This blog post is coming to you from a teacher who has been there, and done that. Overwhelm was my middle name during my first few years of teaching, and then again when Covid hit, and once again as we all adjusted back to “normal”. Here I am finally finding my groove after I’ve been at this for a while and I want to help you skip the learning curve and see what it’s like on the other side. Now, I’m not going to tell you that my time in the classroom is always sunshine and daisies, BUT I have learned a thing or two about how to make it more manageable and a bit less stressful for me. In this blog post, I’m going to share all of my practical tips for fighting teacher overwhelm and stopping burnout before it starts. Grab your coffee and let’s dive in!
1. Set Aside Time for Yourself EVERY Day
This one is my non-negotiable tip for mental health. Especially now that I am a mama, time on my own every day is essential to refill my cup. Having even just a few minutes to myself where I am not a wife, mother, teacher, or any other role where someone needs me and I can just be is everything. I never realized how important it was until I started doing it. For me, this looks like having a hot cup of coffee in the morning and watching the sunrise or a few minutes of yoga in the morning. I also love to read a chapter of my current book before bed. It could even be as short as a couple of minutes of mindful breathing or meditation.
I suggest finding a few things you love that take different amounts of time to make sure that you can at least fit in one activity every day. Having a variety of activities that you love to do can take different amounts of time is a great idea to make sure that whatever amount of time you find in your day, you can take it for yourself. Take some time to brainstorm a list of activities-even if it is just sitting in silence by yourself-to choose from focusing on what YOU love. Make time to do one or more of those activities every day. Once I started doing this, it quickly became my favorite part of my day. Self-care is so important for our mental well-being. Mindful Schools has some helpful ideas about how to practice self-care here.
2. Set Boundaries
I am sure you have heard this statement before but I will say it for you again “Leave work at work.” There is no prize for the teacher that works the hardest. This one is hard because teachers care about their students, and the families of their students and want to do their best for the people that depend on them. But I’m also sure that you have heard that you can’t pour from an empty cup. It’s true. We all need that time to disconnect, refresh and recharge. That cannot happen if you are always ON and available at all times.
I felt the biggest shift when I deleted my work email from my phone as well as my parent communication apps. I only respond to those during my contract hours. It was hard because I felt like I would miss something important or maybe a parent needed me but then I had to change my mindset. I had to tell myself that nothing was so urgent or important that I needed to look at it outside of contract hours. If it was an emergency then the powers that be could handle it. If not, I would see it in the morning when I got to school. After a year of doing this, I can tell you that I never missed anything so important that I needed to look at it at home. It was always there when I got to work in the morning.
Once I got pregnant, I realized that I was replaceable at work but not at home and my priorities shifted drastically. When I became a mom, I realized that I was missing so much time at home from staying late, getting to school early, and signing up for all the extra meetings. That is a time in my child’s life that I can never get back. I’m not saying this to discourage you from doing all of those things. If it works for you and you love it, go for it! I just want you to understand that it is not a requirement and you don’t need to do all those things to be a good teacher and do your job well.
3. Say NO
Again, it comes with the territory of being a teacher to want to help, be a part of the team and wear other hats besides your classroom teacher hat. But here’s a secret teacher friend, no one can do it all. It’s great to take on extra responsibilities outside of the classroom if those opportunities work for you. Myself, I am on a few extra teams and organizations at my school too. It is important to remember that you do not have to say yes to those extras if they are not serving you. It if does not bring you joy, align with your values, or put you behind in other places, it might be time to think about taking some things off of your plate. Or not adding them in the first place.
I have had to tell myself that just because something is important and needs to be done, does not mean it has to be my responsibility. Teachers have too much on their plate to begging with. Even our regular day-to-day tasks are too much. Know your limits and do not be afraid to say no to something or someone who is asking you to take on more. It is OKAY to say no.
4. Practice Mindfulness
This one might be my favorite tip. When I started practicing mindfulness on my own, the change was almost immediate. Taking time out in my day to give myself time to be present in the moment brought clarity and calm. It made me more effective with everything else I was doing in the classroom. If you are on the fence about meditation and mindfulness, just give it a try. I started with 5 minutes a day, at least three times a week. Once I saw the impact it was having on my mental health and my attitude, I started doing it every day. I began practicing mindfulness in the classroom with my students too.
