Navigating Additional Duties
As a teacher, my primary responsibility is to teach. I enjoy spending most of my time with my students, helping them on their journey. However, teaching is not the only task I am required to do. There are some projects and other duties that I am assigned to as well.
One such project, which prompted me to write today, was kind of assigned to me by my colleagues at the start of the year. Or in any case, it wasn't a project I chose myself. Since I am new to this role, I would bring a fresh perspective and be less biased to lead the project, with the help of my colleagues. I mostly agree with this and I didn't really mind at the time. I thought it would be a good way to better get to know the course I'm teaching (and it has), and I still see it that way.
On a recent morning, I struggled to find the motivation to get up and go to work. The students have mostly left already, as it is the end of the year. My plan was to catch up on some remaining tasks for the project. However, the day started with some of messages related to the project that began to irritate me. Now that I think back on it, my frustration was likely visible to others, although only one colleague briefly mentioned something without making a big deal out of it.
Dealing with these emotions made me realize the importance of better planning and emotional management. If I had planned my day more effectively, I could have anticipated these moments and controlled my emotions better. This experience showed me the need to be more mindful of my responses. Sending messages when you feel a bit emotional can lead to regret, so itβs important to think twice before responding.
Balancing my primary responsibilities with additional duties is sometimes challenging; reflecting on them like throught this writing helps. If there is anything you take from this post, let it be this: write your thoughts down, get things in order and I'm sure you feel better afterwards!