Working 9 to 5

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Well, 8.30am until 3.00pm in my case, but that would have been a less effective title.

I’ve had an absolutely amazing summer, possibly the most enjoyable ever. But, as is life, all good things must come to an end, or at least a temporary end in my case. And so it was, at 7.00am a week last Friday found myself sitting in a classroom, logging into my computer and checking my class lists for the day.

It was a shock to the system, but it wasn’t as bad as I expected. It’s been two months since I did any supply or freelance work but I’m now going to be in every day for the rest of September to cover an English timetable for a teacher who can’t start until October.

I’ve been very lucky – I normally do only a few days a week of supply if it is available, but this number of days in one go will ensure financial security until December, which will give me the opportunity to then focus more on building up the blog without having to worry about bills being paid. I’m in a great department, I have my own classroom for the first time in eleven years, and because I’m just covering the classes I am not required to plan or mark any of the work.

Awesome.

I’ve had some nice lessons with nice kids that have almost made me question my decision to leave and I’ve experienced that buzz that many teachers get when a class clicks with the information or a task that they have been given. And then, there’s been one or two that have reminded me that I absolutely made the right decision. It’s amazing how the old feelings of panic and anxiety return in these instances, even with minimal pressure. I’ve had interrupted sleep, bad dreams and I’ve gone home with stress headaches on a few days… and it’s been just over a week.

I think I need to get over myself.

In the online world, I’m finding it a little difficult to create ideas recently. I suppose that with having no niche, the idea of writing about anything and everything has resulted in an overload of possibilities, so I’m going to be spending some time attempting to get a plan together. It’s unusual for me – I like to be spontaneous in what I write – but I think a bit of structure might help. I’ve been building up my social media accounts and had fun watching a whole bunch of views come in from Pinterest on my recent decluttering post, so this has spurred me on to revisit some of my older posts and create more suitable images.

I do know, however, that I’m going to host a blog party. I’ve not done one since Valentine’s Day, and they’re always a brilliant way to meet new people and be introduced to brand new blogs. I haven’t decided on the date yet, but I’ll be certain to let everybody know when I do!

Is it wrong to be thinking about Christmas already?

What about you guys? What have you been up to?

You can also find me on Twitter and Tumblr @suzie81blog, and don’t forget to check out my Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/suzie81speaks, my Pinterest page http://www.pinterest.com/suzie81speaks and my Instagram page http://www.instagram.com/suzie81speaks.

56 thoughts on “Working 9 to 5”

  1. Christmas is only three months away and the earlier one plans the more one can enjoy the festive season. Mr Midnight, Sir Winston and myself are certainly looking forward to the magical time of christmas. We find that it is a time when most humans manage to calm down a little and the magic surrounding the event at least to some extent, manages to mellow even the hardest of hearts. 🙂
    A big meow from Mr M, soft purr sounds from Sir Winston and thank you for posting from myself.

  3. I’m a bit like you at the moment – so much going on I can’t get my head around it all. And my blogging has suffered a little (well, catching up with other people’s blogs has suffered). I’ve had to start structuring my week as well 🙂
    And yes, it’s too early to think about Christmas (isn’t it?) 😀

  7. Just the other day I went shopping and the store was putting all their Christmas stuff out. One of the workers who was doing it checked my items out and got glitter all over my clothes. I was like, it’s not even Halloween or Thanksgiving yet!

    • Did you say anything to them? That’s so annoying! We don’t celebrate Thanksgiving here and Halloween isn’t as big a deal, but you often see Christmas stuff in the stores around August/September. It seems like they’re a bit late in starting this year, which is good!

  8. Hi Suzie, I just left teaching after 10 years. I was Head of English at a secondary school and loved my job but felt the hours needed outside of work became untenable. I came across your blog around a year ago and signed up; in September this year I left teaching to start a job as a research and copywriter. Your blogs gave me the confidence that there could be life after teaching. Although I do miss it, I’m doing something else that is teaching me a whole new set of skills, which can never be a bad thing, right? It’ll be really interesting to see how you get on with the daily grind, it’ll give me back a piece of the classroom, which I miss! All the best with it, look forward to hearing how you’re getting on.

    • Your comment has absolutely made my day! I’m so glad that you’ve found something that you enjoy. I’m finding supply ok – I don’t want to do it forever but I’m getting married next year so the extra cash is coming in handy, and there’s no expectations involved other than making sure the kids get the work done. Let me know how you’re getting on!

