SnowOwl

Starting to feel a little better, didn’t collapse when I got home today. Quests: Leave work at 4pm. Did my best so yes. I had a conference run long, but I left the minute it was over at 4:15. Do not go into work on the weekends. n/a Build consistency in my classroom. I introduced my expectations and the new consequences today, but I wasn’t great at being strict with them. I’ll work on this again tomorrow. Bring fitness back. n/a (flu) I am hopeful that I can be well-enough by Saturday to still get my tasks done for this week though!

We have conferences this week so some supportive and thoughtful people brought a bunch of snacks for all the teachers and left them for us in the teacher's lounge...cookies, candy, pumpkin bread, all kinds of sugary bad things that are tempting all day long. I really appreciate the thought, but maybe some nuts? or a fruit tray? I hope your resistance stays strong!

I love the hospital idea! I enjoy kids - lots of innocent wonder and excitement, eager to learn something new. Maybe try out some different ages and see if there is a group you like. My age preferences and patience has changed over the years, maybe your like of kids has too? My husband likes teenagers, he's odd.

I'm thinking maybe you need a youtube channel for your adult versions...could be pretty entertaining! Your attitude today seems really good! Just taking the lessons and moving on.

Still on pause while I get over the flu. Feeling much worse today after returning to work before I was well. Two more days of parent-teacher conferences and then hopefully I can rest and get well over the weekend. Quests: Leave work at 4pm. Yes - I had a conference right up until 4pm, but I was packed and left the second it was over. Do not go into work on the weekends. n/a Build consistency in my classroom. I am planning on introducing new expectations and consequences tomorrow right after math. Bring fitness back. n/a (flu)

You want some serious nightmares you should come visit the school I teach at. 100% Trump. I can't overtly do anything about that, but I am thinking of doing a lesson on bullying - including recognizing bullying in adults and what to do about it. Maybe it will help my students observe things around them outside of school?

And when you make your millions, you'll have to travel to my little classroom and do a live show!

Tuesday: Still home in bed. I am moving as much as I can though - I hung laundry outside, now I need a nap. Parent-teacher conferences start tomorrow so I have to be back at work. Quests: Leave work at 4pm. Didn't even go in, so easy A Do not go into work on the weekends. n/a Build consistency in my classroom. I found a coursera.com class on just this thing and am now half-way through it with some great things to implement tomorrow. Bring fitness back by actively participating in the Assassins mini-challenge and attending weekly yoga class. No, but I am doing what I can while sick - gentle stretching in bed and walking around the house a bit.

New challenge is up!

That was my first thought, and libraries and schools are a great place to start. I'm so excited to see what you do with this!

And I'm kicking off the challenge by.....getting the flu, lol. Home sick in bed today. I guess this is a BIG reminder of why I need to set some limits. I am doing some lesson planning and I am planning on going back to work tomorrow if it's at all possible, but I also took a good nap, watched a movie, and am mostly staying in bed. I guess this means I succeeded with quest 1 today? No working late if I never go in! (and staying home was a big accomplishment for me this morning) However, as much as I want to, fitness will be on hold for a few days. No fitness until my fever is gone.

I love this! I think I'll post it on my fridge for emergencies...

Congrats on the chin up!!!

I think I need more fight in my challenge this time around so I’m back with the Assassins! I’ve had a some huge changes in my life, I accepted a full-time teaching position, and I let everything else drop. It’s time for me to set limits on my work life and follow through with those limits. Quests: Leave work at 4pm. I can bring work home, but I need to leave at 4pm. Do not go into work on the weekends. Again, I can work from home, but I need to take a break from my classroom. Build consistency in my classroom - follow problem-solving and student-created “make it right” plan for discipline. Bring fitness back by actively participating in the Assassins mini-challenge and attending weekly yoga class. Steps to success for each quest: tidy my room throughout the day; make a list of copies needed when I’m planning at home, then make those copies for the week during my Monday prep; have worksheets prepped as backup for each subject just in case (wordsearches, crosswords, math magic squares) create a list on Friday of any materials I may need for the weekend and bring those items home with me (textbooks, passwords, assessment data) create worksheets to complete with each step of the process laid out, add a “come see me at recess” spot on the whiteboard for student names so the burden of remembering is on them and not me sign-up and join a team!

Well this was not a very successful challenge for me, but I did learn some important things so it was a very helpful challenge. 1. I really, really have to find time for fitness. 2. I have a very hard time not taking my current interest or primary task and making it all-consuming. 3. I must find some balance so I don't burn out, again. 4. Friends need and deserve attention too, even if I am extremely busy. Possible future goals: simple and quick bodyweight - pull-ups, fast-feet, push-ups yoga cardio - solo dance party maybe? (I need to use my sleep quality as a guide to wether or not i'm getting enough exercise during the day.) weekly friend time (including NF friends, time limit on when I have to return phone calls by) setting limits on when I can work (and having back-up plans ready in case I run out of time and still need a lesson for some classes; prioritizing will help with this too) having a list of non-work things to do every day (very specific things that can be done in short periods of time - art, reading, socializing, dog playtime, fitness, activities with my husband, sewing, baking, cooking, cleaning, etc.)

lol, walking around carrying a weight sounds like a workout to me. I've tried growing potatoes in straw before too without much success. We switched back to dirt and had a good harvest this year.

Oh! And It's been over 1 year on NF for me!

Today I was so tired I'm not sure how I made it through the morning and I wanted to skip yoga again, but I didn't! I went and I feel so much better now. I have to remember that. I'm also slowly catching up with your threads, so that feels better too. Now I'm off to a hot bath and then bed.

It worked!!! The kids loved it and they were able to get refocused and back to work quickly after the little burst of movement. I set a timer on my computer without telling the kids, when it went off we all were surprised and I told the kids to get up quickly and we did 30 seconds of fast feet. Then I reset the timer for a random amount of time and the next time it went off they jumped and were going almost before I was out of my chair. I think we did it 3 times today. I'm going to try for at least once an hour in the future and hopefully I'll be able to get them up to a full minute. I'm so glad it went well today because I was at work without more than a 5 minute pee break for 11 hours today. We were interviewing for a para-pro (teacher's aid) to help in my classroom for an hour or so a few days a week, so I worked way late and still don't have my prep work done for tomorrow. Thankfully, we have a half-day tomorrow so the kids go home at lunch and my kids have fitness in the morning, so I get a prep in there too. Then a full afternoon of developing and writing "learning plans" for any kids who are really struggling and are below grade level. But I get Friday off! No school.

So, still not going well. My new job is just everything right now and I'm working 10-11 hours a day 6 days a week. It will slow down soon, but it's making adding in anything besides work a huge challenge. I just want to quit NF, but I so need to regain some exercise in my week. The exercises at recess aren't working - recess is only 10-15 minutes and I have parents calling requesting work for kids who are absent, kids getting in trouble in the hallway that are sent in to me, plus lessons to prep, and it's my only time to pee! So, I need a new plan. I will go to weekly yoga and I will make a plan to incorporate some stretching or push-ups or running in place or something into lessons with the kids - maybe every 30 minutes I'll have a timer go off and we'll do something for 1 minute... the kids would like that. We could make it a game - as soon as they hear the signal they jump up as fast as they can and we do our exercise for 30 seconds or 1 minute. Maybe the first kid to hear the signal can call out what exercise we do? If I can get them on it, then I can't forget. Now to find an egg-timer...

I forgot! The school day is a constant series of distractions. I did do one round of squats and push-ups this evening as soon as I realized I had forgotten. So we'll call that one baby step in the right direction. Tomorrow is crazy busy getting assignments prepared for kids who will be absent next week, I don't think parents realize how much (unpaid overtime) work it is for the teacher every time their kid misses school. I think I'll email myself tonight so when I get to school I'll see the message first thing and then I can write it on the board and hopefully I won't forget again! My baby-step goal for tomorrow is to get in two rounds. The weekend is almost here and that means I can catch up with some of you! For now, I need to bathe and grade science experiment worksheets.

I’m failing this week. I’m so focused on work I’m losing everything else. I haven’t even made it to yoga the past two weeks and I’ve never skipped yoga unless I was sick or something during the past… well over a year. I know I just set new goals this week, but I think I better simplify. This is Nerd FITNESS and my only activity is strolling through my classroom during the day (which is only about 1 mile in 9 hours according to my charity miles tracker). Last time I had a teaching job I ended up at my heaviest ever, eating junk and drinking soda daily. While I wouldn’t mind gaining the weight right now, I don’t want to do it by eating badly and not exercising. I WILL exercise every day. Rewards: for each day I exercise, I earn $1 towards classroom stuff (new curriculum, binders, books, etc.) AND $2 into a pot for a vacation. To help me succeed, I will make a plan to incorporate some fitness into my work day. For now, I will do 20 squats and 20 push-ups against my desk during each recess (there are three). If I get my teaching stuff together better, I might be able to add a very quick (10 minute) run into my short lunch break - perhaps I could get the kids running with me on the playground…

Glad you're not letting her stop you!

Friends aren't something I've ever been good at. I always tried to be friends with people who I couldn't be the whole "me" with, only tiny parts of me. I finally let them slip away. Being 40 and living way out in the country, meeting new people is challenging, and honestly, I don't click with most people. But since letting go of the not quite right friends, great new people have started coming in, people I can be myself with and who I really enjoy - people who make me smile just thinking about them. It's always a good idea to reevaluate relationships. Sometimes you find people who really are good friends, but just aren't seeing part of your life the way you are and sometimes you find it's time to let them go. My old friends have a place in my heart, they just don't have a major role in my current life, that could change again someday too.

I think that is part of what's swaying towards eating chicken too, I'm eating too much processed food to make up for not including meat in my diet. When I was home full-time, I could manage by doing lots of baking and time-intensive cooking, but that isn't feasible now that I'm working. Even when I was home, getting the calories and protein I needed without eating dairy (lactose intolerant) was a huge struggle, now it's almost impossible. I guess I keep coming up with excuses for why I need chicken back in my diet, I think it's a choice I need to make. It is the right decision, but it's a slippery slope and I feel like I'll give up on eating humanely raised chicken and just eat it at restaurants too. I'm not sure how to maintain that line, and honestly part of me doesn't want to. I mean I don't want to support cruelty to animals at all, but I'm so tired of the constant effort it requires to be ethical about food. I just don't want to have to think about food all the time. I think I'm a bit burned out with parts of my lifestyle.