It seems easy but it’s not

This is what I told myself as a teacher and I’m sure what many people also tell themselves. Every. Day. 

I want to gather data, or

I’ve got all of this data, or

I need to grade this thing, or

I need to enter my grades, or

I should really give individual comments on this thing, or

I should send updates to the parents of my students, or, or, or…

There is just so much to do as a teacher, why can’t we just do this one little thing? Because there is not just one little thing. There are 5, 10, 15 little things and all those little things add up and then we are looking at a mountain of work, grading, data entry, etc. And for what it’s worth, I know this isn’t an issue exclusive to teachers. But that’s my area of expertise, so that’s where I’m focused.

So how do you get started? Honestly, it’s as easy as Nike says, “just do it”. Haha. Easier said than done. But there is another somewhat popular phrase that I also ascribe to, “done, not perfect”. 

Teachers feel the weight of the world on their shoulders and often feel that one misstep in this direction or that direction is going to upset an administrator, a student, a parent, a team member, etc. With all that hanging over our heads, it’s hard to “just do it”. But we have to be kind to ourselves and remember that “when everything is a priority, nothing is a priority.” 

If you have a giant pile of work, maybe just grab the thing on the bottom (since that’s probably the oldest). Take care of that one task and move on to the next. But what if I can’t finish that one thing? Then I won’t be able to get into the flow, or I won’t be consistent or, or, or. 

You’re probably right. You may not get it all done. You might have to pick it up again later. You might not even be consistent. But you know what you do have? You have one less thing to worry about. That’s movement in the right direction. 

Now I could say that this is just for the mini tasks, but as I watch my partner struggle with all her tasks and her being completely wiped out at the end of each day, that’s my little pep talk for her. Get two of those 15 things graded. Get those scores uploaded. Push publish on that blog post. Email that prospective school. Ok those last two were for me, but we all need that little push.

When you start focusing on just getting stuff moved off your desk, your inbox, whatever, it will feel better. 

This post might be more timely at the end of the semester when there is more work than time. But even now, at the beginning of the semester, it also feels like there is more work than time. And it will probably be the same in the middle of the semester as well. 

My advice to you (and really to myself), stop coming up with reasons why you can’t do something, and just do that something. It doesn’t need to be perfect, it just needs to get done. Good luck!!