The common 2020 phrase “We’ve got this” got old for me real fast. It didn’t bother me at first; but as the struggle increased and my goals shifted towards survival, I started to bristle each time I came across that phrase.
When we’re dealing with something hard, let’s name that. This is hard. This is SO hard. Learning to accept that we’re living and working under difficult circumstances is way more helpful than a flippant positive phrase, “We’ve got this!”
After we acknowledge the struggle, we can work on managing the day to day. We don’t have to “have this” in order to make it through this crazy time. We simply need to handle the present moment to the best of our ability. I think dealing with the ever changing reality helped me to truly start focusing on one day at a time. Completely re-doing plans on a minutes notice forces us not to look too far ahead anyway. Who wants to make plans that might get thrown out the window tomorrow? I’m a big fan of “tentative planning” this year. As in, I have an idea of where we’ll be next week but I’m not planning much further out.
One Day at a Time
When no one has the answers and everyone is figuring things out as they go, the best bet is to take things one day at a time. If that’s too much, break it down even further. Just make it through the morning, or your first class. If you’re struggling, please know I have been too. There are better days and days that seem hard for no reason at all. Just do your best and that’s all you can do.
Push Back
This brings me to my biggest takeaway from recent months. In our profession as educators, it seems we are always prepared and willing to “figure it out” and “make it work.”
Why must we accept this pressure time and time again? Requesting more resources or more time should not feel like we didn’t do our job or accomplish our goals. This year especially, we are asked to do too much. What if we pushed back a little and started working to balance our jobs with our lives? What would it feel like to do as much as you can in one day and then go home and start again the next day?
I know what you’re probably thinking. The job of a teacher is never done. There is no way to accomplish all the tasks on our list in 40 hours each week. BUT! I realized I cannot go on without at least attempting to find a better balance. I used to push myself to go above and beyond in everything. I take pride in my work and I want to do my best for my students. That said, a burnt out Señora isn’t what’s best for them.
Taking time and space for myself and my family makes me a better teacher. Slowing down makes me a better teacher. I know it’s always a work in progress–but I encourage you to find some way to slow down or find balance. It might not happen every day, but a start is a start! Easing up on yourself at least some of the time will help you make it through the other long days.
