I live in a state of constantly feeling that I’ve bitten off more than I can chew.
When the school year began, it was our first year with a block schedule (which necessitated that all of my lesson plans be revamped for the longer class-periods and fewer class-meetings per week), and our first year with every student having their own iPad (which I was responsible for coordinating the distribution of the 1,453 devices, and being the main contact person for all-things-iPad.) On top of those two monumental tasks, I was the Retreat Director for the September Kairos. The day that we were leaving to run that retreat, I had to give an Internet Safety presentation to the freshman class; that had been scheduled for the week after our return, but someone else’s problem with the schedule meant that I had to juggle everything and give the presentation a week earlier than I’d expected. August and September were just crazy busy. Now it’s October.
And, now, I find myself once again nearly overloaded. I have a presentation to create for our sophomores (which is, ironically, on, among other things, the evils of multitasking — shown to the right), two presentations to create for the Jesuit Secondary Education Association’s bi-annual National Conference of Technology Directors (which will require travel and a week in New Orleans), four workshops to plan and deliver for the faculty of the West Portal Lutheran school, and I’ve just enrolled in a ten-week online course at Stanford, Designing a New Learning Environment. Oh! And I’ve agreed to work with our Track & Field runners this season! All of this on top of teaching my two classes of AP Psychology, committee meetings, training up for a half-marathon — and trying to be a better husband.
I’ve often said that my super power is: saying No. And, in part, it’s true — when I say No, it’s a real No. But, as with any super power, the trick isn’t in knowing how to use the power, it’s in knowing when to use the power. I need to say No more often. But, having said that, I’m kind of used to, and part of me even likes, this feeling of being nearly-overwhelmed. There’s sort of a rush associated with the panic of rapidly approaching deadlines…