Back to the office

The reality of the Monday morning after being away at a week's training experience can sometimes be overwhelming. I was determined not to allow the experience of networking and learning with a great group of fellow librarians be forgotten as soon as I walked through the door of my library. Here are several ways I found that have helped to keep the information fresh in my mind and not lost under the "to do" list:

1. Check work email throughout the week during the conference/training.

• By getting rid of junk email and quickly answering easy work-related questions, I could eliminate the amount of stuff in my inbox on Monday morning.

2. Be ready to share with staff highlights of the week at the Monday morning staff meeting

• Staff need to know that you were not just goofing off and enjoying the scenery all week (though I did enjoy the scenery, and told them so). 
• By verbally sharing about time away with colleagues, they realize that what you learned will also benefit them.

3. Get Monday morning tasks done and out of the way as quickly as possible.

• We all have a lot to do at work, but being slow to complete the tedious tasks of paying bills and finishing up emails does not help. Get it done quickly and then be ready to move on.

4. Take time to organize the notebook from your week of training.

• Once I finished all the Monday work duties (by one hour before I left for the day), I set the timer on my Pomodoro and went through the papers from the conference, making sure everything was behind the proper tab and remembering the speakers and their topics. 
• Organizing the notebook will also help me when I give a verbal report to my board next week.

5. Keep a "to do" list for homework assignments and potential work assignments from the training.

• Though I could not get to these on Monday, I was able to accomplish some on Tuesday. Having a list of expectations helps me to work through them as I'm able. They become a part of my daily tasks and make it more manageable.
• I also made a list during the last day of the conference of all the things I heard during the week that I wanted to consider implementing in my library. Now, I can look at that list and add some of the ideas as tasks on my Google calendar or send an email to a colleague to schedule a time to discuss a new idea with them. 
• Everything does NOT have to be done today -- Keep the ideas out there, but spread them out and be reasonable about a time frame for accomplishing them.

6. Use the blog to keep the momentum going. 

• Having to set up a blog was the best part of this training. I look forward to being able to convey my thoughts about library management and learn from others as well.
• I also see the blog as a way to test ideas and keep the concepts learned in front of myself and others. 

It was a great week, and I won't forget it!