LESSONS LEARNED BY MS. B
Movin' On
As one of many educators who are figuring out what's next, I have created this space to share a little of what I've been doing since the end of my school year. Tune back in from time-to-time for updates on how I'm feeling and what I'm up to. This phase definitely isn't for the weary!
June 2022: New Routines
This first month of post-teaching has been a whirlwind! My last gift from education was finally getting COVID-19 from graduation. I spent the first two weeks sick followed by another week and a half of just not knowing what to do with myself or how to structure my time. I felt as if I was trying to do all the things at the same time and keeping up with the fast-paced life teachers are accustomed to. I was really afraid to just stop and be.
At first I tried a traditional hourly structure (What teacher doesn't make a schedule or plan, right?) but after not following it a single day for a week I abandoned it. I didn't feel good about myself or as if I had accomplished anything useful.
This past week I decided to try just making a vague outline of my week. Nothing too extreme. I just wanted to sketch out what I could focus on each day. I also knew how I wanted to structure the start and end of my day. This actually was great advice from an episode of THE ED MYLETT SHOW podcast. It has helped me feel good by starting my day with activities that are important to me, like walking on the trail, and ending the day in a relaxing, reflective way. For the middle part of my day I write down 2-4 job-related tasks I hope to accomplish but I've learned that if I don't get to them all it really is OK.
This system seems to be working for me BUT I'm still finding that I'm exhausted and that I'm having moments of anxiety. I'm really struggling with the fact that I may need to just take a break.
On the job front I'm still working on my financial services business. It's very rewarding to continue helping others but I'm finding that it's a slow process of getting my name out there and finding people willing to sit down and learn about what I do. This economic environment doesn't help either. I can actually feel how nervous people are with where things are headed.
I'm also working on my creative endeavors - this blog, my podcast Been There. Done That. Movin' On., and working as a videographer. I've got some very lofty goals but I know I can conquer all of them! Next on my list is to work on getting a videography gig to broaden the viewing audience of Austin's Drag Shows by live streaming them. There is such talent and beauty here and these ladies deserve to be seen. I consider these creative projects my happy place right now. It's allowing me to step back - I call it Hermit Mode - and analyze what is really making me happy and where do I want to go from here. It's also allowing me to find my voice.
I won't lie that this is all a slow process, much slower than I anticipated, and being 100% commission is an unsettling prospect but I'm happier. I feel it and people have commented that they see a difference too. Whatever the next two months holds I am looking forward to the experience. I know it will all be OK and work out I just don't know the details. And for once in my life I'm OK with that.
Until next month!