Shtick this! Chandlerizing My Life.

 

  Once I'd made the firm decision to leave teaching, so I could dedicate myself full time to writing, I knew I also needed to make a plan both to ease myself into a life-changing routine and to make that routine a permanent fixture in my life. During the thirty years in which I was teaching, I was also trying to write because it's always been my passion and my one true calling, but teaching consumed my life. Add being a mom and all that entails into the mix, and there often truly wasn't time -- the needed time -- to write.

I've always told my students that we make time for what matters to us. I would tell them this when they would give me their myriad excuses as to why they didn't get something done or why they weren't at one-act practice or why they couldn't be counted on to help run the concessions stand, etc. So, if they couldn't make the time to do the things they were supposed to be doing, that showed, by and large, that those things didn't really matter to them because we all have a finite amount of hours in the day; yet some people manage to do a lot with those hours while others do fairly little.

Even though I would tell my students that and even though I was highly productive in my job and extremely reliable for completing projects and being where I was supposed to be, when it came to the one real thing that I wanted to make the time for, I really wasn't doing that. I would try, believe me, I would definitely try, but the demands of my teaching career simply kept interfering with the time I wanted to use for writing. By the time I'd get home after a full day of teaching followed by coaching one-act or directing a play late into the evening, there were days it was already ten o'clock or later, and I still needed to go to bed to get enough sleep to wake up and repeat the cycle.

Needless to say, my writing life languished. I did manage to write some, of course, but there was no regularity to it, and that's what I needed. That's what my writing needed. That's what it needs now, and that's what I'm finally giving it.

So, when I knew for certainty that I was going to retire from teaching, I wrote the quote pictured above onto one of three light blue journals. In those journals, I record what I accomplish for my writing career every day. The quote is to remind me that sometimes it's okay to not accomplish a lot; as long as I'm actually accomplishing something every day. That way, I do not stop.

Since I'm a goal setter, I decided to adapt what I call the "Chandler approach" from a character on my second favorite TV series, "Friends." Oddly enough, today, the day I'd planned to write this blog post, the very episode in which Ross uses this approach on Chandler was airing during the time I sit down to lunch. In it, Chandler is freaking out, as he often does, and as I often do, because he's overwhelmed by the massive change in his life that he is facing on his wedding day. All he can see is the vast scariness of the future, so his friend, Ross, manages to get him to focus on the little, easy to manage, steps leading up to the wedding.   

Chandler wants to get married. He wants it very badly, but he's overwhelmed. By doing one small thing at a time, he manages to get himself to the altar and get married. First, he takes a shower. Nothing scary there. It's a routine he's familiar with. Next, he gets himself to the wedding locale. Then, he puts on his tuxedo. These are the steps shown in the episode, but one could break them down even more minutely. Eventually, his goal is met, and he's married. He can now use this approach to help him deal with future scary events because there will be many, many more. After all, he's now a married man.

Anyway, what does this have to do with writing? Well, I have so many goals and hopes for what I want to write that it's extremely overwhelming. Where do I start? How can I possibly accomplish everything I want to do? As with any large task, sometimes we completely avoid doing it because it is just too massive to imagine ever finishing it. 

I want to write and be published and read. I've already accomplished that to a small degree with The Clearwater House and State of Georgia . . . and Other Writings as well as with my regular column, feature articles, two blogs, and other things, but now I want to make it my career, and I'm going it alone. I don't have a boss telling me what I have to do, I don't have state standards to adhere to, I don't have classrooms of kids expecting me to show up over and over with new material, I don't have parents looking over my shoulder to see if I'm doing a good job, and I don't have a place I absolutely have to be by a certain time each day.

I'm on my own. 

That's both the most thrilling thing for me and the most terrifying. The thrilled part of me is ready and raring to go every day. The terrified part needs some structure. That's why I decided to Chandlerize my life.

In the journal, I must record one thing I do every day to move my writing career forward. One thing, at the very least. Every single day. It can be writing an email to a library director, writing another chapter (or even just 100 words) of my novel-in-progress, writing my column, writing another blog post, writing down the many story ideas I always seem to get while showering, editing one of my two finished books, replying to emails regarding my writing, promoting my writing in some form, etc. 

