Me Time

My alarm goes off at 5:00 AM. I press snooze until 5:45 and then I jump in the shower. I dry my hair put my makeup on and then I wake up my two kids. Luckily, Nic gets himself ready, but Hollie is only 4 and still requires a lot of help. I leave the house, or at least we try to leave, at 7:00. I have to drop both kids off and make my 15 minute commute. I get to school around 7:30. I work non-stop all day until around 4:30 when I decide I've had enough and just need to go home. I pick up both kids and then make my way home. I argue with my son about his homework and I correct papers and then I make dinner. We eat and then I play with Hollie while Nic finishes his homework. I give Hollie a bath and put her to bed. I say goodnight to Nic and finish correcting papers and writing lesson plans. Somewhere before I finally go to bed I search Pinterest for new things to do with my students.

That's my day. How have I gone nonstop for 12 years and still survived? The answer is simple. I save at least an hour each day for "me time". This is my husband's least favorite time of the day. I disappear completely. I usually go work out in solitude. It's quiet. It's peaceful. And best of all, it's away from everything that stresses me out.

Teachers often are very busy on the weekends. Between plans, correcting, housecleaning, grocery shopping and errand running we barely have time to relax. My first few years of teaching I tried to do all of my schoolwork on Saturdays and all of my other chores and errands on Sundays. I felt like I was burning out. A close teacher gave me a hint. Spend one entire weekend day getting everything done. Wake up early if you have to and try to go nonstop until everything is done. I wake up and go to the grocery store. When I come home, I clean the house. When I'm done with that I get all of my schoolwork done. I usually end up spending the whole day working, but it's worth it. The next day, I can relax all day. It's a designated work-free day. Sometimes I flip-flop which day I work. I love spending Saturdays in my sweats not worrying about my hair or makeup watching family movies with my kids.

I think a lot of teachers burn out because they don't set aside any "me time".  They focus so much on their work and end up too stressed out to continue. Teachers are people too and all people deserve to live with as less stress as possible. Don't forget to relax!