Tick-tock, if only I could stop the clock! We all know that there are never enough hours in the day! I’m yet to meet a teacher who goes home with no school work left to do! But that’s ok right? I mean we get almost 2 months off in the summer! Wrong! That’s how we get burned out
teachers!
An independent study published by Alberta Education (2015), found that 91% of teachers were dissatisfied with their workload and only 26% of teachers feel satisfied with their work-life balance! The data is astonishing! It’s no wonder that the teaching profession is one of the most stressful jobs!
HOW TO MAINTAIN A WORK-LIFE BALANCE
With over 10 years teaching experience, maintaining a work-life balance remains a skill that I constantly try to improve. I have a young family and so finding a healthy work-life balance is crucial for myself and my family. Strategies that I use within my teaching practise include ‘To- Do Lists’, time parameters and an effective planning tool.
When creating ‘To-Do Lists’, I set smart goals to achieve throughout the week and then narrow those down to itemize daily tasks. Anything that remains uncompleted by the end of the week becomes a top priority the following week.
Setting clear boundaries for myself regarding time both in physical presence and online are key. I set times to be present in school based on my teaching schedule, planning needs and picking my daughters up from school/daycare. I complete all school-work at school, however during report card time, I plan for extra time at home to adhere to deadlines. Also, I only have my personal emails configured to my phone so that I can completely switch off to the endless work emails and attend to them during school hours!
Lesson planning is best when it’s effective, efficient and manageable. In the past, I’ve created subject-specific daily/weekly plan documents. Today, I use the TruTeach planner to create each lesson and resource which is imported into my schedule. TruTeach makes life easier with pre-paid bundles of lesson plans and resources that can be imported into my calendar too!
However you decide to manage your time, make sure the strategies and tools work for you. Put yourself and your family first by looking after you! A healthy and happy teacher, far outweighs a stressed and unhappy teacher!
For support in creating and maintaining your personal work-life balance, connect with TruTeach today by completing our contact form or phoning 1-587-625-8510 !
It’s FREE for teachers to access!
References
Alberta Education. (2015) Alberta Teacher Workload Study. Available at https://open.alberta.ca/publications/alberta-teacher-workload-study [Accessed 17 December 2021].
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