Feeling Overwhelmed?

Teachers plates are on overload, and most are juggling more than one plate.
I know I am AND I'm retired. If you recognize that you're overwhelmed, then you need to stop and take care of you. Slow down. 

If you're feeling overwhelmed...

• Take some "me" time. You will not work effectively as long as you're so drained that you can't remember what's next. You may need to go as far as taking a mental health day. Sometimes, you simply need to relax and recharge your batteries.
• Make a to do list, order the list by priority, and cross out unnecessary items that you're putting on yourself. Perhaps your big project idea needs to be nixed. It's simply not something that you can take on right now. Recognize when you're creating more work for yourself, and learn to work simple and smart.
• Use your work time wisely and effectively, so that you can keep your "home" time for yourself and your family. If you waste your conference period chatting it up with another teacher only to have to stay after school, then you're making things harder on yourself. Work now. Socialize later.
• Learn to say no. Don't volunteer for everything. If your plate is full, then say so. It's okay to say, "I'm already doing 'x, y, and z', so I really can't take this on right now". 
• Don't over plan your lessons with high prep activities. Is it absolutely necessary that every lesson activity requires you to create, print, cut, paste, and sort? 
• Seek out volunteers. Make phone calls and ask at home parents and grandparents to make copies, cut and paste, and sort. 
• Be sure to look through items at TPT and see what someone else has already done which might take the stress off re-inventing the wheel AGAIN and AGAIN and AGAIN.