Once I've managed to do that one thing, I usually do more -- some days, I do so much that I only stop when total exhaustion sets in. Whatever I accomplish concerning my writing life, though, goes in the journal. The journal then becomes a physical proof of how far I've come since I began, so when the demon called Doubt shows up, I can open the journal and read through what I've done so far. Within a few pages, Doubt has moved on to bother someone else, and I'm back to moving my writing career forward.

Chandlerizing is the same as saying "take baby steps" to complete something or using the "one drop at a time to fill the bucket" approach, but I like to think of it this way because I've always related to Chandler. He loves to make people laugh, and it bothers him when they don't. He and I use a lot of sarcasm.   

He worries about things he can't control. He hates his job and really wants to be doing something else (I related when I was teaching; now, I'm good). He hates having photos taken of him, and so do I. He's incredibly handsome, and, well, I'm incredibly humble. Ha! Thanks to my Chandlerizing technique, could I BE any more productive? Well, yes, I'm sure I could, but it has helped me be productive every single day, and that's what counts right now.

Maybe I'll dedicate a future book to him, but first I'll have to write that book. One day at a time. One piece at a time. One word at a time. Chandlerize!!!

Shtick This! Retired? Yes and No.

Ever since I retired from teaching a month ago to focus on full-time writing, countless people have asked me things like -- "How ya like retirement?" or "Getting bored yet?" or even "Ready to go back to teaching?" The answers to those basically go like this -- "I love it, but I left teaching to write full time, so I'm still working." and "Hell, no. I've never been bored a day in my life (except during teaching in-services -- talk about a slow, torturous death)." and "Absolutely not. No way. Never. Hell no. Ask me again in ten years, and we'll see if I feel any differently."

So, yes, I did, in fact, retire from teaching after 30 years of teaching and coaching junior high and high school students. A few people in my town don't actually know that because absolutely no mention of it was made anywhere by anyone but me. (Yes, I'm a tad pissy about that, but who cares?) I guess they were as happy to get rid of me as I was to leave teaching. Now, don't get me wrong -- I enjoyed teaching (in fact, if teaching were only about teaching, I'd probably still be doing it), but I hated all the other aspects of the job that don't involve teaching, and I was ready to leave that all behind. I don't want to parent my students, I don't want to police them, I don't want to be their therapists, and I don't want to know anything about their sex lives. I just wanted to teach them how to speak Spanish and how to appreciate language and literature. That's not enough anymore. And don't even get me started on the mind-boggling constantly changing technology that I can't even begin to keep up with. So, I left teaching to do the one thing I've always wanted to do -- write.

In the month I've been doing this, I've had people ask me what I'm doing with myself. I answer, "I'm writing." Sometimes I get a blank stare. Other times I get a "You write?" I sigh at that reaction because I've been a columnist for almost twelve years, and I have two published books, so far. Others politely ask me what I write, so I tell them. Some listen and seem interested, and some listen and then seem truly puzzled as to how I just sit down and make up stuff. Anyway, let's just say it's a transition for people in my town to stop thinking of me as a teacher and start thinking of me as a writer, and I'm sure many of them never will make that transition. That's okay, but what's not okay is this sentiment that I'm not going to have anything to do with my time now that I'm not teaching.

Believe me, I don't have enough hours in the day for all the stuff I both want to do and need to do. Aside from writing the column, I'm finishing three novels, writing feature stories for a newspaper, writing this and a second blog, attempting to learn how to market myself on social media, reaching out to libraries and bookstores in the hopes of gaining some speaking/reading opportunities along with places to sell my books, and I'm constantly churning out new story ideas that may or may not ever be written.

Additionally, I have a LOT of hobbies that I like to make time to do as often as possible. Here are a few of them:

I read. Every. Single. Day. Even if I only get in ten minutes before falling asleep at night, no day is complete for me if it didn't include reading; however, now that I'm structuring my daily life around literature, I try to read and study past great writers every morning. Currently, I'm making my way through Ralph Waldo Emerson, and then I'll move on to Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson. I learned that I'm a Transcendentalist at heart a couple years ago, and I'm trying to make up for all the years I spent unaware of the likes of Emerson and Thoreau. I also buy and own many, many books. My collection is quite large and will surely grow much larger in the coming years.

