Quality

"Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives." - Source is debatable, but generally attributed to William A. Foster

Yay for Friday!  This has been the longest short week I've experienced all year.  It's been a week of frustrations, as things have consistently not worked according to plans.

That said, I've blogged every day of the new year so far.  I've gotten exercise each day of the new year so far.  I've done creative writing each day of the new year so far.  I've done some freelance writing, including a gripping piece on military schools in Virginia.  So far, then, I'm right on track, frustrations or no.  And if you think this week was a week of accomplishment, just wait till you see next week's outcomes!

As I look backward counting accomplishments, though, I know that it's all too easy to inscribe check marks into boxes without paying attention to the quality of the efforts.  As someone who is quoted above once said, quality takes effort.  Effort of a certain kind, that is, and some other things, too.  Quality writing, for example, doesn't just happen.  Neither does quality teaching, or quality education management.  Quality anything is like that, really.  Even quality working out is important--it's one thing to go to the gym and spend some time on, say, the treadmill, but a workout that is focused and tailored to our goals and then approached with sincere effort and carefully executed is much more rewarding.  Problem is, sometimes we get into such rote-based streams of habitual activities that we forget to turn our "quality" muscles on. 

Thus, as we go through each effort to close out the week today, and to meet our goals for next week, I remind you: quality is key.

I challenge you, then: what are you going to do next week to put a constant reminder of quality out there? 

- TOSK