#uppingyourgame

The penultimate version of #uppingyourgame: an educator’s guide to productivity, v0.5, is ready! Those who have participated in the OpenBeta publishing model so far have already received their free update. Four of the five chapters are now complete:
- The Philosophy of Productivity
- Productivity & Motivation
- Productivity as ‘getting on & doing’
- Productivity 2.0
The final chapter is provisionally titled Making others more productive and will be coming out before the end of 2010.
Version 0.2 is available as a preview here
Buying into the ideas that this book contains (and will contain) NOW costs £6. You will receive a free version of the version 1.0 ebook and be able to access a special page where you can purchase a physical version of #uppingyourgame at cost price. If you decide not to purchase now be aware that the price will increase for the final version.
Once you’ve completed the payment process clicking on the orange button to ‘Return to DAJ Belshaw’ will take you to the download page. ![]()
Permanent link to the book’s page at http://bit.ly/uppingyourgame
Please feel free to add comments and questions below!
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I think you should give either the preface/intro/contents away for free as a tempter for us to give over our hard earned £2!!!
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Really interesting idea as a publishing model Doug. I'm in, and look forward to reading the book as it develops.
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That's part of the game, though Dan isn't it! When you've got the first
chapter it'll be £3. Or you could buy it now and get the rest free for £2.
The choice is yours…
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I'm in too Doug. Judging by the stuff you give away, I'm really looking forward to paid-for content. I'm a big advocate of “teacherprenerism” as I know the massive impact my work outside school has had on my work inside school. This model is a great way for teachers (and anyone with an interest they are ready to share) to widen their sphere of influence, but with more depth than a blog can manage.
I have realised that we only read books by people who are prepared to spend the time writing them. The OpenBeta model seems like a great method to allow people's encouragement, both in financial and critical terms, to help them along the way.
Plus, I think you've given me the little drop of inspiration I needed…
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Excellent! No pressure then…
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Ah well, that would be telling! Suffice to say they'll be at least one
version per month…
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I'm in-Rather ironic you writing a book about educators productivity.
When everyone's thinking how the hell have you the time to write a book!
Be great to have a chapter devoted to procratination…..
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Good idea – not something I've ever struggled with, but shall
definitely work it onto the chapter on motivation!
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I paid just £2. Does this mean I will receive the book via the post for that minimal price??? Sorry – I'm not very bright
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I paid just £2. Does this mean I will receive the book via the post for that minimal price??? Sorry – I'm not very bright
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I paid just £2. Does this mean I will receive the book via the post for that minimal price??? Sorry – I'm not very bright
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I paid just £2. Does this mean I will receive the book via the post for that minimal price??? Sorry – I'm not very bright
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Yes Jamie, you will get an email soon!
Doug
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Yes Jamie, you will get an email soon!
Doug
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Yes Jamie, you will get an email soon!
Doug
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Yes Jamie, you will get an email soon!
Doug
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Yes Jamie, you will get an email soon!
Doug
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That bamboo story I promised. Its part of a collection of writing to challenge and inspire (CI)
http://kristianstill.co.uk/wordpress/?page_id=11
The Bamboo Story
You prepare the soil, pick the right spot, then plant the Chinese Bamboo seed. You water it and wait. You wait an entire year and….. nothing appears. No bud, no twig, nothing. So you keep watering and protecting the area and taking care of the future plant, and you wait some more. You wait another year and still, nothing happens. You are a persistent person not prone to giving up, so you keep on watering. Another year passes,you check the soil and, and there is still no sign of growth.
It has been three years. Should you give up? Someone told you that it might take a while to really see the fruits of your efforts, so you keep on, keeping on. More water, more care. You even offer a few kind words to encourage growth. Another year passes. You look around at all the other plants growing in the garden, their stunning beauty. No sign of a bamboo shoot.
So you begin year number five with the same passion as day number one, albeit deflated. You water, you wait. You keep watering and you keep waiting. You water some more and then, sometime during the fifth year…. could it be? Is it really? There, just showing through the dirt. The following day you return and you are left amazed, the bamboo has grown more in 24 hours than in the previous five years. In the six weeks that follow, it continues to grow approximately three feet every day, until it is over 80 feet tall! Yes, 80 feet in six weeks! Well, not really. It is 80 feet in five years.
The point is simple. If you had given up for even the shortest period of time, there would be no tree. The bamboo has spent the five years growing its extensive root network, in preparating for this explosive growth. Those roots made the bamboo strong enough, before it even made pursuit for the sun. Not all rewards are immediately achieved.
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Great allegory, Kristian – thanks for sharing!
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Great allegory, Kristian – thanks for sharing!
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