Endless Empty Days Ahead?

NuttySupplier · #1 (**permalink**) 02-10-2006, 09:30 AM

There should be some sort of support for people who are sat waiting for work. Mentally, it's not a great state to be in. Hopefully those of you reading this will find some support from here, but there's still many people out there who haven't got this.

Feelings of guilt, anger, frustration and boredom can grow from the freedom supply work gives you. Even if you're doing supply by choice.

I know of people who are dreading retirement. I for one used to. Not that I like wor
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, but I wasn't comfortable with my own company at the time. Being on supply is a bit like retirement. Only worse. You've seemingly endless empty days ahead of you, yet you can't make plans to fill them! Even wal
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the
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s means that I'm away from the phone. Call divert helps some, but if a school calls and I'm at the top of Coniston Old Man, or window shopping in the Trafford Centre, it doesn't help. We're prisoners to the telephone!

I find the Calendar on Microsoft Outlook invaluable on days off. I'm a geek, and love ma
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lists. I have to write out a new one though if I've something to cross off, or else it doesn't look clean and tidy enough (I wish I could carry this attribute into my housework regime!) I've got the calendar set to show 15 minute intervals, and I write an activity in each one. Some things go over two blocks, but unless it's travelling, this is a rare occurence. (I sound like Hugh in About a Boy!) As I've got the attention span of a gnat, if I've got 5 x lots of housework to do, then there's only one every hour and a half, rather than a full block of housework. Not only do I break it down into hoovering/tidying/washing, but I break it down further to stripping the bed, loading the machine and turning it on, then drying the linen = 3 lots of 15 minutes. It obviously doesn't take that long to do, but there's more sense of achievement when I cross it off the list.

I can then delete them when I've done, or label them as done (they then show up in a different
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). Not only does this help me to actually tear myself away from this forum, the border collie forum, and any other website that may
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ch my eye, but it helps my partner to see what I've done all day too. He never asks, ever, so it's more for my benefit really... takes away some of the guilt when he comes home having done a full day.

It also helps me to find meaningful things to do with my time. I build into it mostly work on my pub food website, but I also make sure I build in 2 x walks for the
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s, housework, getting a healthy meal prepared rather than waiting til the last minute and having crap in the micro
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, some communi
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ion with a far away friend and time to deal with any post. I know if we had a tele, I'd be stuck in front of it all day, and so I'm glad we don't. I don't know how I'd fair without our business website work to do, and the renovations though!

I do find though, that if I find one thing to do, I discover another 2 things that need doing. If I look for nothing to do, nothing finds me.

pebble · #2 (**permalink**) 02-10-2006, 11:39 AM

Hi Nutty - I do know what you mean!

I'm now recovering from a minor op at the same time as
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ing a PT senco post... Will I be well enough? Will it mess up supply? Do I want to be tied down to regular days? Does my daughter want to be tied down to regular days???

At least at the moment I feel justified in lounging around and ignoring the phone! Although was feeling quite bored before last week - only had one morning phone call this term!

Might well try the calendar thing - I'm a list person too - you get a sense of achievement tic
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things off (But I end up doing other things then writing them on the list so I can tick them off!
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)

NuttySupplier · #3 (**permalink**) 02-10-2006, 11:47 AM

Glad it's not just me who will write down done jobs just so I can tick off!!

Do you think we're on the Spectrum?!

stonie · #4 (**permalink**) 15-01-2009, 07:18 PM

Hi Nutty, I'm new here and in the same situation as you. My supply work seems to be drying up as more and more schools use "cover supervisors" because they are the cheaper option.

NuttySupplier · #5 (**permalink**) 15-01-2009, 07:57 PM

Hi stonie, welcome to the forum... Are you secondary school? In primary it's TAs/STAs/HLTAs who cover the work... they're paid to be there anyway (supposedly wor
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with a small booster group or 1:1 with a statemented child) and get asked to cover the classes... when they do, that group/child gets left and they have to work without support! Ludicrous!

audrey · #6 (**permalink**) 15-01-2009, 09:01 PM

Gosh Nutty I've just been reading this thread and I am relating to so much of what you have described, only recently though (in fact the past few weeks). I am avoiding jobs that need doing, the TV is on for most of the day and I am browsing websites on my laptop
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I do have lots to get on with and think I need to give my self a kick up the wotsit as I feel as though I'm
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at the moment.

Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh may try organising myself better, just because I am experiencing a form of early retirement and listening out for the phone doesn't mean I can't prioritise anymore.

NuttySupplier · #7 (**permalink**) 15-01-2009, 10:14 PM

I know, I read it earlier too. It's a while since I wrote it and I've had a full-time contract in the meantime, but still applies!

stonie · #8 (**permalink**) 16-01-2009, 09:42 AM

Hi NuttySupplier (love the name by the way!) I'm in Primary edu
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ion since you asked, but have worked in both Secondary and Middle too. I hear you on the HLTA, T.A. front - one school I know uses T.A's to cover half and hour at the end of each day so that staff can have their PPA (that's half and hour each day - what use is that to stressed out teachers?)
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NuttySupplier · #9 (**permalink**) 16-01-2009, 06:53 PM

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The last half hour is the good one, where you have all the fun and no mar
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!!!

jennyfleur · #10 (**permalink**) 06-02-2009, 08:01 AM

I have just picked this up as well. I tend to go through phases. Sometimes I'm really good at doing stuff with my 'spare time', waiting for the phone to ring, and then when it finally does it's almost an inconvenience! Other times I spend WAY too much time on t'internet and doing very little (usually if my routine has been disrupted by, for instance, going away and loo
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after poorly in laws - not that it can be helped) and it takes me ages to get back to 'normal' again.

I find, like Nutty, that little and often is the way to go with housework - load dishwasher, put in washing, empty bins etc. And I totally feel guilty if OH has been out at work all day, even though he is very understanding!! But the guilt is always there to some extent.

My biggest problem is that I don't want to feel like housework is all I do. SO I try to get up when OH does (although when I'm in lazy mode I am very lazy and sleep for ages) and sit down at my desk, so at least it feels as though I have a PT office job! I fit the housework and fun stuff in around my writing when I'm in the 'groove'. But often it all collapses.

Last week I was ill - very sore throat again and cough - and this week has been a complete washout as regards work. Well, apart from the cock-up yesterday. The plus side is that I feel like I am doing something productive during the day again - lets see how long THAT lasts!

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