Much as we enjoy the excitement of the season, it’s good to have time to relax, refresh, and rejuvenate. (I seem to be finding a lot of “r” words.) This is the “between time.”  This the quiet period as we celebrate the New Year and get back to our normal daily routines.  Fallow periods are necessary to promote growth.

Take a tip from the ancient Romans who pictured Janus, their god of gates and doors for whom January is named, as having two faces. One looking forward and the other backward.  Before you completely close the gate on 2014, make time to reflect back on the year that ended. Remember the good things that occurred.  Think of the students you helped.  The ones who thanked you, and those who did so without words.  What we do is too important not to acknowledge.  And if we don’t recognize our contribution, how can we expect anyone else to do so.

Even if you keep your acknowledgements to yourself, it will make change the way you interact with teachers and students.  Remember, most communication is non-verbal.  Without being aware of it, our thoughts and attitudes influence how we stand, hold our arms, and walk.  Others pick up on these non-verbal clues. Whether we hold ourselves in high self-esteem or feel downtrodden, we send a message.  Which one do you want to send?

Many people make New Year’s resolutions (another “r” word), and for some this works.  On the whole, good intentions seem to evaporate sometime before January is over. When it happens, the tendency is just to give up—and that is true failure. Rather than resolutions, “re-focus.” Don’t wait until New Year’s Day.  By then you are likely to be bemoaning that winter vacation passed so quickly.  You didn’t do everything you hoped to accomplish, and now you are scrambling to get ready to get back to work.

Make some time and sit down with a pad or tablet, and contemplate what is coming up in the months from January until the end of the school year. What units do your teachers do?  How can you make them a better learning opportunity for students? How can you share that information with teachers?  Are there apps and websites you want to explore to refresh the ways you capture student interest?  Can you find out from your students which ones are exciting them? Now that  school has started back up, you will be busy, but do what you can to make time at the beginning – or the end – of each of your days to check in with your goals and to-do’s.  Each time you do, you’ll reconnect (!) with your passion and continue to be energized and raring to go.

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School librarians continually comment on how overwhelmed they are.  Teachers are saying the same thing.  Common Core and more responsibilities, more students in a class, and unclear new methods evaluation combine to keep you off balance, constantly shifting from one thing to the next.  We aren’t alone. People in many other careers are feeling the same way. Information overload is part of it.  We are connected nearly 24/7 and most of us want the connections.  We Tweet, Post, check apps whenever we have a “free” moment.

Two weeks ago, my blog was on Time Management.  I am skilled at it, but as with everything else in my life, I am not perfect. The past few days have been something of test under fire. I am teaching an online course and we are at capacity for students.  Of course, my schedule had been filled before the course with my normal work.

I realized I was beginning to feel overwhelmed.  Recognizing it was great because then I could begin to deal with it.  First, I looked at what had to get done then determined which tasks were an immediate priority and which could be handled later. There was a lot to do, but it was definitely manageable.

I also remembered what for me was a key lesson in Peter Bregman’s 18 Minutes: Find Your Focus, Master Distraction, and Get the Right Things Done. It was to step back and take time away from the tasks.  No matter how crowded my day is, I walk.  If I go to the gym in the morning, I take a long walk (40-60 minutes) in the afternoon.  If I don’t go to the gym, I add in a 20 minute walk to replace it.  I already have a plan to be able to get my walks in when the weather gets bad.  It clears my head, allows me to think or let my mind wander.  I return refreshed and am more productive than if I chained myself to the computer without a break.

And always, family and friends take precedence.  I have lunches with friends. I stop what I am doing when family members come over.  I enjoy the gifts I have in my life.  Work will wait.  And as I said two weeks ago, “everything will get done, it always does.”

What do you do to manage your moments (days, weeks, months) of overwhelm?

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The tasks won’t go away, but they, and your time, can be managed better.  Instead of going through life with a fire extinguisher and duct tape – putting out fires as they come up and patching problems – look at your life and tasks as a whole.  Divide your responsibilities and interests into two –family and friends, and your job.  In both cases you need to remind yourself of your priorities.  List the two or three top ones.  More will drive you crazy.

This is what works for me.

Before you go home each day or first thing in the morning—whatever works best for you—create a list of what needs to be done. (For some this is best done on a weekly basis, for me it’s usually for today and tomorrow.) Pen and paper or digital doesn’t matter.  Again, it needs to meet your needs.  Subdivide them by area.  For example, it might be classes (teaching and preparing), communicating (updating website, blogging, reports to administrators), and, hopefully, outreach (group or person you are targeting for collaboration and/or building a relationship leading to advocacy.  Your personal list covers shopping, time with family (homework with kids, dinner out with spouse), and self-care (exercise, TV-watching, or whatever relaxes you – many of you know of my solitaire addiction).

Place an asterisk next to the two most important items on your list.  Then start your day.  Although you might not get to them immediately, knowing they are most important, you will attend to them. You probably won’t get to everything on your list in the time you allotted.  As noted earlier, too much to do, and too little time to do it and new things are always popping up.  You are likely to find that some you didn’t get to become a high priority a bit down the road.  That’s fine. If you need to, note what got in your way—a teacher or student needing immediate help that takes more time than expected or a crisis at home. Life has a way of upsetting our best plans.

Don’t beat yourself up for what didn’t get done. Look at what you did accomplish.  My life is filled with deadlines.  I have accepted the fact that no matter what I do there are only 24 hours in the day.  I do need to sleep and being sleep deprived makes me less efficient.  Some days I am lazier than others, and that’s OK.  I am human.  And the most important lesson I have learned, is “everything important will get done—it always does.”

Do you have a system that works for you?

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