Too little time

So, I feel busy right now – the editorial is due, a copy of the journal demands my comment, the report for the agency I am working for is due soon ... and the dog wants to be fed. Life’s like that sometimes – everything runs along smoothly and then suddenly all the delays and procrastinations catch up and “bam”, there isn’t enough time left to do all the things for which there was more-than-enough time before. Ah, delays and procrastinations!

Like the work life in Child and Youth Care – at first there seems lots of time – and then there’s that period of “hanging out”, and then the report needed for court, and the kids who just need another minute or two, or the bedtime checks, or the intervention plan, or the few extra moments needed to solidify that connection. At first it seems like there is a ton of time – and then there isn’t enough.

Don’t panic! This isn’t about to turn in to a lecture on time management or burnout. Nope, all that was just a recognition of how demanding and time-consuming this work is, really, when you get beyond the surface. When you pay attention to the details.

I was talking with some people the other day and they were commenting on how easy it must be to be a Child and Youth Care Worker – low case loads, lots of time, all that stuff. Then they went on to complain about how many cases they had. But no one stopped to wonder about how time consuming work with young people and their families can actually be. The hanging out, hanging in, engaging, connecting, considering context – all of these seem not to enter in to the calculations.

But you know, don’t you? You know how you spend your time. And you know how important every minute is.

Don’t you think it is time you spoke up?

Thom

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New things on CYC-Online this month

We are thrilled to be able to offer a larger than usual issue of CYC-Online this month, partly because we have had a very good initial response to our invitation to CYC-NET members to contribute to specific aspects of practice: Training/Education, Supervision and “Tales from the Field”. We have for some time had a special slot for school-based practice, and these “departments”, coupled with our usual fare, have made for an unusually full issue #73.

Your writing is therefore particularly welcome. With the three new sections this month we have included a brief introduction, and have reprinted the initial invitations for each.

Thank you to all who have helped (and will help) to keep this going.

Brian and Thom