Busy Season

My senior year of college I had quite a few friends who were off doing an internship at one of the "Big Four" Accounting firms as part of a five-year Master's program. And I can't tell you how many times I heard the phrase "busy season". Long days and late nights and a to-do list that never ends. And I will admit that I rolled my eyes every time I heard that phrase, but then I realized I’ve got a busy season of my own. And it goes from the beginning of August until the beginning of November.

On August 1^st, I will say adios to my summer vacation. I’m used to my summer ending that first week of August because hello, volleyball season. And I am so grateful to have the opportunity to remain involved with the sport that gave me so much growing up. But every year, in the middle of juggling PLC meetings with volleyball practice with a pretty focused training plan, I make a hysterical phone call to my dad about how I just can’t do it. Complaining about how there simply aren’t enough hours in the day and how there’s absolutely no way I’m going to get it all done. And every year, believe it or not, I end up getting it all done. Sometimes my sanity is compromised, but my little pink notebook helps me keep my life in check.

Anyway, in true Kelli fashion, this year I approach this upcoming "busy season" with a list. A list of big picture goals I’ve got for myself so that I can not only remain focused, but so that I can also find enjoyment in the things that really do bring me so much joy.

Be present. I know I’ve touched on this before, but this is an area of my life that I can most definitely improve upon. There are so many distractions all around us, and more often than not I find myself giving into them. I spend so much of my time thinking about what’s coming next that I either don’t give all that I’ve got to the task at hand, or I don’t enjoy or get anything out of what it is that I’m doing. So, when grading papers, when reading a book, when having a lunchtime conversation with a student, when catching up with friends over dinner, when running a drill on the volleyball court, when engaging in a Twitter chat, when logging miles on the treadmill or at Hermann Park, I want to focus on being present in that particular moment, on that particular task. Something tells me I’ll not only be more productive, but that I’ll also be much happier.

Never be too consumed with my own stress to lend a smile or a good morning or a thank you. I’m an introvert to my core and when I’m stressed, my first instinct is to turn inward. I’m not one to ask for help or tell people how I’m really doing when asked, when sometimes a quick conversation is all I need to help shift my attitude or perspective. I’m lucky to be surrounded by some truly incredible people each and every day – my family, my friends, and the people I work with. And I’d be crazy not to tell each one of them how much they mean to me, and how much I appreciate their encouragement and support. Because let's face it, we're all busy, and we've all got a lot on our plates. 

Say yes, don’t fear failure, but also be sure and find balance. For so many years the thought of failure absolutely paralyzed me. It still scares me a little bit, but I’ve failed enough times along the way to know that there are always side roads on the path to success. I hope to never find myself choosing what’s easy and convenient, but instead saying “YES” when presented with something new and exciting. With that being said, I also don’t want to let all that’s out there overwhelm me. That goes for teaching, coaching, running, lifing (I think I just made up a word, but I did it for the parallelism) – it’s so easy to play the comparison game, to think that you don’t measure up to the teacher across the hall, to the coach on the other side of the net, to the fit and fast runner flying past you on the Rice Jogging Trail, to the girl with the punny and perfect Instagram post of her hipster Houston dinner that leaves you realizing you’ve eaten leftovers for the past week and a half. It can be super tempting to try and tackle every big, new, sexy idea that is presented to me, and that’s also a direct path to crushing feelings of stress. Instead of playing the big, showy comparison game (because as cheesy as it sounds comparison truly is the thief of joy), I am going to focus on picking a couple of things and putting my energy into doing those things well.

Escape the negativity. You know when you’re surrounded by people who are complaining about this and that, and suddenly you’re complaining about something that you didn’t even know bothered you just so you could join in on the pity party? Yeah. This happens in the teachers’ lounge, at brunch with my friends  (and for the record, brunch has to be my least favorite meal of all time), and so on and so forth. It’s well known that negativity breeds more negativity, and I really don’t have a lot to complain about. So I’m just not going to anymore. Because nine times out of ten, in the time I spent whining about something, I could probably do something productive about it.

Learn how to say NO. And not feel bad about it. This one is going to be really hard for me, but I also think it’s going to be super necessary. Because not only am I not one to ask for help, I tend to be one to try and find a way to help other people out when asked. I truly love it when people ask me for help because I like to think that people find me reliable. But more than that, I hate to think that I'm letting other people down. I'm an absolute people-pleaser, and I love giving the gift of my time and effort to try and help make someone else’s day run a little bit smoother. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to lend someone a helping hand, but doing it to the point of feeling stressed and overwhelmed is no longer doing it out of a place of joy. It turns into resentment. And this certainly won’t turn into my “Year of NO!”, but I am also going to be more deliberate about who and what I give my time to.

Making lists like this totally help me organize the crazy mess of thoughts that are all jumbled up in my mind. And obviously these are pretty open-ended goals that can apply to so many areas of life – and okay, they’re pretty geared toward teaching, coaching, and running if we’re talking about my life – but just putting fingers to keyboard is so therapeutic for me as I plan out how I am going to use my last week of freedom. I think about August 1^st with a mix of both fear and excitement. Nervous about how I’m going to make it all work; excited about a new crop of players, students, and goals to chase. It’s a given that I’m going to be tired. It’s a given that there are going to be hard days, but it’s also a given that I’m going to learn a lot.

Bring it on, year four. I’m ready for ya. Nothing worth having is easy, but that’s what makes it all a little bit more fun.