My powerful Weekly Big 3 that puts my deepest creative and professional work front and center:
1.
AI and the college admissions essay with Jess Early
2.
AI platform design and coaching teachers in a professional learning community chapter with Debbie Abilock
3.
AI Workshop series with Chris Sloan
These goals reflect not only your expertise but also your commitment to shaping impactful conversations—with students, educators, and colleagues—about how AI is transforming learning and teaching. You’re advancing both research/writing (the journal article and book chapter) and real-world application (the workshop series), keeping all parts of your practice moving forward.
This is a possible template of your week, day by day. With your Weekly Big 3 in mind—AI and the college admissions essay, the professional learning community chapter, and the AI Workshop series—you can use this section to sketch out your most important work sessions, movement/rejuvenation routines, meetings (like TTT), and time for connection or rest.
MONDAY:
TUESDAY:
WEDNESDAY:
THURSDAY:
FRIDAY:
SATURDAY:
SUNDAY:
1: Refine slide deck and design at least one testable workshop segment to share at Tuesday’s session—then follow up with Chris, Bonnee, and others (TTT?) .
2: Restart daily micro-outreach and contract progress. Take a step every day—even small.
3: Move forward on Simulator and Inquiry workshop development. Sketch out core activities or frameworks by Thursday.
Morning Ritual | Workday Startup Ritual | Workday Shutdown Ritual | Evening Ritual
DAILY BIG 3 List your 3 most important tasks.
Morning Ritual | Workday Startup Ritual | Workday Shutdown Ritual | Evening Ritual
DAILY BIG 3 List your 3 most important tasks.
Morning Ritual | Workday Startup Ritual | Workday Shutdown Ritual | Evening Ritual
DAILY BIG 3 List your 3 most important tasks.
Morning Ritual | Workday Startup Ritual | Workday Shutdown Ritual | Evening Ritual
DAILY BIG 3 List your 3 most important tasks.
Morning Ritual | Workday Startup Ritual | Workday Shutdown Ritual | Evening Ritual
DAILY BIG 3 List your 3 most important tasks.
Morning Ritual | Workday Startup Ritual | Workday Shutdown Ritual | Evening Ritual
DAILY BIG 3 List your 3 most important tasks.
Morning Ritual | Workday Startup Ritual | Workday Shutdown Ritual | Evening Ritual
DAILY BIG 3 List your 3 most important tasks.
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1. Visiting friends – long trip
2. Iva Koberg is supporting our efforts and introducing us to programmers. I did some further design work — mainly around the create a new Writing Partner page and and edit WP page in Loveabele.
3. More thinking and practice with a reading support tutor WP.
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1. Plan/confirm outreach to Brian Dean, Bob Montgomery, Dan Doernberg
2. Find student samples for Jess Early article.
3. Send invitation for TTT.
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06
Aug
TTT 08.06.2025 A Wicked Problem with AI Tools
Wednesday · 8:00pm – 9:00pm EDT
Live Video
This event has ended!
Toward the end of last week’s conversation, Christina Cantrill wondered if we might be able to create an AI tutor, a Writing Partner that could do something similar to what teachers are able to do in dialogue with students when, at the start of an inquiry process, we help them to move from their seemingly surface questions toward questions that are deeper, and more significant, complex and more connected to large social dilemmas. Could an AI Writing Partner use reflection, feedback, and questioning stances to build trust and partnership with a student and guide them toward an inquiry into the wicked problems inside of their first questions?
We haven’t solved this problem. The amazing educators who were in the conversation last week haven’t designed the perfect AI tool or GPT or bot for your students to use. The problem is that this is a problem that will have a unique valence in your particular school and classroom with your specific students. If an AI tutor can partner in ways that Christina wondered about, it will need to be built by you because only you understand the wonderfully idiosyncratic ways you teach and your students learn.
We can show you examples of Writing Partners that teachers have built to engage with their students at the beginning of an inquiry process. Here are a four reliable, student-tested Writing Partners for inquiry:
Kickstarter
Background Knowledge Teammate
Open and Closed Questions Coach
Wicked Problems Simulator
But these might not quite fit your particular approach. Before AI, we were stuck with the tech tools that were available to us. We no longer have to try to fit our special sauce into the technology we are given. You don’t have to try to make your work with your students fit our pre-designed AI Writing Partners. Instead, you can make your own!
