Teachers in Transition – Episode 202: The importance of sleep, big rocks, and what is an element?

Today on the podcast Vanessa talks about the importance of sleep. You’re not getting enough because it’s May, but everyone should still try.  Vanessa shares a story that illustrates prioritizing the important things in life using rocks.  In today’s teacher hack, Vanessa talks about revisiting tough topics because it makes everyone feel better even thought that makes no sense when you read it. And finally, we all start our journey in the book, Finding Your Element by Sir Ken Robinson. We start with an exercise that looks at what we do in our daily lives and we learn the three guiding principles. 
 

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Finding Your Element by Sir Ken Robinson 

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The transcript of this podcast can be found on the podcasts’ homepage at Buzzsprout. 

Transcript

Are you a teacher who is feeling stressed out and overwhelmed? do you worry that you're feeling symptoms of burnout - or are you sure you've already gotten there? Have you started to dream of doing something different or a new job or perhaps pursuing an entirely different career - but you don't know what else you're qualified to do? You don't know how to start a job search and you just feel stuck. If that sounds like you, I promise you are not alone. my name is Vanessa Jackson; and I am a career transition and job search coach and I specialize in helping burnt out teachers just like you deal with the overwhelmingly stressful nature of your day-to-day job and to consider what other careers might be out there waiting for you. You might ask yourself, What tools do I need to find a new career?  Are my skills valuable outside the classroom?  How and where do I even get started?  These are all questions you deserve answers to, and I can help you find them.  I’m Vanessa Jackson. Come and join me for Teachers in Transition.  

***Hi!  And Welcome back to another episode of Teachers in Transition. I am your host, Vanessa Jackson –a career transition and job search coach specializing in educators. I help you figure out how to make those steps out of the classroom and into whatever is next so that you achieve your goals. I provide tips and suggestions to help with stress and mental health, hacks to help your day, and job-hunting tips.  If you are frustrated with your current teaching position, if you are stressed, overwhelmed, and burned out you are in the right place –I am so glad you are here.  Today on the podcast we are going to talk about the importance of sleep. We learn about prioritizing the important rocks in our lives.  (Spoiler alert – rock is a metaphor).  In our teacher hack, we talk about revisiting tough topics because it makes everyone feel better even though that doesn’t make sense at this minute.  And finally, we start our journey in the book, Finding Your Element by Sir Ken Robinson. We start with an exercise that looks at what we do in our daily lives and we learn the three guiding principles.

I have been out and about and traveling here and there for this and that.  These travels have reminded me more than ever about the importance of the Four Rules. These are the rules that were stated by a character in The Flash TV series by the name of Leonard Snart.  Those Four rules are: 

1.    Make the plan 

2.    Execute the plan

3.    Expect the plan to go off the rails and 

4.    Throw away the plan

It speaks so much to the need to be flexible – flexible at work, flexible at job hunting and flexible at life.  So my big tip for mental and emotional health this week is to exude compassion. I suggest this because it is May and May is the worst month of the year for teachers or parents. And this becomes exponentially more difficult if you are a parent AND a teacher.  
 
 There was one year when my band concert was on the same night/same time VERY different location than my son’s first spring band concert.  I had a lot of feelings about things.  I couldn’t NOT go to my concert – they expect the band director to be at the band concert. My husband had been sent off by the army for a short-term trip (called TDY – temporary duty), so I “borrowed” a family for my son. We have a family of very close friends who were happy to take him, clap for him, and stand in as his family. This did not take my guilt away completely, but it was better than sending him off alone. And right when I was coming to terms with things, we get a letter from the high school that my freshman daughter was pegged as one of very few (I want to say 3?) potential awardees in her grade to go to the upperclassman award night.  Same night. Same time. Nowhere near my school.  Literally the only thing I could do was give her cab fare (uber wasn’t in the area quite yet) and hope for the best. I don’t have proud mom feelings about that either – but she got there.  She didn’t win the award, but she did learn a couple of things from it:  She learned how to creatively solve a problem because there is ALWAYS a solution out there.  We just have to find it.  She also learned that it is vitally important to always have the ability to be in control of your own destiny.  When so many kids aren’t interested in driving, she got her license as soon as her sophomore year ended.  (Someday I’ll share the story with you all about her first car). 
 
