Now let's turn to your second task:
Below is a task ("The Truck") that you as a group will complete together. All the information you need is provided. You need to arrive at a consensus - there lies your solution to the problem.
Read the information on the task and come together in the classroom to arrive at your solution. Summon your own leadership, and Enjoy.
Choose one (or all) of these images for your Learning Log image today.
We have been talking a lot about how "scheduling" is such a key personal management skill. Time management -- managing your time -- is about managing your most important asset. What you do with "your" time -- which is so precious; a gift, really -- impacts everything else in your life.
In a way, managing your finances -- budgeting your money and knowing what to do with it -- is another form of "scheduling." It's interrelated with your scheduling of time, short- and long-term: what time will I allocate to earning this degree, to get this job, to earn and save this money, to pay for these things?
Drawing up a simple budget and sticking to it -- in addition to understanding some of the basics of how your finances work -- is just another "schedule" that it helps to set up for yourself: with a budget, you're setting up a "schedule" of how much money you have, how much you're going to save, and how much you're going to need (and want) to spend.
It takes the same commitment, discipline, and ability at some points to "delay gratification" to meet a future goal. But it should also have built into it the same personal, shorter-term rewards.
As we zero in on career options you may be considering for your future, how much is salary going to be a factor? We've discussed the notion of "living to work" versus "working to live." No matter which path you take, the essential "line items" in your personal / household budget are going to be the same. How large or small a "pool" of money you have to work on will in part be determined by your salary (if you earn a salary...maybe instead you earn money directly from your own enterprise, or an hourly wage, or are paid by sales commission, or through a set contract for goods/services you provide).
If you decide you want that "pool" to be larger, it might be worth it for you to "work to live," perhaps sacrificing some of the joy you take from your day-to-day work in order to maximize the money you make to afford the lifestyle you want. More ideally, perhaps, you find a vocation you love, you work hard to gain the education and/or experience you need to be successful, and society deems the work you do to be worth the annual amount of money you hope to earn.
Then there are personal circumstances that might determine your wealth, above and beyond your job: perhaps investment income is something you'll aim for -- and that means "budgeting" some of your money to invest in a stock portfolio (through a tax-free savings account (TFSA), or a Registered Retirement Savings Account (RRSP)(the latter has tax benefits we can also talk about). Some people (who we hope will find ways to give back) win the lottery of life and inherit money or are looked after by their family; others receive money from the government through social programmes such as pensions, employment insurance, and welfare.
Perhaps you'll decide to borrow money in the form of a student loan, or consumer credit. Buying on credit, and then successfully budgeting to pay off that credit card each month in full, helps to build a "personal credit rating" for yourself which helps when it comes time to apply for a house mortgage or other kind of longer-term loan.
Depending on our schedule, we will do this either in class or individually online at home. Brainstorm:
all of the "line items" that you think should be part of a monthly budget when you are starting out and moving on in the world. Remember to include the essentials, but also things that you want in your life that will cost you money. Think about your short-, medium-, and longer-term financial goals.
[for the above and each of these other bullets, we will need to do some simple research. For example, income tax deductions for various levels of salary; you will find some easy-to-use tools online that will make calculations for you].
next, consider your sources of income, and any deductions that might be taken off your pay before you even see it. The basic deductions are income tax (both Federal and Provincial); Employment Insurance (EIC), and the Canada Pension Plan (EIC and CPP deductions typically max out by a certain time in the year, leaving you with a few months with some extra "net" money). Some people pay union dues, and may have money deducted through work for a separate retirement savings plan, dental, medical, disability, and life insurance. Note also that by law, you are entitled to at least 2 weeks paid vacation time.
Here, for example, is a sample pay stub for a two-week pay period, along with an explanation of the deductions:
Sample pay stub and explanation
now, run the numbers for your monthly budget! (the way bi-weekly pay works out, you typically end up with two "extra" pay cheques per year, but for our purposes, we'll divide your gross annual pay by 12 to get a rough, monthly figure).
Consider, for example, the "ledger" for a full-time job that pays minimum wage; then, consider budgeting the same items for a job that pays substantially more, say an annual salary of $100,000. If you want, take it to the next level, and see what a budget on a VERY high income (HOPEFULLY still doing something you LOVE to do) will get you.
If we work on this document together as a class, you will, afterwards, save your own version to include in your Careers folder (and for uploading to the Dropbox). If done entirely at home, be ready to upload it from your Careers folder to the Dropbox.
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