Creating Routines to Become a Better SLP [guest post]
About a year ago, I read a book about routines and habits. I can’t remember what book it was because since that first book I’ve been hooked. In the last year, I have read at least twenty additional books about the importance of routines and habits. I am now fascinated by the way that the brain works in becoming more efficient (by forming routines and habits) so that it can spend more energy on novel or emergency situations.
“The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine. ” Mike Murdock (as quoted in “Ready Aim Fire”)
How can the speech pathologist use routines to become more effective?
- Set goals: Determine what you want to do differently this year. Last year, I set my professional development goal to quickly and efficiently pick up students from their classroom, and then engage them in their goals during that transition time down the hall. You can read the blog post about the topic here. Other routine goals to consider include: putting away materials at the end of each day, lesson planning a month in advance, probing students each month, pulling out materials every morning, checking your schedule for the week each Monday, creating a daily to-do list.
- Label and write down the new routine: Just listing the routine in your planner as a daily to-do and checking it off can help make this routine into a habit.
- Write down the steps: List every step needed to create this routine. For my routine of beginning therapy as soon as I picked up the students, I needed a pre-planned task. I also discovered part way through the year, that I need to add a step of having students choose partners and engage in the task not only with me, but also with each other.
- Tell someone about the routine: Finding an accountability partner can make the difference between setting up a new goal and actually following through. Tell your colleague, principal, or significant others that this is the routine that you will be focusing on for the year. Then tell them how it is going from time to time!
Are you ready to establish that new routine? Remember, that these routines will not only help you develop in your profession, but also save your mental energy for times when the unexpected occurs (the prepared lesson flops, a student begins to cry, or a fire drill happens in the middle of therapy).
Email and let me know what routine you are going to work on this year! [email protected]
Bio: Cheri Chin is the creator the longest running blog for speech pathologists, Super Power Speech. She is a national presenter and has been featured numerous times in the ASHA Leader. She works full time in an elementary school in the Pacific Northwest and loves to organize, read and run. Check out her upcoming course“The Organized SLP” to be fully prepared for the upcoming school year! And make sure to sign up for her email list to gain access to an entire library of free materials and resources for speech pathologists.
[…] Read the rest of this article on my guest post at Teach Speech 365 here. […]