Oh, and it didn't stop there.
After that, I finished my antibiotics, and my strep throat somehow morphed into a 5-week bronchitis. I felt like I was never going to get well! I tried raw vitamins, electrolite water, nutrient-smoothies, Zicam, Airborne, and 2 more doc visits. The stress of this school year was just wearing me down completely. And it isn't even like me to get sick. I never miss work, and usually when I'm sick, a day of bed rest and chugging water usually does the trick.
This year has been different.
The never-ending renovation project my school is undergoing is going to be the death of me. On top of all the usual leadership stuff (as if that isn't enough!), we are building our new school home. We've been trying to move into it since August, but the timeline keeps getting extended further with each building inspection. And with each extension, I have to deliver the bad news to 22 eager students/families and 12 eager staff members. Not to mention how far over budget we are after all these extensions. We're finally nearing the end, but man has it been a long road.
How do you cope with the stresses of leadership? Leadership is an extremely high-pressure job. What are some of your go-to, de-stressing strategies? How do you maintain sanity?
The same thing happened to me last year the day after our big Math Night. This year, it was right after Thanksgiving. I was out for almost a week. It has taken me about 7 weeks to get well and I'm still not 100%. I blame the stress both times for getting so run down that I can't even function. Due to workloads with both school and class, I made a few changes that have helped me cope! First of all, I made a commitment to my family not to bring my work home. Occasionally, I do something that needs to be done, but for the most part, I work as thoroughly as I can during the day and leave everything on my desk for the next day. I quit watching TV. For some people that may not be a big deal, but I found it was really a waste of my time and now the little I do watch, I sometimes enjoy. I've replaced that time with walking my dog, working on some beautiful wooden puzzles that my mom got me hooked on, reading for pleasure, and making a commitment to work on my class assignments a little bit every night so that they don't pile up on me. I didn't plan this, I just did it. I didn't think it was any big deal at the time, but I've enjoyed these little pleasures so much over the past month, that I really feel it's alleviated much of my stress. Hope the renovation ends soon and life gets back on schedule for you!
ReplyDeleteI joined a gym. I would've gone insane if not.
ReplyDeleteThis brings up such an important issue. Balance. We have to make time for ourselves. As administrators the work load only builds. Each step I take up the proverbial ladder comes with more and more responsibility. We all have to find the one thing that keeps us going and focused. I like Kristin's suggestion about the gym. I pay the "fat" tax to LA Fitness, but don't go. I should!
ReplyDeleteJen-I don't think the stress will ever disappear. However, you should know that you have stress because you are doing important work that can have a drastic impact on students and your community! Everyone can't do your job. The stress falls on you because you've become a leader and the person to address so many important decisions.
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