An 80/20 Teacher's Life

This year, in my effort to create a more balanced life, I am adopting the 80/20 rule.  Often, this rule is used for dieting.  The idea is this, 80% of the time you should behave and 20% of the time you can be you (eat whatever you want).  I'm adapting this in that 80% of my world is that of a teacher/ educator/ mentor and 20% is "other".  "Other" includes everything from wife, to sister, to house cleaner (it has to happen some how). 

It's funny.  Often, in life, when we start focusing on something, we start seeing it everywhere.  Since I started to develop this blog, I have read two the blogs about the 80/20 rule.  One about learning to play the guitar and one about conditioning your body to perform your first pullup.  Then I read about the 80/20 rule in the book I just finished reading Why Zebras Don't Have Ulcers by Robert M. Sapolsky (an amazing book by the way and one which will be the subject of a future blog post).

Back to using that rule to help us teachers.  How often do we find that we become so engrossed in our work that we forget where the work ends and where we begin?  The 80/20 rule helps us to force that not to happen.  The important first step is to identify what we want our 20% to look like.  What is the "other"?  What are the things that we do to fulfill us and to make us who we are as authentic, genuine people?

I'll start.  I like to work out and do yoga as regularly as possible (and I don't view them as the same thing).  I watch what I eat but I try not to diet or follow any fads.  My "diet" is to try to choose the better choice as often as possible (80% of the time?).  I like to watch movies, comedy and criminology TV shows.  I LOVE the ocean and marine organisms, especially seahorses and even have pet seahorses in a tank at home.  My three cats are like my children and I have 5 snakes; the largest is just about 12 feet long.  I love to spend time with my family and both of my parents are educators.  I guess my 20% is jam packed! 

Feel free to use the comment section to tell me about your goals in using your 20% to it's fullest!!!  In the next post, we'll talk about great ways to utilize that time and keep stress down!