This week I was battling a bum knee and a pile of deadlines and events. I took a step back and made a list of everything on my plate and every upcoming meeting and dinner and did a double take. I had seriously over scheduled myself and hobbling around on my puny knee didn’t help.

I tend to volunteer for lots of opportunities: committees, book reviews, scholarship reviews, presentations, etc. I do it because I think it is important for my voice as an educator to be heard and because of the connections I make. But, I am not so good about looking ahead and scheduling myself appropriately.

Yesterday I had the chance to visit a school in Virginia and as my host was driving me back to the train station I was talking about everything I had to do that night. Somehow saying it out loud made me shudder. So last night instead of checking off tasks on my to-do list I went to bed early. Today I awoke and reprioritized and adjusted my schedule a bit.

I am not giving up any of my commitments, but I am making a point to balance these commitments with my family and friends.

And, in the future, I am going to have to learn to say no.