What can you do when you don't even remember what you find fun anymore?
Your hand smacks at the alarm clock to make the annoying, but necessary BEEP BEEP BEEP stop. Instead of feeling the dread that often comes with a Monday morning, your eyes pop open and you realize you’re still basking in the afterglow of your weekend.
This is the seventh post in a series about how to make teaching feel like a more SUSTAINABLE career.
The focus of this post: SUSTAINABLE
Nurture what fuels your spirit.
You spent Saturday evening catching up and replaying memories from high school with some of your favorite people. Even when you haven’t seen each other for months, it feels as comfortable as putting on your favorite pair of jeans, any time you get together.
Hanging out with them fuels your spirit and gives you a huge boost of energy that lasts for days.
We all have things that are fun for us and that light us up.
The problem is that life can get in the way.
Sometimes, the whole day or a week rushes by and before you know it, it's Friday evening and you don't have the energy you wish you had. String a few of those weeks together and you risk burning out.
When you make it a priority to NURTURE the things that fuel your spirit you automatically have more energy for everything else.
Monday mornings feel lighter and you have a more positive outlook for the week.
Nurture what fuels your spirit, because it:
Gives you energy (and hope) when you feel like you’re spiraling.
Makes you feel lighter, more content, and joyful.
Gives you the balance you want so that you feel like teaching is sustainable, even with all the other life stuff you have going on.
It may seem impossible to do more of what fuels your spirit for two reasons:
You’re so wrapped up in work and family stuff that you can’t even remember what you love to do that’s just for you
Even if you knew what you wanted to do - there’s no time to actually do it.
Slowing down and prioritizing yourself can be stressful, especially when you feel disconnected and can’t even remember what you like doing anymore. If that IS the case, know that it’s pretty common. And so next is a deep dive to help you figure it out.
Deep Dive: What nourishes your spirit?
Your Great Big List of Fun
Pretty simple to start off here - list everything you find fun. Don’t judge or worry if OTHER people would find this fun or if it “counts”. If you find it fun - write it on the list.
Dig a little deeper with the questions below and add your answers to your list.
Who do you love to spend time with the most? Who are the people that make you belly laugh?
Do you prefer to be inside or outside? Like working with your hands? Get joy from moving your body?
Would you prefer to spend time in large groups or on your own?
Do you enjoy being reflective? Journaling or meditating?
Do you enjoy watching documentaries and learning new things? What kinds of things interest you?
Do like creating/listening to music? Decorating or interior design? Drawing or painting?
Do you like playing board games, doing puzzles, or reading?
Do you have a side hustle you've been playing around with and would like more time to explore?
Are you passionate about animals? Travel? Comedy? Sports?
Are you intrigued by learning more about the metaphysical?
3) Final step for this brainstorming piece: Think back to yourself as a child and add your answers to these questions to your list.
What did you love to do when you were 6? 12? 16?
Who did you hang out with?
How did you spend your Saturdays?
When and where do you remember being “in the zone” and your happiest?
You now have the makings of your “Great Big List Of Fun”. Look at your list, start to mix and match, and add what you come up with to the bottom of your list.
If you enjoy time with other people and you like to read - join or create a book club.
If you like volunteering, time outside, and moving your body, help out with a beach clean-up.
If you prefer time alone and are reflective - start a gratitude or meditation practice.
Maybe you’re a learner and are curious about the metaphysical - teach yourself palm reading.
It doesn't matter what your list looks like. What matters is that you know what fun looks like for you so you can find all sorts of ways to work it into your day, in small ways, to reconnect with yourself and others, to nourish your spirit.
At this point, you’re realizing how multi-faceted you are and that you’re pretty damn fun, too.
I’m guessing there’s just one problem: Time.
No doubt your calendar is jam-packed.
But everyone has the same 168 hours a week.
168.
There has to be a way to make space for yourself and the things you love, within that time - even with what’s on your plate. This is even truer if you’re trying to make work feel more sustainable and have more balance in your life.
Deep Dive: Harnessing your Resourcefulness
We’re in list mode - so how about one more?
If you think back through the years, the decades, you could probably come up with 100 examples of times when you were super resourceful and figured out creative solutions to problems you were facing at the time.
You don’t need a hundred, just list ten.
Write ten examples of when you thought outside the box, used what you had, and maybe had to make some compromises but you figured it out.
Some ideas to get you started:
Student loan payments + living expenses, but no “real job” yet
A surprise diorama project your kid just sprung on you (no supplies and it’s due tomorrow)
Surprise visitors at suppertime, but you didn’t pick up groceries yet this week
A broken clothes dryer and no repair person available to fix it
Yes, your schedule may be packed. But you’ve figured out so many things and problem-solved so many issues in your lifetime, it would be silly to think that you can’t figure out this “time” issue
Instead of looking at your schedule as a problem, what if you looked at it as an opportunity?
And you may need to get ruthless.
Look at your schedule and find things to remove.
Find things you can ask for help with or delegate.
Choose an area to lower your expectations to a more reasonable level because it will free up time.
Will it be uncomfortable? Maybe, at first.
But if you change nothing, nothing changes.
You made that Great Big List of Fun and you know doing things on that list like hanging out with your besties and laughing until your belly hurts, energizes you for days.
Not finding the time to do more of those things means neglecting what fuels your spirit and you can only neglect that flame for so long until it burns out.
168 hours in a week (or 10 080 minutes, if you rather) feels spacious, with lots of room for creativity and opportunities.
10 080 minutes in a week means it’s completely feasible to take 15 minutes a day for yourself for something fun. That’s only 1% of your week.
Sixty minutes a day for something fun?
That’s only 4% of the time you have in a week.
4% of your time for YOU. You can find that.
Harness your resourcefulness and creativity. Be a problem solver and look for ways to make this work - not excuses for why it won’t.
You’ve probably solved thousands of problems more complicated than figuring out how to make some space in your schedule.
What do you need to change for this to work and what’s at stake if you don’t change anything?
Finally, imagine getting together with your best friends. One of them is in your situation, wanting more time for fun and to prioritize herself because she’s scared of burning out.
What support or advice would you give her? What does she need to hear?
Write that down.
Chances are, that’s exactly the advice you need to hear, too.