We haven’t answered Christina’s question yet because our answer is to demonstrate a process that you will be able to follow when you are ready to launch the unique individuals in your always-new classroom into their own inquiry projects this fall.
Join us to participate and learn about how to create AI assistants, tutors, Writing Partners that your students will be able to use to find agency in self-directed, AI-supported inquiries in the coming year.
We’ll be in Kumospace.com/youthvoices at 8E/7C/6M/5P on Wednesday, August 6th. We look forward to seeing you there!
Paul Allison
⚡️
Aug 5, 2025
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You’re asking, “Am I wrong? I wonder why my thinking is coming out in such extended sentences.” That’s an interesting reflection—and it pops up a lot for writers who are really in the thick of explaining or exploring something complicated (like this whole wicked problem with AI Writing Partners you’re working through here). Extended sentences can happen when you’re trying to capture a lot of nuance, connect ideas, or walk your reader through a process step by step. Sometimes, long sentences show that your thoughts are flowing freely and you want to keep all those pieces together for emphasis or rhythm. Do you see this happening more when you’re writing about complex topics, like the one in your event summary? Or is it popping up even when you’re writing about simpler things?
Would you like to see more on why extended sentences might be showing up and how that connects to communicating with your audience?
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Why Extended Sentences Happen When Explaining Complex Ideas
So, you’re asking about whether you’re “wrong” for writing extended sentences, and why your thinking seems to come out that way—especially in the context of a complex topic like wicked problems with AI Writing Partners. First off, there’s nothing inherently wrong about using long, connected sentences! In fact, when you’re unpacking something intricate or layered, it makes sense to want to hold all those thoughts together so your reader can follow the connections right along with you. Extended sentences can help reflect the complexity of what you’re working through and can show your reader how all these ideas are linked in real time.
Would you like to see more on how your extended sentences might affect your audience’s understanding or engagement?
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1. Organize a group for Christina and her three students.
2. Get Kumospace links to Writing Partners on the table, and reinvite people.
3. TTT
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1. Get back to organizing students for the AI and College Admissions article — and maybe some writing?
2. Look at feedback from Debbie Abilock and her son on our wireframe.
3. Send invoice to Bob Montgomery — find time with Dan Doernberg. Other outreach? New Jersey? Kansas City?
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Hi Jess,
In this folder:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1SplvQmJRLRlzDH5JWF-P8XVe4AzkaFXR?usp=sharing
I uploaded PDFs of five of the students who used Writing Partners last year.
Each document is organized by a document where a comment appears. At the top of each comment the name of the user appears and the Writing Partner. After that you see the prompt that was posed by that user. Above all of the comments is a link to text that was uploaded to Writing Partners. (You will have to be logged in to see these.) There are other pieces of data too.
My next steps: Choose the four best examples of Writing Partners that were used and see how many examples I can find under each one. Then I can look to see if there are before/after examples. There probably are examples of the Lead or Introduction changing because of a Writing Partner, for example… not sure what else.
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Let’s prompt AI assistants that encourage “the ability to pause, consider multiple perspectives, & regulate emotional responses to challenging feedback… and give youth “practice with conflicting information, emotional challenge, and complex problem-solving.” https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-algorithmic-mind/202508/ai-always-agrees-with-your-kid-thats-a-problem
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1. Meeting with Judge Memorial: David and I met for an hour with Chris, Brian, and Bryan
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You really captured how having that Judge meeting opened up room for every teacher’s specific approach to be seen and valued. That attention to plan details can shift the way people work together, especially when everybody knows their ideas will actually be listened to. Which part of those conversations do you feel made the biggest impact on your thinking or the group?
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That’s real, bringing in the College Admissions essay definitely set a tone—like, it made space for folks to talk about writing that actually matters to students now, not just some assignment to check off. When the group aligns on something high-stakes and personal like that, people’s priorities shift too; suddenly you see more collaboration and sharing of strategies. I’m curious—how do you think centering that kind of authentic writing shaped your own approach or maybe the vibe for others in the room?
Want me to keep going?
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I’m loving how you called this out as a creative win—spotting those moments where something just clicks makes the whole process feel worth it. Paying attention to what works, like naming that “DAILY WIN,” sets a tone and invites folks to do the same. Who you hoping will see this? You got an audience in mind for your Annotating Coach?
