Fab Fest - Freedom and Flexibility

✅Fitness - PT session

✅Alcohol Free

✅Freedom

✅Flexibility

I love my current lifestyle for the freedom to be flexible with my time.

As a full-time teacher, life is ruled by tight time structures of terms and timetables which become tedious and tiresome. There is a constant sense of urgency to be ready for the next lesson, the next day, the next week, the next term, the next assessment, the next event and so on. Urgency causes a heightened state of stress and is not good for you when there isn't much of a reprieve from it. On top of the general school structure are the needs and demands of the students and their parents to cater for differences in abilities, in culture, in families, in wellness. Then there are the regular timetable interruptions such as carnivals, excursions and fund-raising activities.

The curriculum can be rather restricting too but in reality it depends on the interpretation and application of that curriculum, and the pressures from the school to conform to a certain ethos. For instance, I know of schools where the culture consists of a strong fear of parents which has the effect of many teachers teach to the test through regurgitation and memorisation rather than teaching for deep and critical thinking.

When I first stopped teaching full-time I thought I would be fit and healthy in no time. Instead, I lacked the drive to exercise and put on weight due to the lack of incidental exercise that occurs with regular teaching. Now, in the main, I'm really happy with my routine. I spend too much time on my phone in the morning but I am exercising almost as soon as I roll myself out of bed.

I generally try to schedule appointments and coffee dates outside of school hours so I'm readily available for a casual day. Most in my circle of friends know that a day's pay trumps nearly all other plans. But as it is, it has been rare that I have had to cancel anything. Last year I turned down quite a few days of teaching because I was travelling and had scholarship money but I don't have the same luxury this year.

When and where I work on my research is fairly flexible. At university I have an office I share with supposedly three others but only one turns up on a regular basis. At home I have a lovely desk but more often I work sitting on the couch or even in bed. TV is a problem and the more time I spend at home to work, the cleaner my house. Domestic chores are a great form of procrastination. I am also a lot hungrier at home.

On Tuesdays I have a Personal Training session with my 19yo son. It often makes me extra tired and extra hungry so sometimes I undo the good work of the morning by bumming around and eating for the rest of the day. This particular day was one of the worst. I 'snacked' on a peanut butter sandwich, a toasted cheese sandwich and some chocolate on top of the carefully planned healthy eating. I binged on Nurse Jackie while I did some domestic tasks online, such as ordering packing boxes and arranging a visit from the oven fairy.

But you know what? My mental health is a lot better for it. To take some time to chill is impossible during a school term because even if a 'mental health day' if taken, a lot of planning needs to go into it. Then there is the guilt factor about abandoning your students and/or if an overworked colleague has to take your class instead of a paid casual teacher. When a teacher is sick sometimes it is easier to turn up and teach rather than trying to leave instructions for some hapless casual. Now I am that hapless casual and it is so incredibly nice to end a day of teaching and be finished for real. No marking, no writing up incident reports, no report comments and no parent-teacher nights. I actually don't mind most of all the extra little jobs teachers are required to do but it's the accumulation effect of them piling up and burying you that knocks you around.

The highlight of the day was that for the second week running my personal trainer has complimented me on an improvement I have made. Today was for the length of time I held a plank and last week for my chest press weight. Compliments are rare from him so I relish them when they appear. I haven't told him about how much work I've been doing at home lately so I'm hoping he will continue to notice gains I've made in strength and fitness. Still need to work on the food intake though. As they say in the #28bysamwood community, it's about progress, not perfection. An I'm definitely making progress.