MENTAL FATIGUE OF HOMESCHOOLING THROUGH A PANDEMIC

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Forgetfulness and not knowing if it is Monday or Friday... is it a result of mental fatigue or lack of sleep or a combination of both?

Morning Routines

Every morning I set my alarm for 6:00am and most mornings I fail to get up at that time because that added hour of sleep to my tired body and mind sometimes feels more needed at the time than the extra 30min of exercise and quiet solitude of being able to order my thoughts, but chaos follow suit as I rush into the day ahead.

However in all the chaos I have come realise that it is not the physical demand of the workload – having to juggle 2 extra jobs on top of my normal day job…no I am efficient and I plan my diary well, I set out a plan for the day for my 7 year old, my 12 year old follows hers as set by her teachers and my work diary is well managed. I can cope with having to plan lessons after work and submitting the work they have done throughout the day, yes some days this is overwhelming and I am tired and have little sleep but I cope, because truthfully it is just another job, that I understand needs doing and so I put the time aside and I plan for it.

The Day's Challenge

Here is the challenge, I am in the middle of an important email and is distracted by my son who can’t find his lego toy when he is supposed to be doing phonics, so I stop typing, help him find the lego toy and get him back to the phonics video, I turn back to my pc – restart the email and realise that in listening to the phonics video that I have included his phonics sounds at the end of two of three words in the email.

I correct the mistakes and just as I am about to continue where I left off, he now needs help writing the sentence, so now I am transformed to a Year 2 teacher explaining, sentence writing to a 7 year old.

I finish my email after this and attend a work meeting doing a presentation with senior leaders and have to converse with them at a level where I am presenting facts and not explaining a how to…WOOF half way through the post man arrives with a parcel and I become lady of the house, excuse myself momentarily and in the haste of the kids rushing to the door ahead of me one falls over and bangs their head…wait now I play mum and nurse before returning to the meeting and magically transform to worker bee again.

The meeting is done and I am now a year 7 teacher explaining science to a 12 year old…Woof the dog barks again followed by my husband walking through the door wanting a kiss hello while he spills his heart about his day out in the cold and wet in the wind on a roof, so now I am wife and its 5pm and it does not end, the work day ends but the household tasks still await.

Why we are fatigued

I am sure you have a good picture in your mind now of the chaos that encompasses a day in the Williams household and I am sure in the household of many parents across the world while we navigate the uncertainties and the unknowns of not only tomorrow but the long term future. It is in all this that I have come to realise the fatigue that sets in is not a result of the physical demands we are required to carry out daily, it lies in the constant mental change to adapt to the role that is required in the moment.

It is mentally draining and it is okay to feel tired and overwhelmed, it is okay to forget and it is okay to CRY!  For sometimes tears bring with them healing, an outward perspective and a deeper understanding that, YOU ARE ONLY HUMAN!

How to cope

After reaching breaking point myself, I forced myself out on a cold, wet and windy day, alone with only my music and my dog for company and in the quiet space of my own mind I found a few things to help me cope.

·         Between each interaction – stop take a deep breath and regroup your thoughts – allow yourself the time to become who you need to be in that moment.

·         Be patient with yourself and those around you, they are as frustrated as you are by being cooped up without being allowed to see other people

·         Finally – find a moment that meant something to you in all of this, and when it becomes to much to bare – focus on that moment.

I will leave with you my mine

The other day I taught my son how to do basic subtraction of 2/3 digit numbers and afterward he hugged me tightly, rested his head on my chest and said to me, ‘Thank you mommy, without you I would never have known that.’ This makes what I am doing all worth while.

 

STAY STRONG - YOU ARE AMAZING!

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