5 Things I Tell Myself Going Back School

This week we are back to school, the library is going to be very busy, which is a good thing. Here are some things I try to remind myself of, I hope they bring some use or maybe lower some anxiety. I'd also be interested in some things you tell yourself  as well.

1. You Don't Need to Do Everything the First Week

I have a lot of fun things planned for the students, but my tendancy is to unleash as much as I can as soon as I can. This always backfires on me, because I become overwhelmed and exhausted. I remind myself that the students are just as overwhelmed, and to just take it easy, really. I'm going to hold off on any big activities until later in Sept / Oct and just run library lessons in a more laid back manner using book talks and recommendations, reading aloud and drop-in clubs like our map making group.

2. Not Everyone Has Had A Great Summer

I always remind myself this. I had a very fun summer, but there will be loads of staff and students who may have had horrible experiences. For me, this is a simple shift in approach, where I don't say "I hope you had a great summer," I just say things like, "It's great to see you, welcome back." I don't know, I honestly feel that sometimes just standing at the door and telling the students that you're glad to see them might make them feel better for a little while.

3. Drink a lot of Water

This seems obvious or simple, but I can't stress enough how important it is in any work setting. I don't know about your work environment, but after a few weeks off and then suddenly being on my feet for eight hours is like jumping into a wood chipper. Drink a lot of water, it might save you from getting ill or getting terrible headaches or just feeling like crap because you've been on the sofa for the past six weeks eating Doritos and playing Donkey Kong Bananza (don't judge me!).

4. Talk to People

This is something I haven't done for a long time, really. Librarians by nature are often isolated, and for the past few years I kinda enjoyed being someone that fashioned themselves the "lone wolf" or some nonsense. But last school year I made a big effort to talk to other teachers and even *gasp* go to the staff room and even more crazier, go to a staff event and it's unreal but I actually enjoyed myself. I have found it has helped a lot with my mental health just to talk nonsense with someone or to actually have deeper conversations and to actually create friendships which is not something my neurodivergent brain has been able to cope with for a long time. So my advice I guess is to just make an effort and talk to others, it's easy, especially in a school, to get locked in to your own thing and let the stress devour you but just talking to others makes a big difference. This includes students! I've always loved talking to students about books, tv shows, movies and D&D or anything, they are absolutely hilarious and it is also something you should do when they are in the library. It's also just a simple way to recommend them a good book, by learning about the things they think are cool.

5. Things Are Not Going to Go To Plan

I try to plan events, lessons and activities in the library as best I can and as far ahead as I can. However, every single time I do this, something falls apart and a lot of this planning resembles wires at the back of a Led Zeppelin concert. I am not a therapist (obviously) but I feel it's important to remind myself that things are going to be out of my control and that's okay. One thing that has helped me is to visualise it by drawing a circle and putting things in that circle that I can control. This can be things like making a display, trying a new club, promoting a new book, reaching out to someone etc. Then around that circle I draw a bigger circle and put within that the things that are out of my control. This could be receiving a smaller budget, having a work colleague become ill, all the tech failing just before a virtual author visit, and so on. It's easy to say and not easy to do, but for me, I'm going to try to make an effort to be more zen by realising that I don't have to be in control of everything, otherwise I might become very stress or even burn out.