I'm sick of this ...

This title isn't clickbait. I've been sick since mid-July. Covid turned into a monster sinus infection that lingered for weeks, took me to urgent care and multiple doctors' and specialists' visits, and turned into what appears to be an ear that will be plugged until the New Heaven and New Earth arrive.

The pressure, congestion, and fatigue have just about done me in. And while the first few weeks weren't terrible—true, I felt awful, but it was high summer so I had far less on my docket than usual—once mid-August hit I had to start running at high velocity with the new school year. On top of the usual firehose, I have a much larger team to manage this year and quite a few new colleagues who are looking to me for guidance.

So needless to say, it's been rough. I know many are in much worse straits, and my sympathy and prayers are with you. But in my own little corner of the world, I've been pretty darn miserable. I've been trying to keep my spirits up by thinking that this too will pass and I can get to a more normal life soon—right? Right?!?

I've developed a fresh appreciation for my favorite topic: overwhelm. Though I'm not sure it's the field test I wanted, I'm smack in the middle of taking my own advice. My best friend has been my GPS system. You've heard me talk about this before: Gather, Prioritize, Simplify.

And these past few weeks when I work on the "simplify" stage, I've been asking myself, "what will make me happiest to get off my plate right now?" Not necessarily the easiest or the hardest item, but what will give me the biggest sense of relief?

Sometimes that's been doing the dishes before anything else. Sometimes that's been weeding in the backyard at a very slow pace. Sometimes that's been finishing a writing project and getting it off my desk (I've got a new guest blog, "Ignite Deep Learning with Creative Writing in the Classroom," coming out on September 17th on the Medieval Studies Research Blog of the Medieval Institute of the University of Notre Dame!) And sometimes it's been say "f*** it, I'm going to the movies."

I hope that if you, too, are drowning at the start of the school year, you can give yourself some grace and pinpoint your own "what will give me the biggest relief?" Giving yourself relief is critical when you're overwhelmed. Trust me, I'm right there with you.

Wishing us all peace and relaxation ... wish I were here on this beach!

Image by SEIMORI from Pixabay