Help Me, I'm Drowning!

Help Me, I'm Drowning!

I know I'm not the only one that has felt like I was drowning in work and family obligations. While I would love to blame it on our long summer and just adjusting to being back to work after 8-9 weeks, I find that this happens every year. Yes, summers make it a little easier to manage, but even then I am working hard. I read educational books to get better for the next year. I am creating items for my classroom or the teachers I am working with, and I attend trainings. I think I had one week this past summer that I actually didn't work or worry about work, and it took me going to Ireland to make that happen. In other words, we can't blame it on adjusting back to working every day. 

So once I accept the fact that it must be me, I think about me as a teacher over these past 17 years. Have I always worked every night and weekend??? Embarrassingly enough, the answer is yes. This has been something I have struggled with my entire teaching career. In all honesty, it goes back even before that to when I was a student. I have always wanted to perform at my best. I guess, many would describe me as a Type A personality. I was never satisfied with a "B" in class so why would I be satisfied with not giving 110% of myself on a daily basis to my students and school? 

My guess is that most teachers have this same thinking. They want to do their best for these kids. We get 9 months with them to make them their best and get them to their full potential. That is a lot of pressure! To make it worse, teachers have the added pressure of having their evaluations tied to this student growth, along with spending hours and hours of their time finding evidence to support their professional practice as an educator. This is all in addition to planning, making formative assessments, finding engaging activities and tasks for kids, grading, communicating with families, attending school events, participating in their PLC's, and dealing with students in crisis. If you have a family you do all of these things, and then go straight to a volleyball or basketball game, clean up the house, run some errands, cook/eat dinner, and maybe work out of your lucky. By the time you sit down, you are so exhausted that it takes just second for you to pass out!

This past year, I realized that I wasn't any good to anyone at home. My husband got the worst of me. I was so crabby and on edge. I was working all day, going in early and staying late after school only to come home and do more work! I was checking emails every night and replying to parents at 10-11p.m. I was attending my son's games and not really watching because my head was spinning with all of the things I had to get done or could try differently the next day. I was drowning. I began looking for other types of jobs. Maybe I could work at a restaurant and get great tips? Maybe I could be a motivational coach? I could work at the office in town and be off at 3:30 every day and bring no work home. When I talked to my husband about this, he stopped me and asked me if I would feel fulfilled. He reminded me that I got into teaching for a reason. That was all it took to remind me of the passion I had for working with kids and adults. I needed to make some changes to be able to handle all of my responsibilities. 

So, that's exactly what I did. I made some changes that I am still working on today and I started seeing some changes in myself and in the way I taught my kids. When I was "present and in the moment" I enjoyed my time with family and they enjoyed their time with me. I soon found out that if I didn't get to that one item on my list, the world didn't come to an end the next day. I examined the assignments I was giving and whether they needed to be graded or if I could just quickly take data on them right there in the moment. I realized that when I took time to work out 30 minutes a day, I felt happier and had more patience with others. I started writing down each day what I was thankful for, and it made me a happier person.  

I knew there had to be other ideas, so I went out to my Facebook friends and asked what they do to have balance in life. I've created this chart for you to easily print off and keep handy. I hope this helps you to gain more family time and be a more effective teacher this year. It has definitely helped me! Click here for the link. I separated this chart into 8 sections. I suggest you choose one thing from one section to try. If you find success, then try to add another thing to try. If you don't find success, don't give up! Pick something else to try from a different section. Some people just aren't morning people or can't go in early or stay late because of daycare. You have to pick things that will work for you! I wanted to thank Catherine for reminding me of the "Oxygen Mask Mantra" and  my Facebook friends Becky, Paula, Stephanie, Amanda, Kandi, Patti, Brooke, Kelli, Mary Ann, Jen, and Carrie for their suggestions for this post. 

Achieve Balance Chart

If you have any questions about any items on the chart, or would like to add some suggestions for those reading, please comment in the section below! I'd love to hear from you. 

And for your viewing pleasure, one final video abut our role as a teacher.