OT: To the teachers out there... long hours getting in the way of making the healthy choices...

If you are a teacher, then I know you can relate.  Over the last two weeks I have wanted to get to the gym but have not had the time. Last week in one of my many committee meetings I was asked to log my extracurricular time time for 1 month to help use it as a baseline for "required" extracurricular time built into our new evaluation program.  This time does not include anything considered normal for the preparation and instruction, so no counting time teaching, grading papers, phone calls home, parent conferences, prepping lessons, etc.  

Last week I logged 19 hours in extra curricular time.  Add to that the 30 hours of instructional time, at least 15 hours in grading and preparation, and several hours in conferences or tutoring (tutoring counts as extra curricular if it is outside of instructional hours and unpaid), and I logged at least a 70 hour week.  And that is my normal.  

Time to prioritize to get back to daily exercise!  So how do you do it?  Do you just limit yourself to just a little extra curricular time?  I think, personally, that it is ridiculous that a teacher has to spend more time working the"extras" then time spent actually preparing for instruction and grading.  Sheesh. 

 If I don't exercise before school, then I won't do it.  I am too drained at the end of the day!  I will take the dogs for a walk, but i don't usually have enough mental motivation to get on the treadmill.  I was actually thinking about a yoga class with a friend in the evening...I am not sure if that burns many calories ( haven't looked) but it seems like it would be meditative and relaxing.

Even if the yoga doesn't burn a ton of calories, you'll be more flexible and relaxed.  I think that's a good benefit!

I can definitely relate!  I started saying "no" to the extras.  I won't take on anything else.  I dropped some clubs, activities, book studies, etc. over the years.  Our contract reads from 7:20-2:50.  Some teachers at my school stick to it.  I don't know how, but they do.  If I get out before 4:00, I'm lucky.  I've started to go home earlier as I find a balance.  It's not worth going back to the "me last" way of thinking.  That's part of what got me where I was in the first place.

I'm glad you posted about this because this is something I worry about now, and that I know will be a challenge for me once I am sleeved.  It is so hard to schedule time into the day to get moving with all the crap we have to do...and we bring our work home too! :(

How did you do it when you were losing weight at first?  I am planning for surgery in June, when school is out so that I have the time to focus on recovering and relearning a new way of life so that when school starts in August, I can fit school into my plans.  Like another poster said, I have to put me first, because not putting me first is part of what got me where I am. :(

I know how I did it- I made it a priority.  It was easier to have less of the extra curricular so to being out periodically on medical leave due to cancer issues.  Now, I am healthy so they are piling up again.  I have no idea how somebody can just work contract hours as mentioned in another post.  At the moment I am rationalizing because I have about 6 weeks until school is out, my new meds is causing a little weight loss without exercise, and it is making it easy to just coast. 

It's unbelievable how many "hidden hours" we all have. I feel like I am always racing the clock and it is never enough time to get it all done! My surgery was almost 7 weeks ago. I stayed home for a month and was really good about getting my fluids and proteins in.  Now that I am back at work-it's a real struggle for me to keep fluids and protein up. I am just going to have to keep being more diligent.  I have not started exercising at this point.  Work has been so crazy busy. Then when I get home, it's time for homework with my kids, make dinner, bedtime with the kids and then I finally have 2 seconds to myself.  Ideally, I would exercise right after school.  That is what I used to do (before I had kids). I could walk and let my little one ride his bike next to me but that would be about it since my hubby is not home at that time to watch the boys.  I would like to get a recumbent bike. That is something that I could do with the kids home. Anyway-it's rough. I come home from work and I still have so much more to do for my boys and  don't want to skimp on them. And yes--there are many nights that I bring work home.  Since being back from my surgery-I have tried really, really hard to not bring work home. I think that has helped my state of mind because I feel like I get an actual break.

But I still haven't worked exercise in.  I need to do that.

Pam

Okay, this may sound harsh, but what the heck!