 I cannot begin to tell you how many times I threw away my plan when I was traveling this past week. And as I reflect on my day at the end of the day, it is RARELY exactly what I thought was going to happen when I plan it out and make my lists at the beginning of the day. Expecting something to have to change makes it easier to change when it is necessary to do so.  My favorite expression in these situations is to just ‘ride the wave.’  

And I was so ridiculously fortunate to be traveling to a conference in the same town where friends live.  And I have been blessed that one friend invited me to stay at her house.  I have been enjoying what I learn at the conference during the day, and spending time in the evening with friends.  And then (because of course!) my flight got cancelled and I was scrambling to deal with the changes in that plan. Nothing quite like having your 8:30 flight turn into a 10:20 flight, but get cancelled at 9:00 but then get rebooked for 6:25. I think I got 4 hours of sleep.  Anyway, the end result of all that? 
 
 I’m tired. 

So, I’m tossing in a physical health reminder this week – GET YOUR SLEEP! 
 
 Most of us need 8+ hours of sleep a night.  We can function well enough on 7, but we are trying to get by on 5-6. This is not sustainable. Lack of sleep makes us function less effectively. And when we’re less effective, we’re less efficient.  And that makes everything take longer and seem harder.  Which makes sets us up to not be able to prioritize sleep. And not having enough sleep makes everything worse!  You get grumpy, you can’t think well… and these things compound on each other like feedback in a microphone.  
 
 Check your schedule. It’s May, so it feels like everything is The Most Important Thing Ever in the History of Time.  Create a list of priorities.  Let me illustrate this with a story you’ve probably heard before.  It’s always good to hear it again: 

A professor comes into class and starts to unpack his bag.  He pulls out a jar.  Then he dumps out a lot of rocks onto the table.  
 
 Without a word, he picks out all the large rocks and puts them into the jar all the way up to the top. He looks up and asks the class “Is this jar full?” The class looks and nods in agreement.  The jar is full. 
 
 So the professor starts picking through the pebbles on the table and puts them into the jar.  He shakes the jar from time to time so the pebbles work their way down. He looks up and says “Is the jar full now?”  And the students agree that the jar is full now. It looked full before but now it’s REALLY full!
 
 The professor reaches into the bag and pulls out a little Ziploc baggie full of sand.  He pours the sand into the jar.  He taps the jar on the table so more sand gets in, and empties the Ziploc bag into the jar. 
 
 He asks the class “Is the jar full now?”  And the students say “it has to be full now.  There isn’t any space left” 
 
 The professor looks out at the class and tells them “I want you to recognize that this jar these rocks, and the sand represent your life.  The big rocks are the important things – your family, your partner, your health, your children – anything that is so important to you that if it were lost, you would be nearly destroyed.  
 
 The pebbles are the other things in life that matter – but on a smaller scale.  The pebbles represent things like your job, your house, your car. 
 
 The sand is everything else.  The small stuff. 
 
 If you put the sand or the pebbles into the jar first, there will be no room for the rocks.   The same thing goes for your life.  If you spend all your energy and time on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are truly most important. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, and fix the disposal.  Take care of the big rocks – the things that really matter. 
 
 Set your priorities. The rest is just pebbles and sand.  
 
 

I am going to add to the story that it is absolutely possible to pull out a water bottle at this point and pour water on top of it.  There’s metaphor in that too.  If your jar is that full, you’re drowning and it’s time to create space.
   
Other little ‘isms’ you’ve heard that also apply here:  On their deathbed, no one ever wishes they’d worked more.  You’ve heard story after story about people who, in working hard for the families, actually drift away from their families. 
 