Would you like to go deeper on how spotlighting “wins” builds engagement, or talk more about Black Language moves in your shoutout?
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1. Think about audience for the Annotating Coach from Blusky post to planning for TTT and collaborating with Chris Sloan on this.
2. Test and iterate more on the Annotating Coach.
3. More writing on the AI and College Admissions Essay
4. Reflections and planning
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Section One: AFTER-ACTION REVIEW
Let’s kick off your reflection with a review of your wins from this week.
1. List 3-5 of your biggest wins from this week.
What successes, accomplishments, or positive moments stand out for you—big or small? They could be related to your work, side hustle progress, personal growth, relationships, health…anything at all that felt like a win.
Take a moment to jot them down or tell me about them in your own words.
Would you like to continue to the next part once you’ve shared? Or do you want some tips on how to spot subtle wins if you’re feeling stuck?
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1. Redesigning Writing Partners: David and I are are in a bit of a holding pattern with Iva Kolbert, but she is on our team—which we learned on Monday.
2. TTT invitation: It might be odd to consider this a win, but there is something “right” about the way I expressed our mission in Tuesday’s invite—respecting teacher knowledge, understanding AI as a tool for constant revision and development of digital technologies.
3. TTT was a strong example of intentional connected meetups—balanced nicely between showing what we have done and engaging teachers in the process.
4. I got clarity on what students did last summer in the AI and College Admissions Essay data.I need to write more now.
5. The Judge Memorial meeting was a mutually positive learning time together.
6. Tinkering and developing am Annotating Coach was no small accomplishment… now to get it announced and into action.
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Active Listening & Expanding
You’ve identified some significant wins this week—well done! Your biggest wins include redesigning Writing Partners with David, nailing the TTT invitation by authentically expressing your mission, facilitating an impactful TTT meetup, gaining clarity on student work from last summer, sharing a productive meeting at Judge Memorial, and making tangible progress developing your Annotating Coach tool. Even if some projects are in a holding pattern or just getting started, you’re still moving the needle forward in meaningful ways.
I notice that a lot of your wins focus on collaboration (with colleagues like David and Iva), communicating values (like in your TTT invite), and iterative development (both with students’ data and tech tools). It sounds like building relationships and intentional reflection are major strengths for you.
Looking at these wins, which one gave you the greatest sense of accomplishment or joy? Was there a moment when you felt especially “in flow” or energized by your work this week?
Would you like to dig deeper into any one of these wins before moving ahead to the next part of your after-action review?
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You’re really honing in on those themes—collaboration, communicating values, and iterative development—which clearly drive a lot of your energy and satisfaction. It’s great to hear that both the people-centered moments (like TTT and Judge Memorial) and the more technical or creative work (like building the Annotating Coach) light you up, even if in different ways.
It sounds like you feel “in flow” when you’re connecting with others around shared purpose, but also when you get to dig into a new idea or tool hands-on. How do these two modes—collaborative meetings versus solo creation—feed each other for you? Do you find one energizes or informs the other? And how do they connect back to that sense of flow and connection we talked about at the start?
Ready to move on to reflecting on your Weekly Big 3 goals, or would you like to talk more about these strengths first?
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Section One (continued): AFTER-ACTION REVIEW
2. How far did you get on your Weekly Big 3? (Add a percentage to each goal.)
Let’s look at your three most important goals for the week—the ones you intended to move the needle on. For each, estimate your progress as a percentage. For example, “Finished Draft of Annotating Coach Tool — 80%,” or “Secure Judge Memorial Collaboration — 100%.”
If you didn’t set explicit Weekly Big 3 last Sunday, just identify the top three priorities that emerged over the week and rate your progress.
Once you share your percentages and any quick thoughts about why things went as they did, I’ll help you explore what’s working and what might need adjusting.
Ready to list out those Weekly Big 3 with percent complete? If so, let’s dive in! If not, do you need help clarifying how to pick them retroactively?