      • I’m sure a cake for a ..wedding adds a few hundred pounds to the price tag! I understand. What a year for blogging though! I know of a great photographer (she also used to be a teacher- but of music and classically trained so she’s really tuned in with catching magic at exactly the right moment). Check her out if you get the chance http://hannahhallphotography.co.uk She’s a really awesome human being too. X

  9. So glad to hear you are going well Suzie, it’s always good to hear what you’re up to. I’m looking at a redundancy from my gaol (prison) education job by the end of the year and I am taking heart in trying to look at the positives it will mean to my life. I’m not ready to retire just yet (and not old enough either) but I’ll have a year off to see what else is out there for me. It’s been stressful just waiting for the end to come but your story has been of interest and I know in a year’s time I could be looking back and thinking it’s the best things to have happened. I’ll keep you posted! Take it easy 🙂

    • Hi Debbie! Apologies for the late reply – redundancy is never a positive thing in most people’s eyes, but having a year off will work wonders for the soul! What’s the plan?

      • Thanks Suzie, I appreciate your comment. As to plans, I’m not to sure yet but my husband will be retiring from school after 39 years of teaching so we will do some travel and return to UK to see our daughter and other friends, cycling adventures and I’ll aim to improve my running technique. It’s been really hard since finding out in May that our jobs teaching inmates in gaols, will be outsourced and we are no longer required. We’ve been expected to just carry on as usual – I’m so over it and I have been quite a vocal protester. I’m not going to go down without a fight but it’s very wearing. All in all I’ll try to relax and enjoy the down time for a while 🙂 Any thoughts?

      • It’s a horrible situation to be in – you want to fight for the injustice but the process is so negative. Do you want my thoughts on what to do with your down time?

      • Yes I’d appreciate any thoughts on the situation. You nailed it perfectly so you understand what I’m going though. My head is all over the place and I’m up, I’m down, I’m angry…..it’s very hard and until I know an actual date I’ll finish I just have to keep going in as if it’s business as usual. And it’s not!!

      • It’s so tough – I knew I had an end date but I wanted to leave. However, the main thing is that it isn’t going to be an instant transition – it will take a little while for the change to sink in and there will be a bit of anger involved in the process even after you leave.

        I think you should work out a plan for when you finish, even though you don’t have an actual date yet. Something really amazing that you love and doesn’t need specifically booking. Create a plan of action – I pretty much lay on the couch and slept for a week and it was one of the best weeks of my entire life. Silly, but cathartic.

      • Thanks for that. I’ve write a few posts about what’s happening and that’s helped. It’s the lack of value, respect and appreciation for all our years that’s hard too. It’s as if we’re to blame for the need to be need to privatise when in fact we’ve worked our butts off to do our best for our innate students. Anyway I’ll take your advice and devise a plan of action. Thanks again.

      • I totally understand that. Many of my friends who have experienced a similar thing – they’ve been left feeling devalued and unappreciated. Let me know what your plan is!

  10. I’m glad to hear you are back in the classroom! Stress and all! I’m ridiculously busy this semester, teaching three university classes (but like you the extra class will help me pay off some bills). I am always thinking 3-4 months ahead and have already planned both Thanksgiving and Christmas trips with family. And yes, I lose sleep too–indeed it is kind of a sickness being detail-oriented and organized, right? Soldier on, girl!

  13. Christmas? My goodness! My husband turns 50 6 weeks before Christmas and I’ve got to organise a party. I used to do this like breathing but haven’t done much of that in the last 10 years. I’ve been losing my interest in Christmas over the last few years. I used to be so into it all and it’s not what it used to be. It’s lost much of its lustre, even with the kids to enjoy it. Looks like I need to give myself a pep talk. Do a bit of rah rah to get myself in the mood!
    Hope you have a great week.
    xx Rowena

      • This is causing me a bit of angst at the moment. When it comes to organising celebrations for these big birthdays, it’s when you come to appreciate that your life is a patchwork quilt with clumps of people affiliated with different parts of your life, but aside from you have no relationship with each other. Even though his birthday is right in the silly season, I’m thinking of having a few smaller get togethers to focus on those separate times, rather than trying to mix a whole lot of people together and potentially diluting things too much. What I do know, is that I need to organise something and start now. Even though he could forget the whole thing entirely, we need to make a fuss!
        See, you ask me a simple question and you get a philosophised response.
        Lots of love,
        Ro
        PS Have you heard of Australian music legend Jimmy Barnes? Well, he’s going to be at our local bookshop on Saturday and I’m planning to take our son, who hasn’t touched his guitar in a year, along with his guitar for a photo. We’ll see how it goes! Hopefully, some good fodder for the blog.

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