{Day 1} Living a more balanced life, or so I hope.

Monday, April 28, 2014

If it hasn't been obvious, I have been less active on the blog and creating Teachers Pay Teachers products. For a while I couldn't quite figure out why. I felt a creative block and to be honest a little over being an "SLP" all the time (read my last post!). Anyone else feel this way?

I realized I can't do or be it all.  I was told by my doctor to try to live a more balanced life! 
It's funny because I hadn't realized how caught up I was in working. Lugging my rolling cart (yes, I bought a dreaded rolling cart!) to and from work was my new ritual. Sad. I am an overachiever at heart. If I could work every hour of the day assessing, writing reports and lesson plans I would. I want to be the best and I want to be perfect. Uh-oh.

Can I get an amen!?
BUT.... a really BIG BUT....as of April 11th I have not done a single bit of work from home.  Two blissful weeks of Spring Break breezed passed by! Each day I became more of my old self.  I brought out my yarn, gardened, played with my puppy, reconnected with my husband. It was fantastic! Oh the perks of working for the schools!

As going back to school approached, the panic crept it's way back into my brain. I kept thinking of all the looming IEPs, progress reports, DRDPs and assessments.  My calendar for May has more IEPs than actual work days and the number just keeps rising. Here is the part where I start getting caught up in the twisted thinking, "There are so many! How will it ever get done? I don't think I can do that many!? HELP!"

Then I took a breath and thought about this....

Today is Day 1 back at work. I have 31 more days of the school year. I only have my student teacher for 3 more days, so I had no choice but to "WORK IT GIRL!"

No more of this....

I was a MACHINE.  I decided to tackle and complete a few small things on my list. Starting with the things that were most important and due first.

What I did today: All meeting notices for the rest of the year were completed, printed in English and Spanish, stuffed in envelopes (1 for teacher, 1 for parent and 1 for my records) and then sent out. I wrote 5 IEPs (minus the goals and notes). I also assessed 1 preschooler and filled out my student teacher's final evaluation. Oh and I ate lunch too!

Day 1 was a success, I came home with an empty rolling cart!  I am not saying that I will be able to keep up this pace, but I am going to try. I am still doing my job to the best of my ability, but I am not willing to let it take over my life anymore. I am hoping on keeping you updated on my progress to living a more balanced life as Rachel the SLP and the person!

I do not own these photos, I found them all on Pinterest.

Happy Monday!

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8 Comments »

8 Responses to “{Day 1} Living a more balanced life, or so I hope.”

  1. I love it! This could really inspire me. I'll be keeping up with this thread! �� Thank you for sharing!

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    1. I will be posting! Maybe not everyday, but I will try to keep all of you up to date on how it's going and how I manage! :) Thanks for reading!

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  2. You are amazing. You even learn to balance your life sooner than most. And even though you are cutting back you are still talented and gifted with the kids and your job. So go ahead and relax and feel proud. It's a blessing too work with you and I am so excited that you are getting balanced and healthy.

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    1. aww Tiff! This made my heart all happy! <3 You are a fabulous coworker, I love working with you. I appreciate your support and encouragement to just "let it go" haha

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  3. This is so great, Rachel. I also own the overachiever rolling cart. You've inspired me to fold it up and stuff it in a corner. I love the quote about seeking a balanced DAY- small victories! Two days back from Spring Break and I"m feeling the same panic you described. I'm going to try to follow in your footsteps :) Thanks for this inspiring post!

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  4. Very well said! And your quotes are ones we should all paste around our homes and therapy rooms. As hard as I work at "work," I do try as hard to work at "balance." I do the newspaper crossword every morning with a second cup of tea before going to school, read for pleasure every night before bed, and try very hard to have "unplugged" time in between. It is too easy to get caught up in the need to be "on" and connected all the time. Good for you for making positive changes, and thank you for reminding all of us to do the same. Great post!

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