I’m finding it a challenge to balance my time as a first year teacher. I’m sure the lack of time to get everything done is nothing new to experienced teachers, but I’m still battling it everyday. I’ve never been great at managing my time as it is, so the increased expectations of being a teacher has really challenged me.
Just the other day I made the commitment to blog nearly everyday for a month. Already I’ve missed a day. Simply because I just did not have enough time to sit down yesterday and reflect in any sort of meaningful way. Really, I don’t even have much time to make this post, but I’m forcing myself to do it.
Balancing planning for my classes, grading and assessing my students’ work, and coaching hockey alone eat up almost 100% of my time each and every day. I get to school almost two hours before the school day starts to get ahead on work, but yet I still find myself up working until past 11 each and every night just to stay caught up. I have very little time to read a book, get in shape or do a hobby I enjoy. Quite honestly, any spare time I have I usually find myself taking a nap to catch up on some sleep.
I know that finding that perfect balance between teaching work and a personal life is a difficult task, something I have not even been close to figuring out. I know that taking take for myself should be a priority, but it never really seems to happen. When I have to plan for all of my classes the next day, assess any student work or coach, my personal time falls to the bottom of my priority list. I’ve always been told that the first few years of teaching are difficult like this and with the extra experience, it will get easier. I’m convinced there is a better way to do this, I just need to take the time (which, I probably don’t have) to figure it out.
I’m hoping that the more I can be conscious of how I spend my time throughout the day, the more time I can for myself to do the things I enjoy outside of teaching.
Photo Credit: Βethan via Compfight cc
Photo Credit: mamasaurus rex via Compfight cc
This is my second year in my current position and my 4th overall, and the home/work balance is still something I struggle with. Sometimes I feel like I’m Jessie Spano and there’s never enough time http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bflYjF90t7c
I’m hoping that as time goes on, I’ll find a better balance. The discouraging thing is that after talking to a teacher who’s been doing it for more than 12 years, she said that the balance is still something that she struggles with.
I think that it’s just part of being a professional, whether that’s a lawyer, doctor, engineer or teacher. You need to make sure that you fulfill your required duties at your job and eventually you figure out what works best for you.
Pat, I agree that it’s part of being a professional and caring about what you do.
I’m hoping collaborating with other educators and continually reflecting on how I manage my time will lead me to better management and then, maybe, just maybe, I will get it figured out someday.
That’s the goal.