A Good Kind of Tired

We all know that “teacher tired” is a different kind of tired, especially at the beginning of the year or on a Friday. Pure exhaustion! There is another kind of tiredness, it’s the exhausted feeling that you feel after an educational conference. This is a good kind of tiredness that means you have used all of your senses to fully engage in all that comes with attending a conference. 

This is how I felt after attending the FETC conference in New Orleans last week.  It’s the feeling that your brain has been working hard to process new ideas. It’s the feeling that your heart is full from connections with your PLN. It’s the feeling that your body needs to rest after walking to lots of great sessions and your arms need to relax after plenty of waves, handshakes, and hugs. It is when you realize that your ears need some quiet to process the content and conversations that filled your days and nights.  

Attending a conference can overload the senses, especially after a period of time when we have functioned in isolation (with social distancing and all that came with living through years of a pandemic.) This sensory overload can tire you out while at the same time rejuvenate you and propel you forward into new learning.

Some say that you just need a little R&R; rest and relaxation. While those are good, after a conference, I say that you need 3 Rs: recuperate and reflect then renew. 

Recuperate

After a conference, you may need to take a few days to recuperate. Long days of presenting or attending sessions and late nights enjoying a new city with friends, taking advantage of networking events, can also mean a little less sleep than normal. Recuperating might mean taking a relaxing bubble bath, loading up on Vitamin C, or taking an afternoon nap.

It’s also time to wind down from the hectic pace of conference life and assimilate back into life as parents and spouses, teachers, and leaders. Transitioning back to these other roles can be challenging. Shifting from conference-mode to mom-mode is always tough for me! As you do, it will be time to process all of the information that you have taken in during conference time and begin to consider what to do with it all.

Reflect

Let’s face it, if you start each day with a keynote and attend a full schedule of sessions, things can get overwhelming. That is a lot of information to process! Taking time to reflect can mean reminiscing as you scroll through your photos and post to social media. Reflecting might also mean reviewing those all-important nuggets of learning and figuring out how you will incorporate those into your work moving forward.

During the conference, I was invigorated by the ideas that were shared in the conference sessions by rockstar educators. Reading through my notes, revisiting slides, and conference resources, I reflected on new ideas and a validation of existing beliefs. I considered things I might try and decided on what ideas to let go.

I was engaged by the expanse of vendors who shared the latest and greatest of all things educational technology. I returned home more excited to share the cool features of Canva, Novel Effect, and Book Creator with the school districts that I serve. The incredible social events hosted by companies like Flip, Wakelet, Zoom, and Logitech made the conference experience even better. I was elated by the connections that I made with educators, librarians, tech coaches, and school leaders. As I reflect on the conversations, I am filled with appreciation for the new friends I’ve made and the ones I have had for years. Spending quality time with those who make you better is critical to personal and professional growth.

One takeaway from my personal reflection was to return to blogging--thus this post! For me, writing has always been a vehicle for reflection. It allows me to process through my thinking and share my ideas with others. I hope to write more in the coming months and continue this tool for reflection.

Renew

Sometimes we feel a sense of renewal in the new year or after a special milestone. Renewal can feel motivating. It can come in the form of an energy surge. After a conference, I usually feel a bit of both.

After the conference I felt a sense of renewal in a few ways. My motivation to learn and grow was renewed through the amazing people that I met and the new things that I learned. For a period of time, I lost my interest in socializing. Once I was able to reconnect with old friends, my interest in people was renewed. 

In my role as an educational consultant and instructional coach, I visit schools across the country, but no longer have a “home district”. Sometimes my sense of belonging is skewed by my lack of connection with a district to call my own. However, at the conference, I was reconnected with my tribe and rediscovered the sense of belonging that makes me feel joyful, supported, and inspired.

For now, I am going to live in this fulfilling, yet tired feeling and wait for the next big conference!