Pushing Forward

It’s easy to let time get away from us, to get bogged down and spin our wheels on something that isn’t worth our time.  We are all human, we set goals and priorities and we lose track of them when something more appealing (if less important) comes around.  Problem is, we work in education and everything is important, especially if it is something that directly affects the kids!  

I’ve said this before to many people, usually teachers who are struggling with “fitting it all in” – we can’t do everything all the time, we need to draw a line in the sand.  If you start thinking about how you use your (very) limited time it can lead to a certain amount of anxiety.  “How will I get to all this content?” “When am I supposed to teach this unit?” or “I planned to do all of this but I’m not even half way and it’s already January!”  I’m with you, I get it, there’s just not enough time for everything when it comes to education.  We want the best for our students but we also have constraints to work with, what do we do?

At some point we have to stop and make some tough choices.  What is most important?  More content or deeper understanding?  Ensuring everyone understands or moving on and trying to help those who don’t catch up later?  All of those things you planned for the year or the glaring needs that have arisen since August?  What IS really important?  The questions and internal struggles never end, just when you think you’ve gotten it all figured out something else comes up that throws a wrench in your perfect plans!

It comes down to prioritizing what is before us.  Whether professional or personal we have a finite amount of time to get things done in our life (and maintain balance as well!)  For most of us there are things that we want to do that we just can’t find the time for…that’s okay!

As part of the Mid-Year Reset Opportunity I’ve taken the time to do just that for myself, reset and re-prioritize.  Some how in the first semester I got blown off course, the things that were occupying my time, while important, were not the most important things for me or our students.  In reflecting I realized that there were a few obstacles preventing me from sticking to my most pressing priorities.  I’ve worked over the course of the last few weeks to clear these obstacles and get back to where I want to be in terms of priority focus.  As time moves forward I plan to take more of these opportunities to reflect and “reset” in order to ensure that I’m not blowing off course again.  Setting priorities is important, sticking to them is the hard part…but not impossible.  

Whether the second semester has already started or has yet to begin, this is an ideal time to reevaluate your priorities and potentially reset your path toward completing them.  As we often say at this time of the year, “it’s a downhill run to June.”  Time is going to fly by during this second semester and the end of the year crush will be upon us before you know it.  Take a breath, step back, reflect, and re-prioritize if you need to.

We can all do it, there is time and space for all that is important!