Here’s the problem with me.
I started my job as the girl that left at 9PM. That had her breakfast, lunch, AND dinner in her classroom. And then I realized that work will never finish. There will always be e-mails to send, IEPs to write, lesson plans to perfect, things to organize. So it’s on ME to get up and leave work. Because work will always be there. Regardless of how much I get done per day.
Source: http://busywriting.net/
But in the last two weeks, I’ve become the girl that leaves work at 4PM. The girl that, on her drive home, thinks of how she’s going to be THE MOST PRODUCTIVE LADY for the remainder of the day. On the drive from work to home, I have plans of organizing my paperwork. Of boot camp. Recipes I want to try. Catching up on DVR-ed shows. Walks to explore the area I live in. Blog posts to write. Twitter chats to contribute to. I think to myself that I’ll get home and set a structured plan for myself. In the same way that I set timers for my students to transition from activity to activity, I plan to set timers that go off to move MYSELF from one thing to the next. So I get a bit of everything. So I don’t feel like I’m lacking in all aspects of my life………
………….yet I become somebody different. I’m the girl that sets foot into her apartment and throws her stuff on the floor and sits down for “a second”. The girl that changes the “second” into hours because she sees her bed that looks SO comfortable after being a maniac all day teaching kids and writing reports. The girl that has a glass of wine and calls it dinner. The girl that can’t seem to separate her work and personal/social life.
Source: zazzle.com
I knew that being a special ed teacher would be more challenging and more demanding than I had ever imagined. But I didn’t expect to be swallowed up by my job. I love it. More than anything. I can’t imagine myself doing anything else. But I need to figure out a way to have a life. So I’m not burned out. Because, in the end, the kids don’t benefit from a teacher that is exhausted and ineffective.
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How do you separate your work and personal life?
How do you keep up with workouts and a healthy #Fitfluential lifestyle when your job is so demanding?
hand hug. also, you’ll figure it out soon, brotha. baby steps…
finding balance is so hard sometimes! My work schedule changes day by day and sometimes I am just so tired that workout just doesn’t seem imaginable. The best advice I can give is take rest days when you need to and don’t burn yourself out!
itsaharleyyylife.com
It’s been a lot of years since I worked full-time, but in some ways I’m busier now. I make working out a priority at least 4 days a week. Then I try to accomplish a very small list of things in addition to that and my job and my kids. Usually that leaves a small amount of time each day just to do whatever I want. And I don’t feel guilty about doing nothing or just surfing the web during that time. The key is to prioritize fitness (you’ll have more energy) and to choose a small amount that you can actually accomplish each night. You are right – there will always be more to do, so don’t stress yourself trying to do it all. Good luck!
I am not sure how long you’ve been teaching for – but I struggled with the same thing my first year. I’d do work all day.. bring work home..do it until bed. Weekends.. planning.
But I lost myself. I lost my life. I had to realize that I couldn’t let teaching take over. I needed to ensure that I was happy. Spending time with my (then boyfriend) husband, working out, friends, family.
And.. most of the work.. STILL got done. I still made a difference. It is a TOUGH balance to find.. and I am struggling with it again this year as I’ve changed grades.
I used to be this way, too. Please share how you fix it! HA I’m still lacking 😉