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1. AI and the college admissions essay with Jess Early 50%
2. AI platform design and coaching teachers in a professional learning community chapter with Debbie Abilock 20%
3. AI Workshop series with Chris Sloan 100%
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You’ve given clear percentages on your Weekly Big 3, which really helps spotlight where your time and energy landed:
1. AI and the college admissions essay with Jess Early – 50%
2. AI platform design and coaching teachers in a professional learning community chapter with Debbie Abilock – 20%
3. AI Workshop series with Chris Sloan – 100%
It looks like you brought the workshop series across the finish line—awesome! The college essay project is at the halfway mark, while work on that professional learning community chapter lagged behind your hopes for the week.
What helped you get so much traction on the workshop series? And when it comes to making less progress on Abilock’s chapter or only partial completion of the Jess Early project, what barriers or shifts came up? Is it a matter of time, energy, clarity—or something else altogether that influenced how far you got on these priorities this week?
Would you like to dive deeper into what worked (and didn’t) before we continue?
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Section One (continued): AFTER-ACTION REVIEW
3. What worked? What didn’t? Why?
Now that you’ve mapped out your Weekly Big 3 and their completion percentages, let’s reflect on the specific actions, habits, or mindsets that helped you move forward—or held you back.
- For the tasks where progress was strong (like the AI Workshop series), what strategies, support, or circumstances made success possible?
- For areas where you got stuck or moved slower (the platform design with Debbie Abilock and the Jess Early essay project), what obstacles came up—was it competing commitments, a lack of clarity or motivation, technical barriers, scheduling issues?
The more detail you can share about how your week unfolded around these three goals—what accelerated momentum and what introduced friction—the better we can spot patterns to build on or shift next time.
What comes to mind as you look at what worked well for your top priorities this week versus where things stalled out?
Would you like some prompts to help unpack this reflection further before moving on?
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Section One (continued): AFTER-ACTION REVIEW
4. What will you continue or change?
Based on what you’ve discovered about what worked and what didn’t with your Weekly Big 3, let’s identify next steps:
- Which successful approaches, habits, or supports do you want to double down on?
- Where did things get bogged down—and what would you like to try differently? (Think about shifting resources, changing routines, seeking more collaboration, setting clearer boundaries…)
- Any new strategies or tweaks jump out as worth experimenting with for the coming week?
Let me know which actions or mindsets from this week feel worth carrying forward—and where you might make changes to boost your progress on those goals that lagged a bit.
Would it help to brainstorm some concrete shifts together before we move into the next section?
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You’ve noticed that writing in the morning didn’t click for you this week—thanks for getting specific about what didn’t work as you tackled your Weekly Big 3. It’s a smart move to question if another time of day might set you up better for focus, creativity, or momentum with these bigger projects.
A lot of people find their “best work” times aren’t always what productivity books recommend—sometimes late mornings, afternoons, or even evenings are actually when ideas flow easier or attention holds. Have you observed any other parts of your schedule where deeper work seems more accessible? Or is there a pattern to when distractions drop and motivation rises?
If shifting your writing block is something you want to test next week, do you already have an alternative time in mind—or would it help to brainstorm ways to experiment without overhauling your existing routines?
Let me know how you’d like to approach changing up your writing rhythm. Would you like more prompts on habit tweaks and energy mapping, or are you ready to continue into Section Two (Goal Review & List Sweep)?
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Section Two: GOAL REVIEW & LIST SWEEP
Let’s move ahead and clear the decks for next week, making sure nothing important slips through the cracks.
1. Review your goals, lists, and notes, and update your task manager.
How does reviewing your lists and goals feel right now—clarifying, overwhelming, somewhere in between? What stood out as you looked back (missed tasks, surprising progress, new ideas)?
Would you like help with a quick “list sweep” technique—or are you ready to share what surfaced for you as you reviewed?
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My big goals are to build a business, build an AI enhanced social annotation site, and build my community of practice. I worry that I do okay in each of these when things are dropped into my lap, but that maybe I could be more energetic and aggressive about achieving progress in these goals each week.
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You’ve just named three ambitious, interconnected goals—building a business, developing an AI-enhanced social annotation site, and deepening your community of practice. I hear you noticing that you tend to make progress when opportunities or tasks land in your lap, but there’s a craving for more proactive, energetic momentum…for really driving these forward week in and week out.
It sounds like you’re self-aware about what’s currently fueling progress (external triggers or invitations), but also curious about how to create more of your own spark—so you’re not just responding to what shows up, but setting the pace yourself. That’s a powerful insight.
