Ten Strategies to Avoid Teacher Burnout
Learning Objective: Teachers will be able to (TWBAT) use ten simple strategies to avoid teacher burnout.
It’s starting to get darker and colder, and at around 5pm after a long work day, your couch is starting to look comfier and cozier than ever. Attention all teachers: the October blues has officially arrived! I get it, all you want to do when school ends is get in your jammies, grab a warm drink or a hearty bowl of soup, and watch movies all night. But wait, Thanksgiving break isn’t quite here yet. We still have at least a month to go! This week, I want to share with you ten tips to burn bright, not burn out, during this dark and dragged out season.
1. Stay Positive
It’s simple, surround yourself with people and things that emotionally energize, not drain you. Decorate your desk with pictures of people you love, notes from appreciative students, fresh flowers, and all the positive affirmations you can get your hands on.
2. Just Say “No”
In order to avoid burnout you must know your limits. Choose the things you actually are passionate about and can give your 100%. Walk away from the rest or you will spread yourself too thin.
3. Get Uninterrupted Me-Time
Whether it is just going out for a mini-walk during your prep period, putting a sign on your bathroom door during your evening bath soak, or simply sipping your coffee in the car after finding your parking spot, take a moment just for you. Having at least one peaceful moment a day can really help you gain clarity and maintain it throughout the day.
4. Catch Some Zzz’s
Without enough sleep your day cannot be as productive. Charge through the day and hit the sack early. When you wake up you will be more cheery and able to tackle more than you ever could with only three hours of sleep.
5. Snack It Up!
During lectures in college, I could not stay awake for the life of me without having a full supply of snacks in my bag. As teacher, I don’t have the falling asleep problem, but staying energized is still something I have to intentionally prepare for. Keeping my fridge loaded with pre-bagged snacks is key for my success. Some of my favorite snacks that energize me instead of making me feel lethargic are: bell peppers with some sort of dip, cucumbers and hummus, and sliced apples with string cheese.
6. Use Your Sick Days
Whether you are actually sick, or you simply need a mental health day, take a day off every once in awhile. Many teachers feel bad about leaving their classes with a sub, especially if it wasn’t planned ahead, but here’s the truth: Coming into school sick doesn’t earn you brownie points, but good teaching does. Stay home when you don’t feel well so you can return to your students quicker and teach more effectively upon your return.
7. Stop, Collaborate, & Listen
Do you find yourself remaking worksheets over and over again? Here’s the deal: It’s not going to be perfect the first time, so ask your team about what was done in the past. Work with what they give you or find something else online, revamp it, and stop when it is good enough. If you try to do it all yourself, burnout will hit fast. Remember, there is no “I” in “TEAM.”
8. Have Control of Your Work Hours
Here is a truth that took me a long while to learn: As a teacher, there is ALWAYS something to do. Now, I’m not saying this to discourage you; I’m saying this so that when it is 1:00am and you are just finishing the “last thing” for the fourth time, you will remember what I’m saying now. You can take the fast-track route to burnout and always be in work-mode, or you can remember that you are human and you can, and will, give your best when you need to. Gold Star Tip: Promise yourself X amount of days you do not take work home. Plan your work hours to open up time to enjoy your non-teacher life.
9. Stay Active
Having an evaluator in your classroom every so often can certainly increase your heart rate threefold, but this is not the type of heart rate increasing activity I am talking about. To increase your heart-rate in a healthy way, try parking in no-where land, or taking a fitness class. Gold Star Tip: Use fitnessblender.com, a free workout website that provides full customizable workout videos. You can adjust the search settings so that it fits your time frame, your body focus, and the equipment you have available. Play some dubstep in the background to keep you pumped, or pick a soothing meditation song with your stretches. Doing something active in the evening helps me fall asleep sooner and stay asleep. That’s a win in my book.
10. Take Time To Enjoy Your Job
Remember, you can do all these things to bust stress outside of the classroom, but if your life in the classroom is weighing you down too much, you will burnout. During one of my most challenging years of teaching, I asked one of my colleagues if she could observe me and give me feedback on what was going wrong. After my lesson she told me one thing that completely changed my teaching--”Remember to love your kids. Your kids need to know you love them.” I was stunned. She was right. I was so caught up in getting the curriculum through, I was acting like an instructor, not a teacher. Once I changed my attitude, everything changed. My most difficult class, became my most rewarding.
I hope this blog post helps you find strategies to manage your stress and stay in the teaching profession. So often teachers burnout from simply not setting clear boundaries and taking on too much. Teachers, we work hard to serve others, but can only do this if we are fully nourished ourselves. Before you try to fill someone else’s bucket, make sure you get your fill.
“Find what nourishes you and get your fill. You can’t expect a great output when your input is low.”
