#PandemicEdu: Prioritizing Your Passions

I have too much going on. Too many things that have my attention and take up my time. You’ve said that before, haven’t you? I’ve said it before, way too many times.

I love my new job, it takes up just enough of my time to keep me motivated. I love my business ventures, but feel like I don’t spend enough time on them. I have ideas scribbled in my Notability app; I want to get to them soon. Just so much.

So, how does one prioritize all the passions in their professional and private lives? I’m still trying to figure that out personally, but I know that what I NEED to do and what I WANT to do are of equal importance to me and therefore require equal attention on my part. A lot of the issue is procrastination on my part regarding some things and hyper focus on other things. I need to balance it all out.

A lot of the why and how of prioritizing is dependent on where you are in your career. I’m nearing the end of mine. I see this bright light at the end of the tunnel and its calling me. Some of my passions are things I know I want to work on after I officially leave education so I tend to think about them alot more now. Yet, the things I’m doing now are just as important and there’s an ever present “new thing on the horizon” that I get distracted by and wonder if the new thing will fit in the post career box.

I set goals in 5 year blocks. Some things take a year or less to accomplish, others take the entire block of time. In the last 5 years, I’ve been working on the following:

• Leave the classroom and work full time as an instructional coach or specialist (done this year. The pandemic got all in the way of this one)
• Learn how to code (done, sorta. Taught my students how to code during the pandemic, learned myself along the way. I still have languages to learn)
• Read 25 books in one year (done in 2021. I actually read 26. Home alot, so, yanno.)
• Start a consulting business. (done but on hiatus. The pandemic sidetracked me. The way we do education changed radically in the meantime and I’ve not had time to pivot)
• Learn conversational Spanish. (want a do over on this one please.)

So, I’m setting new goals with realistic time frames for completion are life to me. I know I’ll be setting goals while lying on my death bed on day! These are my new goals, in a particular prioritized order, for the upcoming year:

• After a random discussion about acoustic guitars I had with my son, I’m going to learn to play the guitar. ( in 4 years or less)
• I’m going to start a podcast. No topic or theme yet, but dammit, I’m going to start a podcast. (in one year or less)
• I’m going to take out the novel manuscript, read it through, fix it, and publish it. (in 2 years or less)
• I’m going to paint our bedroom. I was walking through the house the other day and it occurred to me, it’s the only room that has never been painted. We’ve lived here 26 years. How did that happen? (in one year)
• I’m going to southern Nigeria to find my family. I know they’re there, the DNA tells me they’re there. (in 5 year or less)
• After a discussion with a teacher friend, I’m going to write a children’s book about how I became the mother of a rambunctious kitten. (in 1 year or less)
• I’m going to challenge my husband and my son to a battle over who will be the illustrator of the children’s book about the kitten. (in 1 year or less)

What are your priorities? Where are your passions? Take time to think about the future as you reflect on this year and the immediate past few years. Find contentment in what you’ve accomplished this year and how will it propel you forward.

Let’s go!