It was Friday night. I could either head out for date night with my husband, get a head-start on that new series I wanted to watch, or curl up in my bed for the night at 5pm. Every Friday night, I was choosing to curl up in my bed and go to sleep. I was just too exhausted from the never-ending demands of teaching to do anything else.
One of the most difficult things that teachers deal with is burn-out. We often give absolutely everything we have to being a teacher. We give 100% and then some. But is that really the best? Is there a way to have a work-life balance and still be the absolute best teacher you can be? The answer is yes, and the answer always needs to be yes. If you become burned out, you can’t be a great teacher. You must take care of yourself and your own family to be the best for your students.
Leave work at school
First, leave your school bag at school. Yes, that’s where it belongs. I’m not sure where or when it became standard that teachers were supposed to always bring work home with them. I know that there are papers to check, and lessons plans to write. Can you stay at school an hour longer to get those things done? You’ll probably get it done a lot quicker at school than at home anyway. Don’t bring work home with you.
I used to bring my school bag home with me every single day. And every single day I felt guilty if I didn’t open it, but instead tended to my little ones and their needs. That guilt was unnecessary. The time I had with my young children was precious and should never have been associated with a feeling of guilt because I didn’t do work during my time at home. I eventually realized what was happening and stopped bringing my school bag of papers home with me. Instead, I did my absolute best to use my time wisely when I was at work. When I did bring my bag home with me, it was very seldom, and only when absolutely necessary.
I know many of you are probably thinking right now, I can’t leave my work at school. I have way too much to get done! If there is something required to be completed by a certain time and admin is giving that deadline, bring it home and get it done quickly. But if that’s not the case, it might be time to start reevaluating what you are doing and how you are doing it.
Be picky about what you grade
I started realizing that I didn’t have to completely check every single assignment. Letting my students grade some their work or spot checking a few problems instead of the whole page saved me tons of time. Also, I started really considering the assignments that I was giving to my students and if those assignments were necessary or if they could be shortened or done in a different way that wouldn’t require me to check them.
For example, for math homework, I provided parents with an answer key for the homework. It even showed step by step how to complete each problem. Parents were extremely thankful for this because it allowed them to help their children with the homework. I know that many are thinking about this leading to cheating, and could it? Absolutely. But listen, the kids that weren’t going to do the homework anyway are usually the ones that would copy the work, but at least they were copying the work down, which led to some of them grasping more than if they didn’t complete the homework at all. Plus, as a teacher, you know spent the time working on it and now have an understanding of the material and those that didn’t.
Be present
While the school bag may stay at school, sometimes it’s hard to leave work thoughts at work. This was a huge struggle for me. I used to be involved with my family, but my mind kept wandering back to thoughts that had to do with work. I would spend home time thinking about school and school time thinking about home. It was this vicious cycle that didn’t give me the opportunity to enjoy either. I had to learn the art of being present. This is not something that happens immediately. I couldn’t just flip a switch and it magically happened. I had to work at it.
One thing that helped me be more present as home was using my commute to decompress. I processed my day on my commute. Once I had the chance to do that, to think about how the day went, how I handled things, what things worked well and what didn’t, it helped me to push those work thoughts out of my head when I got home. I turned the radio off to do this so that I could be present in those thoughts. Doing so allowed me to be present for those who deserved my undivided attention when I got home-my little ones and my husband.
Another way to leave work thoughts at work is not to check work email while at home. Or if you absolutely must, set aside a specific time to do so that doesn’t conflict with family time. If you have notifications on your phone alerting you to work emails, turn them off. This small adjustment can help tremendously to avoid teacher burn-out.
Combat teacher exhaustion ahead of time
There is no other exhaustion like teacher exhaustion. And as the year goes on, that teacher exhaustion typically gets worse. And as teacher exhaustion gets worse, so does a teacher’s patience and level of teacher burn-out. There’s not a ton that can be done to combat teacher exhaustion, because by the end of the school year it’s almost inevitable, but I have found a few fixes to prevent teacher burn-out.
The first is to get sleep when you can, obvious right? If you are exhausted, go to bed early, sleep in a little, take a mental health day when you need to. Yes, taking a mental health day is absolutely ok to do, and absolutely necessary BEFORE you are at your breaking point. Don’t wait until you are already burnt-out to take it, because then that one day won’t be enough.
I used meditation at the end of my lunch time to make a huge difference in the second half of my work day. The last five minutes of lunch I sat in my empty classroom and let all thoughts leave my head, I was present in the moment and I meditated. It was the best habit I started while teaching. It gave me a rejuvenation to make it through the rest of the day. Try it, you’ll be amazed at how much it helps! 
What are other tips that have helped you avoid teacher burn-out? Leave the tip below and help another teacher!
