There are a lot of great things about my job as a college lecturer, but I would say my absolute favorite thing is that I get a fresh start every few months. Have a bad semester? No problem, there's a new one coming! Never fails.
The fall semester is just beginning this week and I am hoping to kick a few problems that I've had in the past. I also had a bit of a health scare (well, it was scary to me!) this past week. Everything is going to be okay but I have to keep a close eye on my health. So, I have a number of goals for this fall semester. It's always best to write this stuff down as it feels more official and it adds motivation when other people know about it. Here we go!
1. Make more GOOD food! I've gotten into the habit of cooking very healthy food and processed foods are really losing their appeal for me. This is a good thing, but it also means spending a lot more time shopping and cooking. A few recent concoctions:
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| Touch crooked - sorry! Combo of carrot juice and dad's apple cider. |
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| Quinoa, tomatoes, white beans, and steamed kale. |
Currently, since I JUST went shopping, my fridge looks like this:
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| In my defense of the crazy bottom shelf, I cannot put anything in the back 6-8" of my fridge or it will freeze and I will have wasted money on spinach and whatever else is back there! |
2. Keep up with my workouts. I joined the gym at work a couple of weeks ago and have scheduled my workouts into my day, which means walking home at the end of the day, taking a quick nap, having a quick snack, and walking back to the gym. I plan to workout at the gym at least 4 work week days a week and at least one weekend day for a total of 5-6 days a week. This will depend, of course, on what else is going on in my life but seems fairly doable. My workout shoes and weights at my house need to see the light of day more often than they have recently!
I also plan to keep a set of workout clothes in my office so that if works runs late, I can just go hit the gym instead of using the excuse that I can't go because I don't have my workout stuff. I already keep a set of shoes and my pass there since I hate carrying them to and from campus.
3. Read more often! It is not unheard of for me to start a book at the beginning of the fall semester and not finish until May because I am so busy and too tired at night to read longer than 5 minutes. I have this stack of books that I am going to get through before June!
5. Work during work time and play during play time. I seriously have a problem setting work boundaries and, as a result, have worked 7 days a week every semester for the past 2 years. Now that I'm entering my third year of this job, I am much, much more comfortable with what I teach, how my schedule runs, what I need to do for prep, and how often I need to contact my students. No more work e-mail on Sundays! No working Saturdays or Sundays unless it's midterms/finals, extreme circumstances, or working with the Circle K club on campus (my new service activity for the year!).
6. Make more time for hobbies! Since cool/cold/frigid/tundra-like weather is coming, I need to pick up my crocheting again. I started this afghan a long time ago with my grandmother and is the first serious crocheting item that I have
6. Get ready for work the night before! This means packing workout clothes if I am not coming home after work, pack my lunch and 2 snacks in my new giant thermal bag (below), ironing my clothes if I'm not going to be outside romping with my students, and packing up my work bag. I hate doing this stuff but it's necessary to do it the night before because it takes up so much time in the morning.
This does not account for the shelves in my pantry that are filled with coffee and tea. I have a problem! I've managed to wean myself down to one cup of coffee a day. I plan to start replacing coffee with tea at least three days a week. I'll work my way down from there. I don't know that I'll ever be able to enter my classroom to teach without coffee in my system but I can try!
So, there you have it! The 7 things that I need to work on this year! It's going to be a battle but I think anything I can do to make a healthier choice is worthwhile.
3 comments:
Love these goals! Very happy to see a few of those books on your list :)
I tell my students often that I only check email between 9 and 5 and never on the weekends. Cries for last minute help will go unheard, so never save your homework for the last minute! I was just telling my boyfriend that he needs to put his foot down with the students he TAs and tell them to email him only in emergencies. All other information can be found in the syllabus. It's harsh, but young kids these days don't even think to look something up before emailing.
I think it will be easy to turn off the TV once you get into those books, but I'll admit that when I lived alone, I often had it on as background noise.
I'm proud of you for setting such lofty goals! I might have to copy you on the gym membership. Otherwise I just get laaaaazy in the cold season!
Thanks Keah! I feel lazy since I skipped my workout yesterday but I hear ya'...I get so lazy in the winter! I am determined to do better this winter though. I HATE the first weeks of working out in the spring when I've taken most of the winter off!
I always say I'm not going to check e-mail at night or on the weekend but I do anyway. I need to be locked out of my account at those times. I do really need to stress to them that they need to consult the internet before e-mailing me. I mean, I spend so much time writing the thing to start with, the least they could do is refer to it every now and then!
Consult the *syllabus*, which is on the internet. :)
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