Works Well Under Pressure

Works well under pressure. Were you that student? Are you that adult?

As I posted my homework on the new district web site yesterday afternoon, I realized that I rarely -- and that truly means almost never -- assign work for my students that has to be done overnight and returned the next day. The homework posts had a list of four assignments, each of which the students had a week to complete, including some time in class. Yet, some of them will do the work at the last minute and others will not be prepared for class at all.

As I met with each group over the week, I talked to them about how higher education and employers are looking for people who can analyze tasks, break them into components, do the necessary research/editing/formatting, and then deliver them on time. In the education biz, we call these 21st Century Skills.

I don't have any problem doing this at school. I always have at least a dozen student projects and committee assignments rolling around in my head, refining themselves until it's time to put them down on paper. I rarely miss a deadline and I'm rarely late for anything. I definitely work well under the pressure of being a public school teacher. I've been trying to apply those same skills at home.

In January, my husband and I started following the Minimum Maintenance guidelines of Rachel Anne at Home Sanctuary. For about a week, I was diligent; every day after dinner we cleaned the kitchen and then moved to another room. I kept the main floor picked up this way, and we both breathed easier about the state of our house. I followed Rachel Anne's advice to create a new centerpiece on my dining room table.

I was really looking forward to tackling the lower level, which includes the family room and utility room. I was even excited about cleaning out the drawers and sorting the silverware! Sadly, after a week of doing a good job, we moved back to only having good intentions, and my family room still needs to be decluttered.

As I sit at my computer on this beautiful winter Saturday, I am facing the window. I marvel at the majesty of my neighbor's pine tree that is so tall I cannot see the top of it through my second-story window. The January sky is robin's-egg blue with white cottony puffs of horizontal clouds. This morning I had a cozy news-filled breakfast with a friend and visited another set of friends who have just returned from New Zealand, hearing all about their amazing trip. I went to the "fancy" mall and bought my first Le Creuset French oven (more on that in another post). It's been a lovely day. I'm hoping that my husband and daughter have had an equally beautiful day of skiing in Wisconsin, but I've enjoyed a whole day to call my own.

Then I turn around. In the corner is a mess -- a waist-high stack of boxes and baskets that need to be opened and sorted through. My beautiful new counter is unusable because it's piled with papers, magazines, and mail. I had to put up the card table in the middle of the room in order to have a place to grade the 62 essays I must complete this weekend. My Minimum Maintenance plan seems to be derailed and even though I feel a great deal of pressure to get this taken care of, I can't seem to force myself to tackle it. The five minute method won't work here -- I need to devote days and days to this job. Where am I going to find the time and the motivation? My good intentions seem to have stopped at the stairs.

Everyone's got good intentions these days, even my students. They don't intend to wait until the last minute, but sometimes, life gets in the way. Just like me, they probably don't always do the best job of which they are capable, and like me, sometimes they just give up in frustration. Wearing the "works well under pressure" mantle is not always in our best interest. Literally, sometimes we just need to stop and smell the roses or watch some reality T.V.

We've got out-of-town friends coming for dinner next week; our de-Christmasing will be done by then and the house will be clean enough. I plan to use my new French oven and take photos of what I cook for the blog. I just have to stop looking at the stack in my office. Maybe I should drape a throw over it; that's what my grandma would have done. Since I work "so" well under pressure, I'll get it all done this week. I won't sweat the small stuff, and in the long run, we'll have fun with our friends. And then I'll write my post about falling in love with a blue cast-iron pan. Au revoir!