Teaching is a profession that will suck you dry, IF you let it. No one in the field will tell you to stop giving of yourself. Also, for some reason some teachers believe that self sacrificing, martyr type of behavior is the way to go. Me, I say that is BS. My time is worth something. I have 5+ years of college behind me and am well educated and highly skilled in what I do. If the state wants more from me than I am paid for, they need to pay me more in addition.

In general we are a group of people that have based our lives and livelihoods on pleasing people and putting everyone else in front of ourselves. We don't do a good job at saying no. We also seem to have some sort of odd idea that if we don't step up to the plate, then who will? I think a lot of teachers show some traits of what is called a co dependent personality. Sound familiar?

My dad told me when I started in this field years ago that I would have to put limits on myself or I would not have balance in my life. (He has a PhD in education and was a dean at the college level.) So I put on some pretty hard core limitations on myself the first year I taught. The first was no school work from 5pm on Fridays to 10pm on Sundays. I still keep to this (except during report card periods).

I also now have a "quitting" time. If something doesn't get done, it will still be there to do tomorrow. My goal is to be in the gym by 4:00 pm. That means I have to leave school by 3:30 I get to school at 7:30. That's a full 8 hour day. My contract is only for 7 (how they expect me to do what I have to do in that amount of time just baffles me....), so I'm giving of my time everyday.

Organization seems to be key for me, too. I have a routine. The kids thrive on the routine. I also work in a district in which we are allowed to let the children and their work drive the instruction. I am not held to a district time line or lesson matrix. This fact allows lessons to progress naturally and with the appropriate pacing which is a lot less work for me, but a lot more for the students - which is how I think it should be! LOL! I've done school! They're the ones that need the rigorous curriculum, not I!

There is no easy answer to what you ask. We all have to make it work for our own lives. Me, I've learned to say no. I do a few extra curricular things throughout the year, but tend to chose the work that is clear cut with a beginning and an end. None of those on going committees for me anymore. Been there, done that. When I was pressured to tutor after school, I asked what the pay rate was. That sort of stopped the conversation in its tracks. I value my time and I made it clear. The district wanted me to volunteer and I explained that to volunteer would require me to take hours away from my other job which I couldn't do.

You do need to learn to say no. It's hard. It's not in a teacher's nature, but it must happen. Good luck!

Good post! I really do struggle with saying "No."  Like I said, I felt like I had more balance in my life before I had kids. Lately, I will stay until 5:00 and then not bring anything home. I find that better than bringing stuff home.  One of my big problems is that I am team leader and I find that people are constantly in my room during my planning period (often chatting about nothing) and I can't get them out of my room so that I can get some work done!  I try to send nonverbal cues that I am trying to work (not making eye contact, continuing to keep working while they're in there chatting,etc.) but not everyone seems to get the message.  So sometimes I will physically walk out of my room to go to make copies or something and often people will just keep following me and talking! My husband says that I need to be more assertive and just explain that I have to get my work done.  I just can't imagine saying that, though!

But my big issue is that i have no one to care for my young children after school while I work out. I could take a walk or do something in the house, though. I may get a stationary bike.

Thanks for your perspective! It's nice to hear someone say, "YOu don't have to do it all!"  I think we, as teachers, are often perfectionist-type people and it's hard to leave work undone. But the truth of the matter is-we will never be "caught up." I could stay there every night until 6:00 and there would always be SOMETHING else to do!

Pam :)

You're right on so many levels there Karik.  My biggest problem is that I love doing it, and that makes it extra hard to say no.  But, I am tired of the never ending work day too.  I think I am going to set a no work time schedule like you mentioned.  I don't think I am quite ready to go as hard core as you, but I can start somewhere :)

Another good point is to pick committees that have a clear start and end.  I tend to work the ones that go on into infinity, and the administrators never ever want to let me off of those.  It is such a self-perpetuating situation.  I love what I do, so I do a great job at it.  The administrators know that I can be counted on to do a great job, so they give me even more "job" to do since they know it will be done so well.  Repeat.  

I am going to work harder at finding a balance.  Maybe I need to add that motto to my signature so I don't lose sight of it.