Original Insights - Issue #6
"Meanwhile the world
goes on."
-Mary Oliver, "Wild Geese"
Greetings!
October is a month of transition. Leaves letting go. Warm breezes becoming brisk. Students settling in. In a typical year, teachers begin to breathe a tiny sigh of relief this month, as all of their efforts to establish routines and procedures bear fruit, and the classroom is humming with energy, connection and productivity.
Last month, I learned much of this success came at a high price as I listened to clients affirm their own exhaustion and anxiety about the launch of the school year.
When I picture all the to-dos catalogued aloud by busy COVID-era educators, I imagine an angler standing on the shore with multiple fishing rods. Some are fully cast, waiting for a nibble. Some are laying on the shore waiting for a turn. Others are in motion, reeling in the big one. Especially striking to me in this scene is that the angler has only two hands and is managing all the equipment--rods, tackle box, bait, net, line--in various stages of use.
What you cannot see in the scene above is the mental rehearsal of all the action items required to sustain this super-human fishing endeavor! "Green one, cast! Reel in red rod. Grab bait. Put down rods to open bait. Shoot, the line broke! Where are my pliers? OUCH! That hook just got me but I have to hold the line because I felt a nibble!"
This is the vicious and exhausting cycle of educators' anxiety. Despite the experiences and cycles of previous years, educators are not always able to a) identify all of the items that need doing in this unpredictable time b) juggle the impossible volume and ever-evolving complexity of their jobs. A new group of students (and their parents!) coupled with COVID protocols yields countless hypothetical scenarios that simply cannot be fully accounted for, engineered, and controlled.
Even with solid lists, collaborative teams, and a can-do attitude, teachers often find themselves out of time and energy with lots left to accomplish. This cycle is brutal, never allowing educators to feel the fruits of their labor, pause, rest, and then re-engage. Instead, it feels like an endless game of whack-a-mole. No wonder you are exhausted!
The next issue of the newsletter will focus more on anxiety, but here are some tips to start with to address your exhaustion.
Give your brain a break from rehearsal. When you hear the list of to-dos repeating in your head (an adaptive memory strategy called rehearsal gone rogue) write them down, and try this affirmation: _________ (The task on my mind) is complete for now. My conference planning is complete for now. My work for today is complete for now. My chores at home are complete for now.
Check the voices in your head. Notice your inner resister. This persona says things like "This shouldn't be happening." "Something is wrong here." "I refuse to do this." "I am on strike from grading papers/returning emails/planning lessons." Invite your inner resister to rest and try one of these two personas instead: The inner cooperator represents the Radical Acceptance strategy. "I do not like what is happening. I do not want to participate this way, but I am choosing to. I cannot change COVID. I do not approve of the way things are happening, but this is what is happening." Or, for an even more interesting experience, try this next level mindset "I am having the perfect experience. All of this, all of the life and learning that is unfolding around me is for me and of service to my personal and professional growth. Hmmmm..... I wonder what learning is in store for me."
Complete one simple task. In his book Getting Things Done, David Allen talks about open loops. Open loops are commitments you have made to yourself or others that haven't been completed. All of this unfinished business sucks your energy, clarity and focus, just like the angler who is unlikely to catch a single fish while juggling so much equipment. Write down all your open loops. Choose one today that can be completed in two minutes. Observe. Notice. Do you feel more energized completing this task? (Confession: I have a suitcase sitting on my bedroom floor that is mostly unpacked from a trip in August. I commit to finishing that task as soon as I hit send on this newsletter!)
I will continue to post tips for managing anxiety and exhaustion on Facebook and Instagram throughout the month of October, so come follow me! I aspire to be an oasis of sanity in the social media sea of overwhelm.
I see you.
Shine On,
Dr. Sara Knickerbocker
Chief Empowerment Officer