When a Job Needs Doing!

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

I have been stressed, as of late, about a big task that needed tackling.  Every 7 years teachers and school counselors have to apply to become relicensed in the state of VT.  Yup, that's right, you don't just need a license to drive...you need a license to do lots of stuff, and one of them is to teach/work in a school.  In order to apply for your teaching license every 7 years, you have to show that you have participated in at least 135 hours of learning or have earned 9 credits from college courses.   

You do this by making sure you keep your paperwork and certificates of attendance for all the classes and workshops you attend, and then you fill out some forms online explaining what you learned and how it's going to help you be a better educator.  Once you've done all that, all your forms have to get approved by a group of teachers, and then you have to fill out more forms and send the application for your license to the state of Vermont.  

If you stay on top of your paperwork it's not a super hard process, but it does take some time, and if you leave it to the last second, you could be in trouble, because the deadlines are very firm and you need to have that license if you want to keep your job!    😨

Over the last 7 years, I have been good about collecting and keeping track of all my documentation paperwork, but not good about recording it in the online system.  I have been panicking the last few weeks (okay, months) because my license expires in June but the project of applying for a new one always gets pushed off the plate by something more important.  Time spent with students is more important.  The day to day work of being a school counselor is more important, and the work I do at home as a mom and a spouse is more important.  

But it's coming down to the wire!  I need to get my documentation submitted this fall!  It's no longer a project I can let fall off the plate.  Last night I finally sat down at home and carved out some time to focus on this job.  And man, did it feel good!!  I went to bed at the end of the night much less stressed simply because I started.  

I bet you can all think of a time when you had a big project to complete, and because the task seemed so daunting, you put it off - and put it off some more.  I want to remind you that just getting started can reduce so much stress.  Getting started doesn't have to mean finishing it all at once, but it does mean creating a task or a to-do list.  It means dipping your toe in and realizing that you are capable of doing the work and that it's really not as hard as you might have imagined.  It's creating a list of questions you have and thinking about who can help you answer those questions.  It's about remembering that avoiding it doesn't make it smaller, it only makes it seem like a bigger hill to climb.  

See how the procrastination cycle can really get us feeling helpless and stressed?  I know that you are not into the "big projects" part of the school year yet, but when you do have something you are facing, and it could be a project at school or at home, remember me and my seven years of procrastination.  Just think, "don't be Mrs. Hempey!"  Tackle that project!       

It's a great day to get started...

Be Well,

Mrs. Hempey