 As we were getting ready to go into my daughter’s senior year, we had a conversation where she said “Mom, I really want you to be more present in my senior year.”  And something about this conversation rang in such a way that I knew it was important to pay attention. So on the one hand, I learned that I had been failing to trying to do it all. On the other, at least my kid was able to tell me what she needed.  I resolved to be present in every way that I could.  
 
 And I did. I took time away from work as needed to chaperone this trip or that thing. I even got to accompany her at her state solo & ensemble for her solo.  One of the highlights of my life.  It was one of the few districts and schools where I worked where no one gave me grief over doing that sort of thing AND I had a recently retired friend who was happy to be my sub so I could spend time with my senior.   
 
 But you know what?  I look back with fondness and great joy at what we did her senior year. I would never have looked back with fondness and joy at the daily routine of class – even though I loved teaching those students. And my students understood that I needed to step out and be Mom. They encouraged it! 
 
 So I am going to ask you to take some time and actually write down a list somewhere of the big rocks in your life. And always remember THOSE are the important things that everything else has to fit around. 
 
 And moving on to our teacher hack: 
 This hack is for you AND your students. We’re heading into those last few weeks of schools (Unless you live and work in Fairbanks, Alaska, in which case you are already out for summer.  Enjoy my friends!!).   We know the kids are done.  We know WE’RE done. And often, you aren’t quite sure what to slot into some of those days because we can’t always rely on having class all the days we THINK we’re having class.  It’s amazing how often SURPRISE things pop up – after all, it’s the end of the year!  We have to award this and acknowledge that.  But…yeah… also make sure you teach every second bell to bell.   Ugh 

The hack is to haul out something that they struggled with earlier on in the year. A lesson you’ve already done.  Most of them ought to be able to kick it’s butt now after a year of scaffolding and such.  And it’s really good for them to be able to see that they’ve grown. I stumbled on this by accident one year.  I had pulled something out for the kids to play, and it did not go well.  At all.  I took it back up because they weren’t ready.  And because the kids were interested in it, that was a bit of a blow for them.  We get to that last little bit after the spring concert but before school is actually out, and I pulled it out for them to play again.  This time they sailed through it easily.  
 
 They were really proud of themselves.  We debriefed a bit on how skills grow and how we grow and it was a good moment for the kids.  

 But it was also a good moment for me.  I taught them the things they needed to be successful that second time around. 
 
 So when you haul out a lesson that everyone struggled with in October, not only will it do your students good to see how they’ve progressed, it will do YOU good to see that you have taught things – because we always wonder if anything sunk in.   Plus, you get that bonus lesson of debrief. You get to debrief what happened and how learning works.  It might accidentally make things a little easier for the next year’s teacher!
 
 Moving on to our job hunting segment: 
 Remember on our Roadmap out of the classroom, there are five steps.  

1.    Decide

2.    Clarify

3.    Build 

4.    Refine 

5.    Attract

We’re going to hang out in the Clarify portion of the trip for a bit.   To do this, we’re going to work a little as inspired by the book Finding Your Element by Sir Ken Robinson.  I have that linked in the show notes. 

Your element is where your talents and your passions lie. For many of us – teaching has been our element.  I know it was mine.  When I walked into a classroom for the first time, it was like a puzzle piece fell into place.  And I loved teaching until it became such an abusive career.  And as much as I loved it, I am happier now.  
 
 But guess what – I’m still teaching.  In my coaching, I teach people how to go from the classroom to something else. I am still using those skills in my element.  

We are going to start by considering where we are in life now and how we feel about it.  This is exercise 2 in the books. This exercise is done best where you can write things out, but if you’re in your car or something, you can still listen and contemplate.  Write things out later. Here we go: 
 What are all the things that happen in a typical week for you?  Include work and home.  Meetings, housework, pickleball, crying in the car – make a list.  As Sir Ken say “Everyone’s life is different – what’s in yours?”
 
