Job news!
For over a year, I’ve been describing myself as a part-time relief teacher, full-time writer. That’s about to change.
The greatest joy of that period was the huge amount of creative time and brain space and the explosion of writing productivity that resulted. Going from full-time teaching to relief teaching + the occasional workshop/editing was a massive gamechanger in so many ways.
But it was also incredibly stressful to deal with so much financial precarity. I was mostly all right1, but the fact that I was never sure about when I’d have paid work or how much I’d earn in a given fortnight wasn’t great for me.
I know there are people who float along, trusting in the universe, positive that everything will all turn out all right, but I cannot do this. My brain is not a floating, trusting kind of brain. It’s a “do maths at 3am to make sure I can cover the mortgage and insurance that’s going out on Thursday, can I afford the fancy sourdough this week or should I make my own bread, hm, if this invoice comes in on time I can cover this bill but if it doesn’t I will need to dip into the emergency fund so I shouldn’t pay off the credit card just yet even if the interest is concerning” brain.
I mean, most of the time, things do turn out all right. Does the worrying make that more or less likely? WHO CAN SAY2.
What I can say is that I have a new part-time job! I am working three days a week as a Careers Development teacher, I’ve been doing it for four weeks, and honestly? I’m having a ball.
This timetable is a dream. Most part-time high school teaching positions are spread over five days, which limits the kind of dedicated writing time I work best with. This job gives me a four day weekend3, except for some travel here and there, which gives me plenty of writing time and means I can still do school visits and writing workshops. The Careers job itself is a mix of practical classroom teaching, administration and pastoral care/careers advice, with a lot of interesting variety, and a ton of learning. I’m really stoked.
But also… I will have less time to write.
Technically, I will be working fewer days than I might have as a relief teacher. But I will be working harder. Coming home and writing after relief days wasn’t usually a problem, but I suspect the same won’t be true here. I’ve opted for pessimism in goal-setting, optimism in everyday practice, and lowering my expectations. If I can do more, great! If my brain is done, it’s done.
Which is to say, I am now a part-time writer, part-time teacher, and that means I need to reassess my writing goals.
I mean, I could just ignore that and try to meet all my deadlines anyway, but I think I’ll skip the painful recovery from burnout this time and go straight to the part where I make a realistic plan in the first place.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to That Healey Girl to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.