Balancing Work and Life: Advice for Busy Teachers
It's back-to-school time again! Amidst the countless hours dedicated to ensuring everything is perfect for your students, your own health and well-being might take a backseat. Maintaining equilibrium between professional and personal life is crucial during this hectic time.
So, how can you as a teacher make sure that you are having a good work-life balance during this busy back-to-school period?
Check out these invaluable tips from some of our esteemed authors to help you find the perfect balance between your work and personal life!
'When the mind is busy with planning, new timetables and meetings, a restful night’s sleep is paramount'
- Pauline Kelly, author of Skills for Exam Success: English Higher Level, Romeo and Juliet and The Merchant of Venice and co-author of the Fire and Ice series for Junior Cycle English
Incorporate a good night’s sleep into your routine
As our author Pauline Kelly says, "When the mind is busy with planning, new timetables and meetings, a restful night’s sleep is paramount". You might be tempted to stay up late to finish your corrections or those reports you left until the minute, but this can have a serious impact on your health. The teacher’s guide to sleep suggests that teachers are only getting 6 hours of sleep a night, as opposed to the 7 to 9 recommended hours, and are missing out on key brain recovery time. So, make sure you are counting those sheep to be sharp and ready for the classroom the next morning!
'Focus on tasks for a short block of time and then take a break.'
- Lisa Young, co-author of the Junior Cycle business textbook, Enterprise and of Skills for Exam Success: Business Studies.
Keep to a schedule
During this time of the year, it can be easy to work for hours on end to get everything done, but that can easily eat into some valuable wellness time in the evening, where you can relax and do something you love (outside of teaching, of course!). A good time management tip that our author Lisa Young sticks to is to 'focus on tasks for a short block of time and then take a break'. You may recommend your students do this with their study and revision, so why not practice it for yourself as well.
'Just focus on the little things – getting a lesson right, making a plan, correcting a copy, getting another few pages of the book done'
- Dan Stynes, author of Language Lessons: Leaving Certificate English Paper 1 Ordinary Level
Don’t get lost in the big picture
It can be easy to get overwhelmed by your workload and all the things you need to get done in the coming school term. Our author Dan Stynes likes to stay in the present moment, taking one step at a time by 'focussing on the little things – getting a lesson right, making a plan, correcting a copy, getting another few pages of the book done'. It is the small wins like these that keep you motivated and enthusiastic for the academic year ahead.
'Don’t be too hard on yourself if something doesn’t go as planned'
- Stacy Stout, author of Skills for Exam Success: History and co-author of the Junior Cycle History textbook, Making History.
Don’t be too hard on yourself
Not everything can go to plan, that is just the way of life. Like our author Stacy Stout says 'don’t be too hard on yourself if something doesn’t go as planned; I have so many classes or exercises that don’t work out even though I tried my best'. But while saying this, it is important not to keep these burdens to yourself. As Stacy goes on to say, 'teaching can be lonely, make sure you have someone to talk to'. You are always there to lend a listening ear to your students, so you make sure you have someone to support you for your own wellness.
Here are some useful resources that could help with keeping that work-life balance: