I am sitting at Yeti’s Grind coffee shop in Eagle and it is finally Fall Break. It definitely came at the perfect time as my practice of trying to respond vs. react to my students was becoming more and more difficult. This year has been extremely busy so far, which is pretty typical for the beginning of the school year, and also pretty standard for how I usually operate: tending to take on more than I can reasonably do well. I really have not done much work toward my Iron Belles project since school started and as I think about the lack of progress, it leads me to the question that recently keeps haunting my thoughts: what have I been doing with my time?

A co-worker (who obviously knows me too well) gave me this book called, “Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less” by Greg McKeown and it has helped me remember something really important: I have a choice of how I spend my time. This is an easy thing to forget especially in a culture where there are a lot of “American dreams” and “should be’s.” It’s easy to say “I have to” versus “I choose to.” Those teachers out there probably know exactly the feeling I’m talking about, the feeling where someone asks you to do something, and you immediately say yes without even taking a second to think about it, because that’s just what you do. You’re a “team player.” But what I have realized about myself lately, is that I tend to not stop and ask the question of “why?” What goal is this thing accomplishing personally or professionally? And if it’s not helping with those things, then why the hell am I saying yes to it?

It’s time to take back my time! So this week, I am going to set aside some time to think about what is truly important to me. Then, I’m making a vow to say NO to more things so that I can actually start saying yes to the things that matter. Hold me to it friends!