How do teachers balance it all?
Do you believe in the word “balance?” To be honest, this is always a tricky one for me. I’ve read tons of personal development books that have led me to believe that balance is B.S. and on the other hand, books that lead me to believe it is possible. I think the truth is probably somewhere in the middle. I believe there are days, weeks and sometimes even seasons that feel like life is in balance and then days, weeks and seasons that are the opposite.
When I first became a teacher, nearly a decade ago, balance felt completely impractical. I mean there were assessments that needed grading, progress monitoring that needed to happen, parent messages that needed responses, IEP’s that needed to be written and let’s not forget about lessons that needed planning! The list of teacher responsibilities quite literally goes on and on. Way back then, I was also a full-time student working towards obtaining my master’s degree and then my +30 back-to-back, all while being a newlywed and exploring other interests and hobbies like investing and becoming a landlord.
The question kept arising: how do teachers balance it all? How does the teacher down the hall have it “all together?” How do I achieve that? How is it possible? And more importantly, what am I doing wrong?
The truth, as I’ve found it to be over the last decade, is that balance comes with intentional practice. Here are 7 tips for creating balance in your life as a teacher.
Tip 1: Repeat after me, I CANNOT GRADE EVERY ASSIGNMENT. No seriously, I mean this. I used to bring home every single piece of paper, worksheet, and written response from every student in my class and read it, leave feedback and then put some type of grade in my gradebook/grading system about each assignment. THIS IS NOT POSSIBLE. This is not SUSTAINABLE. The truth is you get to know your students by being with them; being fully present with them, working in groups and at times working 1:1 with them. You can keep the assignments, review them when you need to (if you are writing a report, developing IEP goals, etc.) but do not get bogged down by the belief that you need to grade every paper they hand to you.
Tip 2: Develop systems for your classroom.
The more systems you have for managing your classroom, the easier and more efficiently it runs. I know this because I lived it. You need systems for quite literally everything. How do students turn in their work to you? Where do they turn it in? Where are these assignments then stored from there? What assignments are you going to grade? How often are you communicating with parents? Do you have hours at night that you do not communicate with parents? (hint: you should). What folder does homework go in? What folder does unfinished work go in? How do students know what is for homework? When do you write IEP’s? When do you plan your lessons? These are just some of the systems you need to think about and have systems for if you want your classroom to run smoothly and for you to begin to feel some kind of balance in your life.
Tip 3: Find ONE committee to join and stick to it.
When you are a new teacher, there’s a lot of pressure to join every committee, be at every event, do everything and be everywhere which seriously leads to burnout. Ask a teacher in your building what committees exist within your school community, see which one sparks your interest and join it. Stick to that ONE committee for the entire school year and reevaluate at the end of the year to see if you want to proceed next year with the same committee or switch things up. Do not overbook or overextend yourself.
Tip 4: Know that some seasons will just be insane.
Honestly, it just is what it is. Back to school season, the holiday season, the end of the year, they’re all just a little bit crazy. Prepare for this as best as you can by making sure you’re taking care of yourself; get enough sleep, drink enough water, eat nutritious foods and know that this season will pass.
Tip 5: Plan during the current week for previous week.
This takes a lot of practice and discipline. When I was in the classroom, I started to plan for next week on Friday evenings (what a drag LOL) but I always felt better when I knew I was going into my weekend fully (or mostly) planned for the following week. When I became an ENL teacher, I started staying afterschool on Thursday’s to plan for the following week and organize my copies and activities. This helps you achieve your responsibilities as a teacher and allows you to still have time for you, therefore achieving some semblance of balance.
Tip 6: You exist outside of being a teacher, so plan for it.
You have a life outside of your school building and that is a good thing. Plan a romantic evening with your husband, a night out with your girlfriends, go to a concert, go see a movie, etc. These things rejuvenate the soul and are necessary to feel balanced in your life, so get some events to look forward to on your calendar now.
Tip 7: Try your best to work contractual hours.
This is HARD you guys. This is something I struggled with up until my very last year in the classroom. What worked for me was showing up 30 minutes to an hour before school, preparing for the day & getting in the right headspace before my students showed up so that I could leave at the end of the day. Now I know this isn’t considered working contractual hours as I was arriving up to an hour earlier, but it gave me some comfort knowing I was prepared for the day and allowed me to leave the building at the contractual hour so that I could have family time and personal time afterwards.
The truth is feeling work/life balance as a teacher is possible. It takes practice, discipline, patience and reflection. As you become more experienced, it truly does become easier. If you feel like you are overwhelmed with the responsibilities of a teacher, believe me when I tell you, ALL teachers have felt that way at some point during their career. Start to implement one of the strategies above and see if that helps you to feel more balanced as a teacher. If that works, try another strategy and keep stacking these habits on top of each other. Balance is possible my fellow teachers, don’t give up!
Happy teaching! 