11 Things

In my slow continuation of the Reverb10 prompts – supposedly completed during the month of December 2010, but probably continued throughout the year for me…

What are 11 things your life doesn’t need in 2011? How will you go about eliminating them? How will getting rid of these 11 things change your life? (Author: Sam Davidson)

1. More responsibilities at work.  Every day is just another mad dash to finish projects. I feel crazed all the time with little time to really evaluate what I’m doing – are my students learning? Is the remediation working? Honestly, I just can’t take the time to really examine it… there is always another meeting to get to, another set of papers to grade, more data to enter into a spread sheet, another parent to call – I’m really spread thin and it’s wearing. I need to say “No” more – even if no one else is willing to step up and do it. Perhaps if I stop saying “yes”, someone else will step up and I won’t feel guilty.
2. More pain. 2010 was not a healthy year for me – and I’m still paying for the sudden onset of middle age (!??!). Hopefully, by making healthier choices this year, some of those health issues will be resolved or at least less intrusive in life. It seems like at certain points, choices that I have made caused these problems to increase. Making different choices may decrease these problems or even make them go away completely.
3. Disorganization. Organization makes life so much better, doesn’t it? It’s not just that things are easier to get done, but my anxiety level is conversely related to amount clear floor space. Strange, but true.
4. Laundry! President’s Day Weekend, I washed six loads of laundry. Six! There has to be a way to keep it from getting out of control like that. That weekend I started by getting rid of tons of the Cuddler’s clothes. The kid could go three weeks without running out of clean outfits! What two year old needs that many pieces of clothing? And without that many clothes, the laundry level will drop at least some. I mean, the kid is always half naked anyways!
5. Laziness/Procrastination – I know that everyone has days when they just need a break, but I also know that I can take advantage of that thought a little too much. No one needs to ignore their responsibilities for extended periods of time. (see number 4)
6. Lack of Focus – What is the focus of my life? What is the focus of yours? Do you even think about it? In the midst of toddlerhood, it’s hard to remember what is important when getting everything done. Heck! I’m writing this in February! My focus needs to be more than just survival on a daily basis.
7. Loneliness – I spend my days either with toddlers or with high school students. Not exactly material for heart to hearts, if you know what I mean. I need to make an effort to make some more friends.
8. Lack of patience – I think it’s been mentioned a few times that I’m very busy. To be honest, when I get bored when I’m not busy. On the other hand, just because I’m busy and may have forgotten something or need something right away, does not mean that it’s an emergency for everyone else. And any parent who tells you they don’t need more patience is either medicated or lying.
9. Lack of Budget/Waste – In this economy, everyone needs to be more prudent with finances.
10. Illness – See number 2. I’m sick of being sick!
11. Self-recrimination – really, is there anything more useless? What a type suck!