When practicing mindfulness, be gentle with yourself and make sure that being non-judgemental about what you are noticing is key. Just being still and noticing is a start. Give yourself time to be present at the moment, notice the feelings and sensations in the body, and notice the thoughts that enter your mind and the feelings and emotions that come with them. You can include some breathing exercises along with it if that is something you feel comfortable with it. I also love to use the breathing/mindfulness app on my Apple watch which guides you through a quick mindfulness exercise. Just one minute of mindfulness can make a huge difference in my day.
The best part about mindfulness is that you can do it anywhere, anytime. You can take 5 minutes to do some deep breathing exercises in your car in the staff parking lot before you go into the school or use an app like Calm or Headspace to practice guided meditation in the morning or before bed. There are so many options and methods so you can find what works best for you.
5. Implement Time Management Strategies
As teachers, we know there is never enough time to get all of the things off the to-do list but what we can do is be more effective with using the time that we have. I’ve been the teacher that ends up getting nothing done during my planning period because I stopped by my teacher-besties classroom to drop something off and then ended up chatting with her for the next thirty minutes. Or maybe this sounds more like you- you were on your lunch break and trying to make some copies, but the copier jammed so instead of finishing your lunch, you fixed the copy machine. Now the lunch break is over and you have to finish the rest of the day hungry and you didn’t even get the copies you needed. It’s so frustrating.
One Task at a Time
A strategy that I have found works well for me is to pick one task to do at a time and stay fully present in doing that task. I always have my notebook and post handy so when I think of something that needs to get done, I jot it down and keep moving. I set aside specific times to do grading, copies, planning, parent contacts, and all of the teacher things. Of course, there are times when I need to deviate from that schedule but sticking to it for the most part has helped me know when things will get done and stick to it. For example-I do all of my planning on Wednesdays during my planning block.
Choosing one task at a time and staying fully present in that task has helped me be so much more effective with my time. Chunking things together and doing all of the same tasks at once keeps me in the groove and I have found I do better at those tasks when I follow this strategy. Getting all of my grading done at once keeps me more consistent with the grades and I can get them done a lot faster than if I graded a set of papers, put them in the gradebook, returned them to the students, updated their grades on infinite campus, and then started on the next set of papers.
It’s Okay to Shut Your Door During Your Planning Period
Another tip-don’t be afraid to shut your door to help you stay focused. I love to have my door open and chat with all of my teacher friends but when that happens, I don’t get anything done. I have had to decide to shut my door to keep myself focused when I have things that need to get done. My staff has learned what that means too and it has helped me stay focused Then I can catch up with my teacher besties later when my to-do list is done! I also work better when things are quiet so decreasing the noise level helps boost my productivity too.
Routines and Procedures for Task Management
Implement some routines and procedures for task management. I’m sure you have routines and procedures in your classroom that help keep students on task and focused. Adults are no different. I created a simple routine for myself to follow when I get into my classroom in the morning to help me be more productive and make the most of my time. It was easy for me to walk into my classroom and be overwhelmed by all of the things I saw that needed to get done right off the bat. Instead, I created a list of tasks to do when I got into the room to decrease some of that overwhelm.
I would start by checking my email, making note of anything I needed to respond to later or take care of. Then I would get my morning meeting slide on the smartboard. After that, I would check my lesson plans for the day and make sure I had all of the materials and copies ready to go. Next, I would make copies of anything I needed for that day. After that, I was free to spend the rest of my morning prep time tackling a larger task like grading, planning, or whatever else I had planned for the day. Following that simple routine helped me overcome the overwhelm and help me realize that I did not have to get ALL THE THINGs done as long as I had the most important ones done.
Read more ideas about What Time Management Strategies for Teachers Actually Work & More here!
Reclaim Your Time and Eliminate Overwhelm
If you are ready to reclaim your precious time and eliminate the overwhelm then I am so excited for you. Remember to set time aside for yourself, set boundaries to protect your time, get comfortable with saying no, practice mindfulness and meditation, and implement some time-management strategies to help you get all of those tasks off your to-do list.
I cannot wait for you to start using these time-management strategies in your life to help you tackle all of the things. I would love to hear which tip you resonated with the most and how you are going to start using it. Please let me know at alyssa@engagingsel.com
Mindfully yours,
Alyssa