Literacy VISTA Webinar
December 11th, 2014
 Name
& Site
 How are things going at
your site?
 What is one thing you are
currently working on?
What is the ‘VISTA Slump’ & Why are we talking
about it?
 Combating the slump
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Tools for working through the slump
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Motivation
Turning ideas into action
Ideas and general tips on productivity
Maximizing your time when you’re
incredibly busy
Making the best of the Minnesota Winter!
Announcements
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Tips and Tricks
Including post-webinar activities
Closing Question
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The Corporation’s (CNCS) research shows a trend that
months 3 and 4 of service can be especially difficult,
possibly due to:
VISTAs finally understand the scope of work & complexity
of it
 VISTAs may not feel they have the competency to complete
tasks
 General self-doubt
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Other tell-tale signs of the “VISTA Slump”:
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Feeling a little stagnant in your plans for what to prioritize
next or how to build on your knowledge and work from the
first 3 months
The reality of the living allowance is settling in
Forgetting why you decided to serve/what excited you at
the start
Overwhelmed with “So many ideas, so little time!”
Your site and work may be turning out different than what
you expected
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The holidays are typically a crazy time of
year with programs ending/starting, staff
taking vacations, offices may be closed
some days – so it’s even more important to
manage stress and structure your time so
you can remain productive
With the new year right around the corner,
now is a good time to step back and reexamine what you’ve done at your site so
far.
Disclaimer: Meant to be validating and
productive; not us projecting how you
should feel – some VISTAs may not
experience the ‘slump’; but these tools can
be helpful for everyone
1.
2.
3.
Nope, doing great! Bring
on the holidays!
Feeling a little slumpy…
“VISTA Slump” is my
middle name right now..!
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Find out what is meaningful to
you about your service
Make the position your own
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Re-read SuperVAD, remind
yourself of tasks you were initially
excited about
Revisit StrengthsFinder and think
about way to incorporate your
strengths into your work
Do a little direct service to
reconnect you to why you
wanted to be a VISTA & to meet
people/reconnect with the cause
Put yourself first! Self-care is
key.
Connect with other VISTAs
Motivation is the desire to do things & a crucial element in
setting and attaining goals, and sustaining yourself in your work.
How to “infect” yourself with
motivation
Do more of what you love, or bring
your passions into your work
 Surround yourself with positive and
encouraging people.
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Determine who and how you want to be
in life, and find like-minded people.
Studies show that you become most like
the 5 people you spend the most time
around.
Focus on the shared mission
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Remind yourself of the purpose of what
you’re doing
Set challenging goals (not unattainable,
but not too easy!)
 Celebrate small wins!
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Things that VISTAs find motivating:
Do you have great ideas that you struggle
to put into action? Here are four tactics
to get you started:
1.
Meet with others
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To expand on your initial idea; seek
out those who can approve “next
steps”; or speak with people who have
done similar things
Connect Online
2.
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Spread your idea and initiate
participation and feedback via online
forums like social media
Share your skills
3.
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Chances are, you may not have every
skill necessary to put your idea into
action. Find people who may have
‘buy-in’ or vested interest in your
idea, and see how different people
can contribute to the whole
Grow your idea
4.
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If your idea works, take the time and
energy to prove it & create growth.
Other tips from VISTAs:
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Find ways to build on your successes
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Look back at the projects you’ve
worked on so far. What worked really
well? What didn’t work? Can you change
what didn’t work to make it better?
Learn to differentiate between the
important and the urgent. What’s
important is not always urgent and
what’s urgent is not always
important.
 For a couple of days, take an
inventory of how you spend your
time
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This is a useful approach to identify if
there’s time you are wasting that could
be used doing other things
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If you’re feeling unmotivated, try establishing some kind
of incentive system & reward yourself when you get
things done
Schedule in some time during the course of the day to
take small break or go on walks
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Utilize the 50/10 rule:
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Work on one important task for 50 minutes and then take a 10
minute break to refocus
Plan your day ahead in the morning or the night before
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Science has proven that mild exercise throughout the day is
good for concentration and productivity. So don’t feel bad for
leaving the office for a bit – science says you should!
Also, be sure you are actually taking your lunch break, even if
you don’t need to eat.
Start the morning by making a to-do list or put on together
before you leave the office at night.
If you can do it in two minutes or less, don’t write it on
the to-do list. Do it & move on.
All things being equal, do the hardest, least fun thing
first and just get it over with
Cut big jobs into small chunks, order those chunks by
importance & then work on one at a time
Update your to-do list regularly! Crossing things off feels
great!
Establish smart and efficient systems for all your tasks,
big & small, and stick to it.
Super busy? Step-up your time
management skills
 Resources:
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Myhours.com: Enables you to track
your work time, projects you work on
and tasks you perform
Toggl.com: A website that helps you
keep track of different tasks you work
on like a stopwatch – click start & stop
when you begin or finish a task to see
how long it takes – can be used to
determine just how much time you
spend on the internet, checking email
or facebook!
Manictime.com: a program you can
install that tracks your computer
activity automatically
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Free to-do lists:
Todoist – achieve blazing efficiency! http://www.todoist.com
 Remember the Milk – manage your tasks quickly and easily
www.rememberthemilk.com
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Free Online Calendars/Planners:
30 Boxes – “the World’s best online calendar” http://30boxes.com
 My Memorizer – a reminding service that sends reminder emails or texts
to your phone http://mymemorizer.com
 Passion Planner – an all-in-one weekly appointment calendar, journal,
goal setting guide, to-do list, and gratitude log – able to print planner
pages for free! http://www.passionplanner.com
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Other:
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Mindtools.com
TedTalk: Shawn Anchor “The happy secret to better work”
TedTalk: Elijah Miles “Our Neighborhoods”
TedTalk: Brene Brown “The power of vulnerability”
TedTalk: Matt Cutts “Try something new for 30 days”
TedTalk: Dan Ariely “What makes us feel good about our work?”
TedTalk: Dan Pink “The puzzle of motivation”
TedTalk: Ken Robinson “Bring on the learning revolution
TedTalk: Nilofer Merchant “Got a meeting? Take a walk”
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Suggestions from fellow-VISTAs:
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Develop winter hobbies – it is 5 months of the year, after all!
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Join a gym
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Put in extra effort to get out of the house & see friends!
Great things about winter:
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Pine-scented everything
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Hot cocoa; apple cider!
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Ice caves
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Chance of snow days
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Christmas lights
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Snow-shoeing
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Catching snowflakes on your tongue
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Cross-country skiing
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“We all look great in puffy coats”
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Snowboarding
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Winter Carnivals
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Ice fishing
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Hockey season
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Cuddling
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Ice skating
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Not feeling guilty about not exercising
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Cookies
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Seeing family
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Snow forts
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Knitting/crocheting
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Watching the snow fall
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Cozy scarves
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Fireplaces
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Hanukkah
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Reading books by fireplaces
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Ugly Sweater Parties
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Ringing in the New year
Invest in a “happy lamp”
 Take Vitamin D pills
 Plan your next
vacation/adventure
 Do something kind for a
stranger
 Look at cute pictures of
babies and baby animals.
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Seriously.
The best way to get
through the VISTA
Slump is knowing
that it won’t last
forever.
 Next
Quarterly Reports due
January 15th
 Next Literacy VISTA cohort
training dates: Jan 23rd and
Feb 20th – updates to come
 New host sites: spread the
word!
 Post-Webinar activities
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Stress management TedTalk
Self-care handout & assessment
What is one thing you are looking forward to in
the upcoming weeks or during the holidays?
Amy Krill, VISTA Leader
akrill@mnliteracy.org