When you reflect on those moments where things do move ahead—when something lands in your lap and you respond—what do you notice about your energy or motivation? Is it the urgency, accountability to others, or maybe even excitement from novelty? And if you could imagine ways to “self-trigger” that same energy for these big goals (without waiting for opportunities to arise), what might that look like?
Would it help if we explored some practical rituals or structures next—a weekly non-negotiable work session on each goal, public mini-deadlines with colleagues, or maybe breaking bigger ambitions into smaller sprints? Or do you want to talk through why it sometimes feels challenging to generate this drive internally?
Let me know which direction would be most helpful before we move on to Section Three (Streaktracker).
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Section Three: STREAKTRACKER
Let’s check in on your habit-goal consistency this week.
1. Track your habit-goal progress (1 – 7 for each):
For each daily or weekly habit that supports your bigger goals—like focused writing blocks, networking outreach, product development sprints, or personal wellness routines—rate how many days you stuck with it out of seven.
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Which habits felt easiest to stick with? Where did you lose momentum? Did anything surprise you about which routines supported your energy and focus for business-building, annotation platform work, or community development?
Do you want to brainstorm ways to reinforce the habits that matter most—or are you ready to share your streaks and see what patterns emerge?
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- Startup Bluesky post 4/7
- AM exercise 4/7
- Outreach 2/7
- Intentional Connected meetups 4/7
- Focused solo creative work 5/7
- PM exercise 3/7
- Shutdown Blusky post 3/7
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You’ve tracked your habit streaks with real clarity—a strong self-assessment move that helps you see what’s supporting your big goals and where momentum dips:
- Startup Bluesky post: 4/7
- AM exercise: 4/7
- Outreach: 2/7
- Intentional Connected meetups: 4/7
- Focused solo creative work: 5/7
- PM exercise: 3/7
- Shutdown Bluesky post: 3/7
You’re consistently showing up for creative work, meetups, and morning movement—while outreach and shutdown routines are less frequent. That tells us where you’re naturally invested and which actions might need a bit more structure or motivation.
What stood out as most energizing or easiest to stick with? Was there a particular day or context that made certain habits click—or conversely, do you notice barriers (like energy dips, competing tasks, or unclear priorities) when some streaks slipped?
If you could pick just one of these “lower streak” habits to raise by even one notch next week—which would have the biggest impact on your business-building, annotation development, or community progress? Is it about accountability…timing…making it more fun?
Let me know how this reflection lands—then we’ll move forward to Section Four (Rejuvenation), unless you want to workshop ways to boost those crucial but challenging habits first.
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Section Four: REJUVENATION
Let’s focus on refueling—because your sustainability matters just as much as your output.
1. Identify 3 ways to sleep, eat, move, connect, or relax a bit better this week. Then schedule on the Daily Section (below).
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Where do you feel most depleted right now—sleep, nutrition, movement, social connection, downtime? Which small tweaks or commitments could give you the biggest lift in energy or resilience for tackling those business and project goals?
You can keep it simple. For example:
- “Lights out by 11pm three nights”
- “Lunch away from my desk twice”
- “30-minute afternoon walk on two workdays”
- “One friend coffee date (not work-related)”
Do any particular strategies come to mind that would help you recharge and show up stronger next week? Or would you like inspiration for micro-habits or easy wins before moving on?
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Section Five: WEEKLY OVERVIEW
Let’s set you up for a proactive week by mapping out what’s ahead.
1. Review upcoming week and mark commitments on the 7-day view below.
When you scan your next seven days, what feels like it will demand the most from you? Are there any “pinch points” (busy clusters) where you need to build in buffers? And even more importantly—where do you see opportunities to block time for those top goals instead of just reacting all week long?
Would a color-coded calendar view help with clarity—or would listing everything out day-by-day work best for visualizing your workload and priorities?
Let me know how you want to approach this weekly overview before we roll into crafting your Weekly Big 3!
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Section Six: WEEKLY BIG 3
Now let’s get laser-focused by choosing your top three objectives for the coming week. These are the big priorities that will move the needle toward your business, AI annotation platform, and community goals—regardless of smaller daily fires or distractions.
