Last week I started teaching again and instantly I regretted not having done more with my 12 months leave. Not because I didn't enjoy my classes, I did. I just became hyper-aware of how busy I'm going to be in the coming weeks and how little else I'll be able to get done. It's amazing how easy it was in my time off in 2011 to forget what the time demands of a teaching load are like.
In order to try to alleviate my guilt, I thought I'd try to focus on what I did get done and what I might still be able to do. There's no doubt I achieved some things in 2011 but I'd like to still spend time on things other than school this year as well. So, how do I manage to fit in time for writing, gardening, cooking etc when I feel exhausted at the end of the school day? Any and all suggestions are gratefully accepted.
I think to begin with I'm going to look at breaking things down into smaller tasks - let's face it, I don't have half a day to puddle in the garden anymore or a whole day on the balcony reading and rewriting a short story. But even before I think about how to fit more writing (and other things) in, I'm going to try to find places to submit the work I've already written.
I'll keep you all posted...
