Teachers, Not everything deserves your time.

This month’s theme is Perfection is not required, and this week we’re looking at how that shows up in your day through your time.

In Week 1, we talked about going back to things because you don’t want to be wrong.
 In Week 2, we talked about finishing something but continuing to add more to make it better.

But even if you stop doing both of those, your day is still full.

Students still need you.
 Emails still come in.
 Things still happen all day.

So the question becomes:

What actually deserves your time right now?

In this episode, we’re breaking down what it looks like when your day turns into reacting instead of deciding — and how that quietly takes your time in small moments all day.

This isn’t about doing less.
 It’s about making clearer decisions about where your time goes.

Because not everything that shows up during your day needs your time right then.

We’re not here to fix.
We’re here to notice. 

If this helped, pass it to another teacher who might need it. 

Until next time… 

give yourself the same care you give everyone else.

 ~Kim 🌿 

Transcript

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Teachers, not everything deserves your time. But during the school day, it definitely can feel like it does, right? Every question that gets answered, every email that's popping on your screen, every student who raises their hand or cries out and needs something, every small situation that pops up. It all feels like something you should handle. So what do you do? You move from one thing to the next thing without really thinking about it. You answer something, you help someone, you stop what you're doing to deal with something else. And by the end of the day, you were busy the entire time. But guess what? It still feels like there was not enough time. Welcome to Teaching Without Losing Yourself the podcast. I am Kim, and this is the After the Bells Beyond the Box series, a moment made just for teachers, even on the move. Everything we talk about here is built around one idea, guys. You can stay in teaching without losing yourself in the process. Remember, nothing here is about fixing you. We are just increasing awareness so you can make better decisions inside your day. We have been talking about our theme, which is perfection is not required. And each week we look at how that shows up in your actual day. In week one, we talked about going back to things you already did because you didn't want to be wrong. And remember that showed up by you rechecking things, rereading things, and constantly second guessing yourself. In week two, we talked about finishing something, but then continuing to add more to it just to make it better, adding those extra explanations, those extra steps, and more work to something, guys, that was already complete. This week is a bit different. Even if you stop going back to check everything, and even if you stop adding more things or more to the things that you already done, you still have a full day there. You know, that's not taking up your whole day. You still have students, you still have emails, you still have people asking you things, you still have situations popping up throughout your day. So now the issue is not, did I do this right or can I make this better? Because you're already thinking about those two things, right? Now the issue is what am I going to give up my time to right now? This is what I call a shift week. Okay? Let's talk about why this happens. This is not because you do not know what matters. You're not thinking and asking yourself what you should give up your time to right now because you don't know what matters. You do. You know what is important for your students, you know what needs to be done, you know what your priorities are. The problem is not knowing. The problem is that during the day, you're often not deciding what gets your time. The problem is that during the day, you're often not deciding what gets your time. You are responding to whatever shows up to the table. An email comes in, so you open it and you respond. A student calls your name, so you go to them. Something small happens in your room, so you stop and deal with it. Somebody asks you something, so you answer them. Not because every one of those things was urgent, not because every one of those things even needed your full attention at that point, but because it was right in front of you. And I'm telling you guys, this is my probably my highest issue right now. Whatever's in front of me sometimes, I just feel like I gotta take care of that, which just takes you off track. And when this happens all day, your day becomes one long series of reactions. You're just reacting all day. You are moving, you're working, you are doing your job, but you're not always deciding where your time is going. And that is why this day can feel so full and still feel unfinished at the end of the day. You go through your day, it's a full day. You've worked, you've moved, but it still feels like it is not complete. And normally we go back to, I don't have enough time. Let's look at a couple of examples, okay? So you're in the middle of working on something. Maybe you're planning a lesson, you know, maybe you're grading that writing assignment, 150 pages. That was my worst. Maybe you are getting materials ready. Okay. An email pops up. It's on your phone. We carry this phone with us all the time. Our emails are on our phone. That's another conversation for this week. And you read it and you respond. Not because it has to be answered immediately. I'm not saying if it's an urgent email, you obviously respond to those. But because that email showed up to the party, it was there. You answered it. Now you have stopped what you were doing. You have shifted your attention and you have given your time to something that could have waited. And that happens multiple times throughout the day. Guys, I cannot count how many times I do this. And I'm going to be super intentional about focusing on that. Well, let's say a student needed some help, and we love our baby, so we got to help our kids, right? But you're teaching, a student needs help, so you go over to help them. While you are helping them, another student needs something. And then another student, you know how that goes, he got some help. I want some help. And you move from one student to the next without really stopping to think about it. You are helping, you're doing your job, you are supporting students, but you are not stopping to decide who actually needs my help right now. Who can try this on their own for just a minute? Who can I release it to? Who can wait until I finish this part of the lesson? So every need gets the same immediate response from you. And that means every need gets your time. Okay? Let's say you're in the middle of creating a lesson plan or fun thing to do. Or you're in the middle of teaching. Yes, something small happens. Let's go with that. Something small happens. You're in the middle of teaching. And somebody blurts something out. You know our kiddos, they're gonna do that. A student is off task. Someone asks a side question. So what do you do? You stop what you're doing, you address it right away. Sometimes I'm gonna say that's necessary, right? But sometimes it was something that you could have waited on, that could have waited, or something that needed a quick response. Maybe it's a quick little side glance, quick little diversion, instead of all your attention. But it got all your attention anyway, just because it showed up at the table. Okay. So we've been talking about what this costs us because this does. Here's what's happening: you're giving your time to everything. You're giving your time to everything that shows up to the party, regardless of the amount of time that needs. And there is a cost that comes with that. And most of the time, it is exactly what you said a moment ago, I'm certain in your head, and exactly what I just said. It is, excuse me, it is your time. It's a time spent answering things the minute they show up. It's a time spent shifting your focus over and over. That is really hard, guys, to go from one thing to the next. It is a time spent stopping for things that didn't actually need your attention right then. I think last week there was a day I had a project I was working on, and I worked on it all day long because everything that showed up to the table, I had to stop, go, respond, do all the things. And then once I did all the things in return, it took me five to ten minutes to figure out where I left off. That is a lot of time. And there were some things that probably could have waited and didn't need me right away. And when everything gets your time, your time gets spread too thin. That is when the day starts to feel scattered. It's not that you weren't working the whole time. You know you are, I know you are, but it just doesn't feel like it's enough. So our shift for this week is to remember not everything needs your time right now. Before you respond to something, just pause. Stop. Even if it is just for a second, and ask yourself, does this need my time right now? Not is this important, because it probably is. Not does this matter because it probably does. We know that happens all the time. A lot of things matter, a lot of things are important, but the question is, does this need my time right now? And if the answer is no, you can leave it. Not forever. You're gonna go back to it. Just not now. This is not ignoring it, this is not avoiding it, this is deciding. So this week is all about deciding what actually deserves your time because when everything gets your time, it feels like there is never enough of it. But when you start deciding where your time goes, you gain control of your day again, and that is the part of what it looks like when I'm talking about making teaching sustainable. In order for teaching to be a sustainable career, we have to do things that give us control of our day. Because honestly, we kind of feel like everybody else is controlling it and we're moving around like puppets, running around in a circle. When your time is more focused, the day starts to feel more manageable. So, next week, guys, we're gonna close this out because even after you stop going back, because you don't want to be wrong, after you stop adding more just to make it better, and even after you start deciding what gets your time, you still have to know when to stop. And next week we'll chat about that. As always, guys, we're doing this slowly, one layer at a time together. Until next time, give yourself the same care you give everyone else.