Now that I have given my university 6 years of teaching and service, I am finally on sabbatical! As is expected, I’m using the time for research, but I’m also using the time as to reset. In particular, to reset my schedule in a way that aligns better with my priorities.
Normally my semester schedule is organized around teaching and service meetings, but sabbatical is giving me a chance to establish new habits in my schedule that align better with my most important priority: taking care of myself. I cannot do good work in research, teaching, mentoring, and service if I am not healthy and well. So I’m using my sabbatical to establish a schedule that makes that my top priority.
The main push with this reset has been establishing a consistent exercise schedule. I’m starting that by figuring out what I want to do for exercise. I’ve been checking out new classes at my gym and rediscovering my love for spinning and boxing classes. I’ve been keeping my mornings clear so if I decide to go for a walk or go swim laps, I can. Next in this part of my journey will be learning about lifting weights, which I never really learned as a high school team sports player, but as every woman over 40 has been hearing on repeat, it’s important for bone density!
I’m also keeping a regular schedule with my therapist. Consistency is the goal because there are times when I feel like there’s nothing to talk about, but I need the consistency for when life, anxiety, and seasonal depression flare up at me.
Socially, I’m making an effort to have regular connections with friends through lunch friend dates, walk and talks, and phone call catch ups with the folks I’m not fortunate to live near. This part seems particularly important given how little time I now spend on campus interacting with people outside my immediate family. In fact, the one thing I’d like to do that I haven’t done much about is pursuing spaces to meet new people and do creative things. I’ve been toying with the idea of joining a choir or hitting up my local yarn store’s knitting circle, but haven’t made either of those things happen yet. It’s helpful to not add a lot of new things to my schedule all at once though, so I’m okay with taking my time to figure out what I’d like to do and where it fits into my world and my child chauffeuring responsibilities.
The goal of the reset is to find a new balance. One that centers making sure I’m well enough to fill all of my roles in life and work. One that I will carry with me into the spring when I’ll be back to the teaching and service work.