I now paint. I started doing watercolor painting a year ago, and I really enjoy it. I also make bookmarks which showcase my painting as well as my writing website (tammymarshallauthor.wordpress.com) which is written on the back of each bookmark. Currently, I have a small obsession with painting cacti as you can tell by the photos of my most recent bookmarks.

I cross stitch. I've done it for years and have many finished pieces displayed around the house. The one I'm attempting to complete now is of the Sagrada Familia cathedral in Barcelona. Sadly, I began it years ago and still haven't finished it -- the church itself, long left unfinished after the death of its architect, Antonio Gaudi, will probably be completed before I ever get mine done, but that's okay.

I do yoga every morning. During the school years, I only managed to get a quick set of stretches in each morning before heading off to work, but now I'm slowly working my way up to longer sessions and hope to consistently be doing 20-30 minutes each morning by the end of the summer.

I like to walk, preferably outside with the dog, so I'm trying to factor in a walk, even a short one, in the evenings. So far, making this a solid habit has eluded me, but I'll keep trying. I also like to take photos while I walk. I think my uncle, Paul Filsinger, is with me when I walk because I notice things now that I think only he would have seen. (He passed away last October, and you can read about him in this same blog if you didn't see it then.) 

While I may no longer be teaching Spanish, I do plan to keep myself up on it, so I do a mini-lesson each day. I'm also learning and perfecting my Italian, so I also do a mini-lesson of that language. I try to read something in one of the languages each week, too. 

Since I'm bilingual, and trying to become multilingual, I love to travel. Naturally, I can't do that on a daily basis, but factoring in the time to travel is an important part of my future plans. Right after the school year finished, I did go on a short vacation to Missouri. You can read about it in my other blog, readrideandroam.blogspot.com, if you are interested. Future trips will include return visits to Spain, Italy, and Mexico, as well as to new places abroad and here in the States.

Additionally, I love to swim, and I would really like to find a way to implement some lap swimming on a regular basis. I love riding my motorcycle, and I look forward to being able to do that on days when I'd normally be stuck in school. I also love doing puzzles, both the word kind and the kind that have 2,000-3,000 pieces. I want to get back into writing and performing stand-up comedy, I have a pile of stuff I want to add to some scrapbooks, and I sell Mary Kay to a few customers. 

I have other hobbies as well, but by now, it should be clear that there really aren't enough hours in the day for me to do even half the things I enjoy doing. It should also be clear that I was serious when I said that I'm never bored, especially if I have a book, a writing journal, a word puzzle, or just my imagination to keep me occupied during things that might otherwise bore me.

Let's not forget that I have family and friends with whom I want to spend some time. Kim and I will have been together for seven years by this time next week. He's my rock and the reason I was able to retire early from teaching. I've never experienced the kind of support he gives me, and I'm so thankful for him every day.

My kids are both grown up, but I still love spending time with them. My son will be coaching all three sports this coming school year, and I plan to attend as many of those events as possible. My daughter will be moving to Tennessee to get her Master's in paleontology to fulfill the dream she first had as a seventh grader after I took her to Ashfall Fossil Beds that summer. Of course, I will be visiting her there often. 

My parents are nearby, I have family and friends both near and far who I want to see more often, and I hope to make many new friends in the literary world as my experience and my circles grow there. 

So, yes, I've retired from teaching, and I'm loving it. No, I'm absolutely not bored. I do not plan to return to teaching or even to sub, for now. I am writing every day. Sometimes I'm writing part of a book, sometimes I'm editing, sometimes I'm writing a column, sometimes I'm writing a newspaper article, sometimes I'm writing a blog post, sometimes I'm writing stuff that's only meant for me to see, and sometimes I'm writing ideas for future things to write. I am now a writer. Retired teacher. Full-time writer and author. 100% happy.