Don't Drown in Duties

Some say the older one gets the more wisdom one acquires. While this may certainly be true, my personal belief is that the older one gets the more complexities life acquires.  The blissful ignorance of childhood dissipates with every class taken, appointment scheduled, relationship made, commitment committed.  For most, the more responsibilities we acquire, the more overwhelmed we feel.  No one wants to sink under the weight of necessary tasks, and it is for this reason that I purposely sought out ways to help decrease the suffocating effect of drowning in duties.

What did I discover?

Making a list of daily goals at night, and then consciously working on completing those goals the next day helps me accomplish more of the tasks that I need to complete.  I have always resisted this “list” activity as it seemingly adds pressure to my already tense mindset – as if the mere existence of a list was just another piece of evidence that I have too much sh** to do.  But I’ve been gulping water, sputtering and spitting, trying to tolerate the discomfort of my own pool of promises so much so that my forehead is about to submerge.  Assigned to try something (Thank you, Dominican of California “Teacher Self-Care: Managing Work & Life”), I decided to make a list of five goals each night that I would then work to complete the next day. I implemented another strategy to help prioritize my goals: I used what some call the Eisenhower Matrix to chart what tasks were important and/or urgent.  As I’m a teacher on summer break, there are few tasks that are particularly urgent (with the exception of appointments made), so none of my goals fell under both the Urgent and Important categories, which require a “must do immediately” approach. I expect this will change as soon as school starts again, but hopefully with my new insight, I’ll feel more motivated to complete those urgent and important tasks. The majority of my goals fell under the Important and Not Urgent category, which requires deciding when to do the task and scheduling it. My list was just that: a schedule of when I needed to do each task. Every day for a week, alongside the myriad of pop-up obligations required of a mother, I intentionally completed the tasks.  At the end of the day, I literally checked off the tasks on my calendar with a feeling of accomplishment that was unexpected. I felt like I had progressed. All of the little tasks that are necessary for a functioning house and for being a quality teacher add up, but when I chunked my huge duties in the form of daily small, manageable lists, I didn’t feel smothered; I felt satisfied.