jL - Week in Practice - QUIT

Hey Everyone!

Thanks for your continued support of the weekly email - if you’ll indulge me, I plan to just muse regularly based on what's on my mind during the summer as opposed to specific in/out of the classroom ideas.  

What I’m thinking about this week: QUIT

As a rule, public school teachers are set on hyperdrive and always moving at 1,000 mph.  Personally, I’m wound so tight that I make coffee nervous. ;) When summer finally arrives (a couple more weeks for me), I struggle to shut it down.  If I’m not careful, I find myself tossing and turning in every ‘free’ moment thinking about all the things I should have done or need to do, and before I know it, school is back in session, and I’m already stressed!

While my job is way more fun than working, I have to remind myself that it is OK to quit.  Some seasons of the year require that we’re accessible at least six days a week, frequently checking the inbox, planning for the next week, and scheming for the future.  However, the summer isn’t one of those times.  

I encourage you to set boundaries on work time.  If you’re still on contract, go to work and work your contract hours; then turn it off.  If you’re off contract but still need to scheme, set boundaries.  Consider ‘office hours’ when you’ll shut all the summer fun off and crank out work.  Then, QUIT and enjoy free time doing something else!  I find that I’m most productive in the early AM - many days I don’t set an alarm, but when my body wakes me up, I go through my AM routine and then (instead of getting sucked into the Book of Faces, etc), I sit at my desk and work.  I’ll set a thirty-minute or one-hour timer and get stuff done.  It is amazing how productive I can be.  

A few general rules that can help you compartmentalize and enjoy the break:

• Turn OFF email notifications on your phone!!

  • This is a solid general rule IMO, but certainly a summer MUST.  This ensures a cryptic subject line from that ‘special’ euphonium player’s mom doesn’t ruin your precious days off!

• Turn ON your auto-response

  • While it might appear that parents and students are insensitive to your breaks, really, they’re just unaware.  An auto-responder that indicates you hope they’re having an awesome summer and that response times will be longer while you're off contract helps set boundaries.  Indicate that you’re checking regularly and will respond as time allows.  You can also indicate when you’re back to ‘regular’ hours.

• Consider placing Slack/App notifications into your scheduled updates at regular intervals

  • I want to stay connected with my colleagues, but rarely is anything urgent in summer.  Waiting a couple of hours for a reply usually won't hurt.

• Don’t touch it unless you’re willing to finish it.

  • My simple mind is sucker for an email subject line, but in reality, it ADDS stress to read it and wait to do something with it.  As a goal, work to open only things you are willing to commit the time to finish.  Otherwise, leave them on read and save them for when you can focus on finishing the project.

• Setup ‘Summer Hours’ for yourself - for those off contract (like myself), this can really help ensure you don’t look up and realize you’ve lost an entire day to email, etc.

  • It doesn’t have to be the same time every day (or even every day!), but often telling myself when I’m going to work helps me not feel ‘guilty’ when I’m off.

• Jot down notes, then release them!

  • The opportunity to rest and recharge often helps you focus and brainstorm more effectively.  This is great, but it often leaves me feeling guilty again when I have a great ‘band idea’ when I’m supposed to be enjoying time with family and friends.

  • I’ve learned not to feel guilty -rather, I excuse myself for a moment, write the idea down, then go back to regularly scheduled programming!

    • Do whatever works for you - Evernote, Voice Memos, text yourself, paper, stone tablets, etc - get it on paper and come back to it during ‘office hours’

Remember:  Many of your parents are still working (I feel sorry for them 😀), so they don’t understand (unless you teach them) that your summer process is different.  Don’t let them guilt you into their work cycle.  Make plans that work for you, take care of your business, and take a break - you’ve earned it!

Happy Summer!!!!

Jeff