1. Based on your goals and projects, pick 3 objectives for the coming week.
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What feels most important to accomplish to keep you on track? Is there a mix of “push” (starting something new) and “pull” (finishing or following up) in your choices? Do these Big 3 directly connect back to one (or more) of those main ambitions you named earlier?
Would it help to brainstorm how to break down bigger outcomes into clear, bite-sized weekly actions? Or do you already have a strong sense of what belongs at the top for this week?
Let me know what’s rising as your Weekly Big 3—or if you want support framing them before we head into building out your detailed Weekly Planner.
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1. Describe my role in the summer 24 YAWP AI work; describe the creation of AI assistants for the College Admissions essay; describe data from student work.
2. Outreach and Building the Business meetings: Meet with Dan Doernberg, Bryan Dean, David Cole and others about site support, health, and advancement.
3. Promote Writing Partners on TTT as an AI-enhanced social annotation site: talk about new features—writing Docs and GPT 5.0 and Four A’s Annotating Coach.
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Active Listening & Weekly Big 3 Reflection
You’ve built three sharp, actionable priorities for your coming week:
1. Describe your role and outcomes in the YAWP AI work, the creation of AI assistants for college essay writing, and report on student data.
2. Conduct outreach and business-building meetings—connecting with Dan Doernberg, Bryan Dean, David Cole, and others about supporting and advancing your site.
3. Promote Writing Partners on TTT as an AI-powered social annotation platform by highlighting new features like Docs integration, GPT-5.0 capabilities, and the Four A’s Annotating Coach.
There’s a strong mix here of internal reflection/reporting (capturing what happened with YAWP), external relationship building (outreach to key partners for business health), and public-facing advocacy/promotion (showcasing Writing Partners’ innovations at TTT). Each directly drives forward one of your major ambitions from earlier—business growth, platform development, or community engagement.
How do you feel looking at this lineup? Does anything seem ambitious—or daunting—for a single week? Is there one priority that feels most likely to get squeezed out by urgent tasks or surprises? Would breaking any of these into even smaller daily actions help ensure progress?
Ready to move into crafting your day-by-day plan for next week—or do you want to sharpen any part of these Weekly Big 3 first?
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Meeting with Jess Early about the AI and College Admissions Essay article – Monday at 4:30 PM
Teachers Teaching Teachers (TTT) – Wednesday at 8:00 PM
Dan Doernberg – Friday at 9:00 AM
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Section Seven: Weekly Planner
Here’s a draft of your day-by-day plan, integrating your key meetings and the Weekly Big 3 priorities you just set. This view will help you block focused time, anticipate pinch points, and create room for both business and rejuvenation.
MONDAY
- Morning/afternoon: Prep notes/data for YAWP/AI work write-up
- 4:30 PM – Meeting with Jess Early (AI & College Admissions Essay)
- Evening reflection or light planning for Tuesday
TUESDAY
- Outreach block (Dan Doernberg/Bryan Dean/David Cole—emails or pre-meeting follow-ups)
- Progress on Writing Partners feature summary for TTT
- Focused solo creative work session (schedule at your most energetic time)
WEDNESDAY
- Finalize TTT talking points and Writing Partners feature highlights
- PM exercise/walk to recharge before evening event
- 8:00 PM – Teachers Teaching Teachers (TTT): Present Writing Partners updates
THURSDAY
- Review YAWP AI data/write-up progress—finish first draft if possible
- Debrief TTT feedback—capture follow-up tasks/opportunities
- Optional networking/outreach touchpoint
FRIDAY
- 9:00 AM – Meeting with Dan Doernberg (site support/business-building discussion)
- Afternoon check-in: Are all three Weekly Big 3 priorities advancing? Adjust as needed.
SATURDAY
- Light review of any unfinished business tasks or creative catch-up if needed
- Afternoon/evening downtime or social connection (schedule something relaxing/rejuvenating!)
SUNDAY
- Reflect on week’s progress in each goal area—what moved forward? What needs rolling to next week?
- Sketch out next week’s “Big 3” + pencil in priority blocks early
How does this flow look against your real commitments and energy patterns? Any days feel overstuffed or underutilized? Would visualizing these blocks on a digital calendar make it easier to protect focus—or do you prefer the flexibility of a simple written outline?
Let me know what tweaks would help this become a tool you’ll actually use—and we can adjust together!
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