If you follow me on Instagram @educatorbarnes, this will sound familiar. I posted the image below and wrote about this topic underneath the picture. It is probably one of the longest Instagram posts I have ever written. I thought I would flesh it out some more for my Monday Musings.
My calendar reminded me, this weekend, that at one point in time, I was going to be in St. Louis presenting at the Teacher Self-Care mini-conference. At the end of last school year, I decided to lighten my load in many areas. I stopped writing for The Educator’s Room (the organization behind the Teacher Self-Care conferences) in September 2019, I stopped editing for the publication November 2019, and I decided to keep my chapter from the organization’s now published book. January 2020, I took full control of my podcast, Brazen Education, and I knew presenting at this conference no longer made sense.
Being at home, all day, everyday, gives you time to think. I remember when I told my husband about The Educator’s Room (TER). I loved its mission, so that’s why I wanted to be part of it. I started as a writer, but over time, I did much more. As my commitments with TER increased, he said, “You don’t have the time. If you are going to do this, I’ll support you, but I don’t believe you can maintain this as well as everything else you are doing.”
He was right! If someone in your circle gives you critical advice, listen. Of course, some folks want to start drama and believe that Fran and I fell out. Honestly, I have not talked to her since I cut ties with TER, but our relationship was mostly based on TER. Now that we aren’t working together, there’s really not much more to say. I wish her well and still support her mission. She is providing what is needed for teachers.
What is also important to note is you can want someone’s vision to succeed and not be part of it. That is the conclusion I came to when I decided to walk away. I was literally getting three hours of sleep trying to do everything…and I was still struggling and falling behind.
I eliminated a lot of other stuff in 2019 too. Eliminating all those commitments gave me three hours of sleep back at night. Now I get about six solid hours of sleep. My goal is to get back to eight.
Eliminating commitments can be hard. You committed for a reason; however, you need two things, passion and time, to really invest in something and keep doing it. If you lack either, you should let it go. This quarantine has forced many of us to slow down and think. I’m cutting more commitments this year too. What do you need to let go of in 2020?
Tune back in later today for the next installment of my Coronavirus Chronicles – Spring Break Edition!