Teacher Burn Out

In Burned out/burned in by Seth Godin's Blog, Seth Godin shares,

“Burn out, on the other hand, is often caused by trying to control things that we can’t possibly control. “

Over the years, I have seen many new teachers burn out quickly in the field of teaching.

I know when people start a new career, they are gung ho and want to give 110% to the start of this new venture.

Teaching is a totally different animal. I like to give advice to new teachers in hopes that the good ones will stay in the field and not get burned out. I think it is time to give this advice again so here are my pearls of wisdom that have come from teaching over 30 years and still loving it! Here are things that you can control and will help you from burning out. 

• Pace yourself. You don’t have to do everything at the same time.
• Keep a calendar and consistently write down when things are due.
• If a form can be completed now, do it and submit it immediately.
• Keep copies of everything you submit (take a photo or scan it into your computer).
• Every morning take the time to write a list of the things you need to do today. Then prioritize the list. At the end of the name, mark off what was completed. Those not completed can be added to tomorrow’s list.
• Be prepared. Get a few days head start on materials that you need for an upcoming lesson. Don’t wait until the day before to gather these items.
• Copy papers a few days before they are needed in case the copy machine breaks.
• Remember that you can’t save every student.
• Reflect at least weekly on your lessons. What was the purpose of the lesson? How did the students react? What could you do differently? What went well?
• Get a hobby! Have something you do that relieves your stress.
• Take your lunch break. Don’t work through it!
• Get a good night’s sleep. Cranky teachers aren’t very successful in the classroom.
• Exercise to relieve stress. You can walk 15 -30 minutes a day. Believe me, this will make a difference in your life!
• Develop a support group. Find like-minded people that you can bounce and share ideas for your classroom instruction.
• Avoid negative people. Those people that constantly have nothing good to say about the school, their class, the parents, or life, in general, can be toxic to be around. Stay away from them.

What other advice would you give new teachers in order to avoid burn out? Please share.

Photo by Anne Nygård on Unsplash