So many teachers are choosing or are currently being faced with virtual teaching. Many teachers are doing so in the comfort of their own home. The classroom is now a teacher’s living room. The teacher’s lounge is now the kitchen. The lines between school and home were often blurred for teachers before because of bringing papers home to check, bringing lesson plans home to write and bringing the emotional baggage from the day home as well. Those lines are being blurred even more as many teachers complete all their work at home. So now, more than ever, it is essential that you figure out a way to keep home and work separate. There must be some line between the two, otherwise that line that was already blurred will disappear altogether. Here are some tips, on keeping work and home separate:
Find a designated workspace.
If you have an office or den in your house, that would be the ideal place. Only do your work in that one area. Don’t work in your bed, on the couch or at the kitchen table if you have an area that you can designate as your workplace. Your mind will then be able to shift into work mode when you are in the designated area, and still be able to be in home mode when you are no longer in that area. If you don’t have a place that you can designate as a workspace, try to pick ONE place in your home where you will work. If you have to work on the couch, pick the same place to always sit to do work and when you aren’t working, don’t sit in that place.
Set a work schedule.
Try not to deviate from that schedule. I do my work, for the most part, during the day. I reserve the evening for my time with my family. Setting my schedule has really helped me switch efficiently between work life and home life. It allows me to focus on my family and my work. I can sometimes be a workaholic, so I found that this was essential in my balance of work-home life. I needed to be able to tell myself that it was ok to step away from work and not feel guilty about it. You may be the opposite and instead, your family takes up all the time and you have a difficult time shifting away from family time to do your work. Either way, setting a schedule helps define the openness of your day when working at home.
Limit distractions.
Limit work distractions during home time and limit home distractions during work time. During work time there are several home distractions you need to prepare for, such as notifications from your personal email, social media on your phone, or family members that want your attention. During family time, you need to prepare for work email notifications or phone calls. You need to decide ahead of time how to handle these distractions when they occur.
Get ready for your day!
Get showered and dressed as if you were actually going into work. Working in your pjs can further blur the line between home and work life. If you wake up each morning and get ready as if you were going into your classroom, your brain gets into work mode. If you stay in your pjs, you may struggle to get focused while working and then your association of getting into your pjs to relax may no longer occur. I don’t leave my bedroom in the morning until I’ve made my bed, showered, and dressed for my day. However, there are days where I will skip my make-up routine!
Decompress.
Set aside a short amount of time to decompress at the end of your work day. Usually, when you leave school for the day, you have a commute home that allows you to unwind. You need the same thing at the end of your day when working at home. I suggest a few minutes of mediation or silence, listening to some music, or maybe a few minutes to call a fellow teacher and chat like you would outside your classrooms at the end of a school day. This will allow your brain to decompress from the work day and shift into your home life time.
If you follow these tips, you should see clearer division between your work day and your home and family time. Do you have additional tips that have helped while working at home? If so, comment below!
