Avoid burnout, maximize your potential, and have a great year.

This first month of school is full of excitement, laughter, confusion, and exhaustion. It can fly by and before we know it we are deep in the trenches of the semester. I want to help make sure that your year is set up to be the best one yet and give you three essential tips to implement right away to help you avoid burnout and maximize your potential!

These three tips are ones that I come back to time and again throughout the year to help me recenter and get on track with what I need to do each day. I know that they can help you do the same!

1: Set goals for yourself: Personal and Work-Related

Goals can be the difference between stagnant, unhappy teachers and those who thrive. When we know where we want to be or what we want to accomplish, we can start to work on the steps it’ll take to get there. For example, if your goal is to not bring work home, (a yearly must-have goal) then you must be more thoughtful about how you spend your time at school. Set goals that challenge and motivate you to grow throughout the year.

Personal goals are also very important to having a great year. Find something to work towards or be invested in outside of school. This can help you break away from the classroom at the end of the day and leave you energized and ready to return in the morning.

Once you’ve written some goals down, make sure they are somewhere where you’ll see them often. This year mine are the first thing I see when I open my teaching binder.

2: Get a hobby (or two!)

You can easily use a hobby to set personal goals. I would recommend two kinds of hobbies: one to keep you healthy and one to release your creativity. I have lots of creative hobbies, especially of the crafting kind (not to mention writing and reading – my most prominent hobbies). My hobbies are a great way to have fun and release any stress I might have. Often when I get invested in whatever is in front of me, my mind is free to wander or I become hyper-focused. This is often when I find solutions to problems or come up with ideas for things I am working on.

As far as physical hobbies, find something you enjoy doing to stay active. Picking a physical activity that you hate will not be enjoyable – obviously. Get up and go walking, hike on your weekends, go for a jog, do yoga, spin that bike for 30 minutes in the evening. Whatever it may be, get your heart rate up and get your blood pumping. You’ll feel great afterwards.

3: Find something positive every week

As you go forward into the school year, equipped with goals and hobbies, make sure you always look for positives. We have all experienced (or will) a week that feels like everything went wrong. The lessons flopped, kids were out of control, and your to-do list only grew. It is in those moments especially that we need to highlight the positives - no matter how small they may seem. 

I wish you all the best this school year and hope that these 3 tips can help ensure your happiness and success in the classroom and in your life.

Happy teaching!