Online Reflection #3:Chaos is the New Normal

     At the beginning of this year, I was the type of person who strove to be fifteen minutes early to all important meetings; I considered fifteen minutes early to be on time. If it wasn't an important meeting and more of a "social call", I strove to be 3 minutes early so as not to keep anyone waiting, have time to settle in to my surroundings, and small talk a bit with whomever I was meeting.

     Now, I feel like I am constantly running late (even if by normal standards, I am technically on time), and I feel disorganized, ill-prepared, and/or just overwhelmed by the work that has to be done that day, or the spill-over work that I failed to get done the day(s) before. Do any of my peers feel this way? Does it ever end?? Is it a personal problem??? According to friends/mentors who have been or are currently in my position or similar situations, this feeling never stops. They say that I must embrace my new normal- embrace the stress, the occasional mess and disorganization, the frustration, the chaos. I must embrace it, they advised, in order to learn how to defeat it. 

     Well, at first that thought terrified the living spirit out of me, but lately, it has begun to make sense. After these past few weeks of personal stress from moving my family into a new home, the accumulation of school work that keeps on accumulating, my rescheduled formal evaluation, trying to come up with a solid Unit Plan, co-teaching a unit over Persuasive Essay Writing and grading papers, some of which were very well written and others that had been haphazardly thrown together at the last minute or several days late (much like some might view this particular blog post)...*catches virtual blogging breath* I can say that I am embracing the mess I find myself to be in to the best of my ability. 

     I am taking Mrs. Tolbert's and Mrs. Boyd's advice from the session they held at this year's 2016 KATE Conference to have me time. They recommend scheduling something that you enjoy into your weekly, if not daily, life. They reminded my peers and myself to spend time away from the work/study zone, to spend time with our spouses, our family and friends. The grading and lesson planning will still be there when we get back. But if we come back with a little pep in our step, the tasks to be done may not look so daunting or overwhelming.

     One thing I have been doing to help re-organize myself, is using my planner ritually. I have also been re-training myself to make a weekly plan that is detailed with things to accomplish each day and how long I estimate it will take me to complete the tasks. I then collaborate with my spouse and my son's baby sitters (my mother or mother-in-law) and share with them the things I wish to get done for that day it hasn't been 100% successful, but it has definitely increased my productivity and helped my organization significantly compared to before. 

     If there is one thing I was not expecting teaching to add to my life, it was chaos; however, despite noticing that I now have gray strands in my hair, and the times I have sat down and just cried into a pint of Ben and Jerry's...I love teaching almost as much as I love being a mother and a wife. I knew this year would be challenging, but I refuse to give up and be trampled by chaos.