Balance

End of the 1st Day Back

Originally uploaded by teachergal

Ali Edwards recently invited readers to think about their One Little Word for 2008 again. Mine is balance. I haven’t really mastered it up ’til this point in the year, but I’m trying. There are a few things I am going to do this year to keep my life in balance, which I figured I’d share in this forum in hopes that it will inspire some other folks to keep a healthy/healthier balance between teaching and everything else.
1. Take schoolwork home more often (i.e., come in a little later or leave a little earlier doing some of the paperwork in the study).
2. Do things for myself (i.e., commit to taking a hobby class at least once a week).
3. Be healthier (i.e., exercise at least three times a week and eat more nutritious lunches).
4. Go to bed earlier (i.e., set a bedtime & stick to it using an incentive chart so that there are rewards at the end of the month).
5. Change out of my work clothes when I get home (i.e., remember that relaxation is important and wearing a dress for four hours longer than necessary doesn’t feel comfy).

Those are the five things I’m doing this school year to get more balance in my life. This will not only help me as a person, but I think this will help me be a better teacher since two of the many definitions of balance, according to Dictionary.com is: