Back to school ... back to madness.

I have been back to school now for 3 days (2 with kids). It has been, dare I say it, fun! I was extremely apprehensive about the return after the year I had last year. But I have realised that I can still teach and teach well. My class are settling well and the child who was a big problem last year has responded well and so I can only hope that continues.

My favourite moment so far has been when one child said to me:

"Miss... I actually like this class It's really good."

I could see the look of happiness and excitement on his face and I knew the classroom environment was perfect at that moment.

Classroom organisation ... most important aspect of back to school [Source]

My headteacher visited the classrooms on the first day and after speaking to the children about their work ethics for the year told them:

"You are very lucky to have Missy, if you've spoke to other children who've had her you'll know how much they enjoyed her class. You have to look after Missy too, she's very special."

This was so lovely to hear and made me feel happy. I felt like I was supported and valued by my head teacher. It was an inspiring thought.

Why thank you! [Source]

As good as the week is going, it's not to say I am not feeling tired. I can feel my body wearing down and the tiredness when waking in the morning. I am getting up on time and dressing nicely to feel better but I can already feel the slipping. I am doing all the right things though, I have meal plans and I am making lunches the day before. I am also having very early nights - for me anyway - and resting my body as much as possible. Delegating tasks? Well, we'll take it one step at a time I think.



What gets you through a long week?

To-do lists just got serious...

My life has taken quite a frantic pace as of late. I am having more responsibilities at work and this brings new challenges. The problem is that I am having to slowly adapt my lifestyle to support my health now. I worked myself into the ground through various personal issues and family loss. I am now beginning to emerge again and hopefully make it through without an burn out.

To help me I am utilising to do lists. I have tried them before and failed. I begin to make lists and get so overwhelmed by everything I have to do I stop looking at it. But, through discussion with my therapist we have decided it would be a good step to try and develop. Breaking my 'necessary' jobs into manageable parts. 

True story...[Source]

I have to do lists on my fridge for daily jobs to complete before I go to bed. Then I can wake up in the morning without anxiety over what I haven't done and decided to 'leave until the morning'. Whenever I leave things to the morning I can guarantee I will wish I'd done it the night before. Now that stress and anxiety over little things has gone.

Work however is a different matter. I have work coming out of my ears it feels so trying to narrow down what is necessary and unnecessary is proving more difficult. I have turned to my to do list template to try and help me focus and choose ACHIEVABLE goals for how many I will complete from list.

It is going to take some time but I am serious about this - I know I need to try and get my work/life balance in order and I think this could help me. I currently have 2 'To do lists'. One for my daily school jobs and another for all the sports obs which are specific to my coordinator's role in the school. 

My current sports to do list ... work in progress.

I am trying to cut everything down to only what is needed. I actually stopped myself from doing something today as I deemed it was 'uneccesary' - I praised myself as this is not something I do well. I am hoping this is the start of my getting my life more balanced. I can only but try!

What tips to you have for organising daily jobs?