365 Lessons: #39 Healthy Body, Healthy Mind
365 Lessons
(Critical Thinking About What The World Is Teaching Me Every Day)
#39 Healthy Body, Healthy Mind
[Lesson Break Down]
In order to achieve my goal of a well balanced life I need to put as much energy into keeping myself healthy as I put into keeping myself productive. In fact, the two seem to be inexorably connected.
_______________________________________________________
Like every other educator I know, I work around the clock. Also, like my colleagues in education, when I’m not working I’m usually thinking about work. How can I improve my practice? Where can I look to find the most up-to-date tools and strategies? Who can I turn to for critical feedback and collaboration? Over the past two weeks I forgot to remember that in order to be able to work I need to be able to function. I’ve been sick and getting worse for a while but I kept going as if I’ve been totally healthy. My unhealthy body finally caught up with my ever-churning mind. Today, my mind needed to focus all of its attention on healing my body. Sitting here now I’m still trying to recover (one little blog post never hurt anyone).
Ironically, as I called in for the sick day, barely able to keep my eyes open last night at about 7 o’clock, I started thinking about scheduling naps to that I could work in between. Fortunately I was unable to get out of bed until a few hours ago, which prevented me from doing anything other than rest (the only thing I really needed to do). I did wonder if there’s a better balance than I was previously aware of. I thought of a few ideas as I faded in and out of sleep all day long. Here’s my newly forged Top Ten Things To Remember So That I’m Healthy Enough To Be Productive list:
#10 – Taking much needed breaks enhances the quality of my work.
#9 – I’m simply not as good at anything when I’m exhausted.
#8 – When I feel like I’m getting sick, I probably am getting sick.
#7 – Ignoring the progressive signs of an impending illness makes it worse.
#6 – I should listen to my wife when she tells me that I’m overdoing it.
#5 – Those I serve are better served when I take care of myself.
#4 – My body will eventually shut down if I don’t give it a break every so often.
#3 – Sick days exist so that I can rest and recover…it’s alright to take them.
#2 – The world continues to turn whether or not I’m hyper-productive!
#1 – Being full-blown sick keeps me away from my work and my family.