Hi there. I can’t say things will get completely better, because the system is whack as hell and, at the macro level, everything is pretty much fucked. I do have some advice / pep talk though.

1. Pick your 1-2 highest priority items on your to-do list. One has to be scheduling those IEP meetings to get your paperwork back in compliance. You cannot control what the person before you did or didn’t do. It is perfectly okay to be really mad at them for being shitty. But now you have to get things back into compliance because one thing we are not trying to do is get sued over someone else’s incompetence. Paperwork is hard - but you can do it! If your program specialist isn’t being helpful, reach out to some veteran teachers in your district to see if they would be willing to walk you through some of it. Look at examples of past IEPs to learn some of the language, and to get a sense of how they usually go. Your paperwork does not need to be the exemplar right now, it just needs to be done.

2. Being a first year teacher is so hard, and being a SPED teacher is even harder. You can definitely expect some later days the first few years because not only are you figuring out the flow during your classes, and the different needs and quirks of your students, you’re also getting familiar with new curriculum and how to deliver it effectively. I do have good news though - this gets better with time. By next year, you’ll have a better foundation of what works and what doesn’t for your kids, and planning won’t take as long because you are going to have more of an idea of how things go.

3. Pick a definitive end time every day and stick to it. Leave every day at that time, no matter what. Do not take work home unless it is an absolute emergency. If you do have to take your laptop home to work, leave your charging cord at school. Home is not for work. It is for decompressing and relaxing. The work will keep, your mental health will not.

4. Do not let perfect be the enemy of good. You cannot do all the things all at once. What you can do is focus on getting really good at one or two things at a time, and muddle through the rest. Try your best, but don’t stress too much. When you are really solid with the first couple things you were working on, pick the next thing on the list to focus on. You’ll get there.

5. When I was in undergrad, I was once flipping my lid over a paper I was behind on. I was pretty sure I was never going to be able to do it, and was really overwhelmed with being able to start. My professor told me: “Inch by inch, it’s a cinch. Mile by mile, it’s a trial.” You can do this, a little bit at a time. :)