 Then pull out those flair pens and color code those activities into categories such as paid work, unpaid work, home care, social time, self-care.  The book emphasizes that the categories just make sense to you.  You might start with my categories and then realize that you have better ones.  Go with those! Think of this page like your rough draft. 

Then on a different piece of paper, you make a circle for each of these categories. Use a dull color.  The catch is that the circle needs to be approximately the size of the amount of time you spend on it each week.  As an example, if Shuttling kids here and there is three times the amount of time as the housework time, then make the circle for shuttling kids three times larger than the housework one.  Approximate.  Get close.  Don’t overthink it.  Also don’t feel concerned it the times don’t make sense – teachers are master multitaskers. 
 
 Now go back to those circles with three colors.  One color represents that you like it, one color represents that you don’t mind it or you’re “meh” about it, and then the last color represents that you don’t like it.  If you have trouble figuring out which colors to use, go with traffic light colors.  Red you don’t like, yellow is meh, and green is great. 
 
 Finally, on one more sheet of paper, draw one large black circle. Divide it into sections that match the percentages of how you are spending your time. You now have a pie chart that represents how you feel about how you spend your time.  How does it look?  How do you feel about it? 
 
 Is there anything you want to change? 
 Do you see some flexibility in there? 
 What can change now, and what will take longer to change? 

If I were guessing, I would suspect that there is a lot of time in your pie chart that doesn’t reflect your big rocks from our story earlier in the podcast. 
 
 As we go through our little book study in Finding Your Element, there are three principles to remember: 
 1. Your life is unique.  You are the only you out of 8 billion people.  That’s pretty cool.  Everything that came before is what makes you – well, you. 

2.  You create your own life.  Another great Sir Ken quote here “You are not given your resume with your birth certificate. You create your life and you can recreate it.”  

And finally 3.  Life is organic.  
 Life is what happens when we’re making other plans.  Was that John Lennon who said that?  Our life evolves and changes as our interests and opportunities change.  Both my parents have passed on. Dad died in 2017 and Mom died last year.  My life is completely different than it was a year ago. In fact, I re-recorded this section so many times and finally gave up because I just can’t put into words how different it is. 

 These will be our guiding principles as we explore who you are and who you want to evolve into after teaching. 
 
 Gaining clarity on who you are is a very important step in job hunting.  I’ve said it before and I’m sure I’ll say it again.  But it is a step that a LOT of people ignore.  I try to make sure that you’re thinking about these things regardless. You deserve good things. You deserve a job that feels effortless and allows you room in your life for joy.  You deserve a life that has room for your big rocks.
 
 And get some sleep! 
 
 Thank you so much for listening today – your life is busy, and I appreciate that you thought this podcast was valuable enough to have your attention.  If you like this podcast, please share it with a friend, or post a link of an episode you like on your page.  

And come join us in the Teachers In Transition Podcast Club Facebook group . We’d love to hear your unique voice and would love to interact with you.   
 
 If you are ready to talk about your options, you can reach out for a complimentary discovery call.  You can email me, call, or you can schedule it right through the website at teachers in transition dot com.  That’s teachers in transition dot com. I want to help as many teachers as I can because y’all are my favorite people and if your school won’t treat you right, then it’s time to find somewhere that will! To paraphrase a Chinese proverb: The best time to start working on your transition plan was about six months ago.  The next best time is now!  

That’s the podcast for today! If you liked this podcast, tell a friend, and don’t forget to rate and review wherever you listen to your podcasts. Tune in weekly to Teachers in Transition where we discuss Job Search strategies as well as stress management techniques.  And I want to hear from you!  Please reach out and leave me a message at Teacher in transition coaching at gmail dot com.  You can also leave a voicemail or text at 512-640-9099. 

I’ll see you here again next week and remember – YOU are amazing!