My "sabbatical" last semester has helped me set boundaries this semester and, God willing, into the future. I came to realize that my job is not my life.
And since it is not my life, it does not hold a claim on every waking hour.
When the school day ends at 3:00 pm, I don't think, "I'm glad that day is over." Because the day is not over. Instead, I think, "What am I going to do with the second half of my day?"
And it is the second half of the day that gives me the most satisfaction: connections with family and friends, keeping up with the necessities of physical and spiritual life, reading, writing, and exercising. Melissa and I have four short years before our nest is empty. These are precious weeks and months.
In January I signed a contract with the school system in which they promised to pay me for 7.5 hours of work each day, 5 days a week, and I promised to work for 7.5 hours a day, 5 days a week.
So far I have kept my end of the bargain and then some. I do the work that can reasonably be done within 7.5 hours Monday through Friday and some days a little extra when absolutely necessary. Some things don't get done.
But just as I do not squander my school hours with reading Twitter or scrolling Facebook or answering personal email, I also will not spend an extra hour or two of a weeknight on school work (at least on a regular basis). And weekends are much too short to give any hours to unpaid work time beyond what is unavoidable.
It feels like I finally got some balance.
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