The Real Key to "Doing It All"

  

   People sometimes ask me the key to “doing it all.” The key is very simple: Don’t. I don’t do it all, all the time. In fact, this is something I had to come to terms with as my oldest two children have birthdays at the end of August. Invariably, back-to-school duties conflict with their birthdays. It’s almost always falling on the first day of school for one and teacher PD for another. Also, funds seem to run short at this time. The mom guilt is real, y’all. I had to come to terms with this. We had to carefully plan. Some years, we celebrate early. Some years, we celebrate later, but bigger, like a girl’s trip to Chicago (close enough for a day trip), mid-September. 

    So don’t. Don’t do it all. Don’t try. No one should be expecting that. Recognize seasons. One of the great truths about teaching online is that is it so seasonal. Back to school is nuts. Nearly around the clock getting all my plates spinning at the same time. But November? That’s pretty tame. I can usually breathe, even reclaim some of that time I lost. End of the semester? Crazytown. But getting away a week before spring break and working from the road? That’s a good trade-off. 

Plan carefully. A few tips:

    I have tried the last few years to get all our doctor checkups done in the summer. Dentist? Eye Doctor? Physical for sports or needed medication refills? July is packed. 

    

    Have a space for work and leave it there. When I tried to work from a desk in the family room, or, worse, from the dining room table, it was a mess. Nothing was ever done. If work was caught up, supper was late, and vice versa. Once I converted a “cave” in the basement to work from, it was easier to close the door and leave work there for the evening. 

    Put EVERYTHING on a calendar. Whether is paper or digital, schedule times for phone calls, blog

writing, and dates with your kids. I schedule times I’m available for students and share a link for them to sign up. 

    Schedule emails. In September, I’ll schedule birthday greetings for students. One day of marathon email scheduling (use an email template) and they go out for 12 months. This is the single engagement piece that gets the most feedback. 

    While you are at it, schedule messages for coworkers, friends, and even yourself. If I know a friend has a rough anniversary day, I’ll put that on my calendar and check on them. 

    Communicate early and often. I remind my family if I have a zoom call in the evening. I might make that a great night to get pizza, so everyone has something to look forward to. And remind family as often as needed. Don’t assume they remember. 

    Make your schedule work for you. While I’m available during school hours, as needed, I may flex some grading time to the evening or Saturday morning if needed. Recognize this ability, but don’t get sucked into working around the clock. 

    You can do it all! But you can’t do it all at once. And that’s ok.