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| sweetlouise via Pixabay |
As someone who loves to learn, I'm easy prey for all of these e-mails. Webinars, seminars, Zoom sessions, online courses, all promising new and relevant information that I need to succeed -- just click here.
But I promised myself that this summer, I would concentrate on relaxing and rejuvenating. I'd read for pleasure, nap guilt free and block out entire days where I did nothing work-related.
And yet, these offers keep calling out to me.
The initial plan was to take two weeks off after summer session ended. Then, there was a virtual event through my workplace that had sessions I wanted to attend, so I decided to sprinkle those ten days over the rest of the month (actual beach vacation not included).
Seven down, three to go, and only four of the seven were consecutive days.
I am quickly running out of opportunities to actually take a week off. (Again, beach vacation notwithstanding).
For me, work and leisure blend, even more seamlessly than I realized. Trying to step away from work cold turkey is hard because new ideas don't pop up on a neat schedule, or arrange themselves tidily on my to-do list. It's important, though, for my sake and my students', that I take some time away, even if it's only one day at a time.
As I flip the calendar page to August all too soon, I can at least say I've reclaimed my weekends. I've also read entire issues of magazines, organized spaces that needed it, made progress on multiple writing projects and finished (reading) a novel, among other things. I know that sounds pathetic -- one novel? But, since I usually have at least four books going at once, reading one from start to finish is an accomplishment, motivated in this case by the purchase of new books that are definitely summer reading.
With less than a month to go before classes start again, I suspect my whole week off (at home) isn't coming. I'm okay with that, in part because it's shown me something: that achieving balance is a process. Like so many other things, it takes longer than expected, and is accompanied by successes and failures. I can't just push reset and make it so.
If the first step in solving a problem is admitting there is one and identifying it, I've at least done that much. As a counselor, I know that solutions don't usually come all at once and that quick fixes don't stick. So, instead of shaking my head and bemoaning what I haven't managed to do, I'm going to focus on the new habits I've developed. Keeping school work out of the weekends. Logging my reading so I do more of it. Taking chunks of time to do things that rejuvenate me so I can be less frazzled.
Maybe I haven't achieved the perfect balance yet. But I'm getting closer. And the first step is reminding myself of something I already know: that "no thank you" is an acceptable response.
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| Pixabay |
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