I thought I would start today with the quote/thought of the day...
Determine never to be idle. No person will have occasion to complain of the want of time who never loses any. It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing.
Thomas Jefferson
There is quite a bit of truth in what Jefferson is saying here.
Over the years I have known and loved two very important work-aholics. My father and his father. Grandpa was working up until the day he died. He retired from the State and went on to start his own business as a land surveyor. Growing up I never understood his need to work after retirement. I guess grandpa being idle was a bad thing. I'm sure he would have driven my grandmother completely insane!
My father is a work-aholic. Anyone who knows my dad will agree. He leaves for work at some odd hour (6am I think) and doesn't get home until about 6pm. Granted 20 minutes or so of that is travel time but still... dad will even go into town on Saturdays to get some work done. And vacations?! Ha! I think my dad has gone on maybe 4 vacations in the last 10 years. When he was idle after the surgery for colon cancer, I thought he might just go insane.
I am becoming my father and grandfather. I work. I work at work, I work at home, I work in the shower, I work exercising, I work! Being a teacher means always thinking about your students. I was in the shower tonight and I was thinking about a lesson I did today for the 1st graders. It failed!!!!! I don't just mean I sucked at teaching it, but they sucked at getting it. It was all around sucky! I thought about how I can do it differently tomorrow. Obviously I will need to reteach but they just don't get it. How much of that is my fault? How much of it is language? How much of it is inexperience? I just don't know.
I don't idle very well. I think it started when I worked for Blockbuster and had to work while watching movies. To this day I still can't just sit and watch a movie, I get restless. I feel like I always have to be doing something. Sitting down and reading a book just doesn't work for me. Sitting down to watch tv doesn't either. I have to be doing at least 2 things at once.
Gee, I just don't know where I get it from?! ;-P
The point is, I work. A new semester of classes started yesterday at ESU. I have 3 semesters left. 5 classes. I know that I have a lot on my plate. (speaking of which, why do we call it a plate? It just reminds me of food) I'm wondering how all of this will effect my new life plan. Will I be trying to do too much? Will I burn out and crash? How will my relationships be affected? How will I balance all of these things?
These are all very important things to think about for the work-aholic. Understanding and support from all parties involved is what is needed.
I learned a new word today. Would you like to hear it?
NO!
It's a beautiful word! Why didn't I learn this word sooner? NO!
NO!
NO!
NO!
NO!
NO!
NO!
That was easy... now if I can just do it in real life :(
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