Too Much To Do

I'm an overachiever.

There, I said it.

In addition, I'm an overthinker.

I'm sure those two things will tell you a lot about who I am as a person.

Sometimes my brain runs too fast, and I get overwhelmed and can't figure out where to start. Sometimes it runs too slow, and I can't seem to get started even when I know where to begin.

This becomes an issue when I have something that I'm trying to accomplish, but I can't get the steps sorted out in my head. It's even worse when there are multiple things with multiple steps that I want to do.

Considering the fact that my brain never stops, you can see how this can become an issue.

I've taken several steps over the past few years to try and mitigate these two traits of mine.

The first is separating things by location. Work, home. Then I drill them down even more by when/what I need, and what time is available to me.

For example, I support four grade levels at work, in addition to teaching two whole group lessons for fourth and fifth grades. It's the same lesson for both grades, their lessons have many more moving pieces, and I teach fourth grade right after breakfast. So I try and make sure that my lesson notes and materials for that class are prepared first, at least three days in advance. I have an hour of planning after that, so I spend a few minutes making any notes or observations from that class before ensuring that I have my materials for fourth and second grade, which come right after one another. Once they're done, it's my lunch break. Fifth grade is already prepared, I go straight to them after lunch. Another planning, and I focus on third and fifth grades before heading to those classes. Fifteen minutes of debriefing with myself, and it's time for dismissal duty and heading home.

Though that schedule deviates from time to time, especially if there are special events or teachers absent that day, the overall schedule stays the same.

Home, however, is a different beast. I have several personal pursuits that take up my personal time; the only way that I get them done is by allotting a certain amount of time to each every day.

When I get home, I try to do some type of exercise, whether it be the gym or a walk. After a shower, I eat dinner. Then I set my coffee and organize my lunch items before parking myself in front of my computer. There, I have two tasks; work on one of my two novels-in-progress, or work on items to professionally develop myself.

I'm beginning an Instructional Design course this week, and I know that being organized and disciplined is going to be what helps me through it. I'm already planning on pacing out my assignments once I have them to ensure that they're completed and submitted both on time and up to my high standards.

The novel piece has become slightly more complicated because of where I am in the process. I've finished my drafts, edited, had others read and give me feedback, and edited according to their feedback. Now I'm on the hunt for an editor that I both like and can afford (I had no idea of the costs for an independent author to hire an editor until I started researching). It's not exactly a fast process, but I'm dedicated to seeing it through.

In addition to keeping things separated, I also use checklists and spreadsheets. I have a spreadsheet tracking what lessons I give to students and how they progress. I also have a spreadsheet tracking editors, responses, and prices. Checklists help me get down to the smallest pieces of a task, making sure that I don't panic and forget things as I get down to the nitty-gritty.

One of the best things that I have, though, is people who are the calm, rational balance to my often frantic and chaotic mind. I can talk things out to either of my sets of parents, my sister, my coworkers, and especially my boyfriend. Sometimes just the act of getting things out of my head helps to calm me down and help me get organized. Other times, they give me suggestions and solutions to get me on track.

Overthinking and overachieving tendencies still plague me on a daily basis, but having these tools at my disposal helps me to get through all that I have to do. And it doesn't feel like too much.