Back Again, Making Time for Me, AND a New Blog Recommendation

Well, I am going to try this again. I enjoyed blogging. I felt I was contributing to my profession, but life and work seemed to get in the way these last two years. 

So, why blog if time is an issue? I like to blog, it's a creative outlet for me, and I want it to be part of a "new me" - someone who takes time for herself to do what she wants to do. Here is my first 2018 post. 

After my first summer off in seven years, balancing my home life and work is something often on my mind. I have been working for my local school division for many, many years (this will be my 40th). I love my job and know I have accomplished much in my career, but have I gone overboard? How much has the stress of my job affected my health and resulted in missed family time?  My son once told me he would never work in a school. He said, "You never go to work. You always go to school. And, you always have homework!"

He was right. I always had homework - reports, lesson plans, and IEPs. I rarely came home without a bag or two. For 30 years, I spent almost every Sunday night finishing lesson plans and creating materials. 

For the last 10 years, I have worked in the Assistive Technology Department. Sunday nights are usually my own and I only bring home something to do one or two nights a week. Nonetheless, I continue to put in very long hours. During the last two weeks, I worked at least three hours beyond dismissal time on 7 of the 10 work days. Home late and too tired to cook made food choices less than healthy and physical exercise was not an option.  

When does this stop? Is it too late for me? I certainly hope not! My short-term goal is to leave at dismissal for four of the next five workdays. That's a start. Let's see what happens. 

My inspiration for this post is Worth the Wage, a new blog written by an SLP in my school division. Meredith's posts are short and insightful. She makes some very good points about having a definitive end to the workday and includes the resources she uses to help achieve her goal. The post, Perfect vs. Perfectly Adequate, had my needs written all over it. Read Racing the Clock to find out how she quickly and easily sets up her speech schedule. 

For more thoughts and tips to help SLPs balance work and life, check out the following links.  

I am Not Superpowered! at Doyle Speech Works, Musings on blending speech-language pathology and life

THE 4 MOST IMPORTANT STEPS FOR WORK/HOME BALANCE at Super Power Speech

10 Terrific Time-Saving Tips and Tricks for Busy SLPs at Sublime Speech

SLPs, Save time. 10 tips for fast reports at The SLP Burnout Coach

Diana

© 2018