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By Andrea

Lainy,
I'll tell ya why I find it stressful...it's because of the sensation of putting your life on hold! Shall I go to bed at a reasonable hour in hopes of a call, or should I gamble that I won't get one & stay up late
online or reading? But then I will be tired & cranky if I DO get called...but if I don't, I could have done such & such! Decisions, decisions. You would like to work, but maybe you're thinking, well, if I don't, then I can tackle the laundry or finish this project or go shopping instead...& you start to plan out the day without subbing & you half-hope you don't get called so you don't

have to abruptly shift gears. If they wake you up too early (I have one school I don't have to report to till 8:30am, often get called as early as 5:45am!), should you just get out of bed & start the day, or should you go back to sleep until the time you would normally get up for this school if you were booked in advance? And if you do go back to sleep, will you oversleep then because your sleep got interrupted? But if you get up, what are you going to do with yourself for that extra hour? Should you lay out an outfit & pack a lunch just in case, or wait & see if you get called? But if you do, will you have enough time to do what you need to do? What if you start a painting project (I would paint my kids if they didn't keep moving) & you get an extremely late call & now you have to clean up this mess besides get ready & it will make you even later than you should have been? What if that call is for that middle school Spanish class you hate & you turn it down, will you get another one? If you do, will it be so late that you will have to drive like a maniac to get there on time & still be late? Will you be rushing around in a panic? Will that kid of yours EVER get out of the bathroom so you can get ready? There are a GAZILLION anxieties related to this unnatural phenomenon of instability that is substitute teaching!

I try to call the sub service the night before & get my name stuck in their subconscious as next to call when they DO get something. It usually works. If not, on to Plan B for the day.

Farther up this thread someone (sorry can't recall who) mentioned a second job as a source of anxiety as she is not at home 2 evenings per week to get calls. I told my sub services that on Sunday & Monday they can call me at my 2nd job & they often do so. Try it & see if they are willing to accommodate you.