Balancing life
Being poised on the opening of the academic year (or any week or term) is the perfect time to consider how you are going to pace yourself over the weeks ahead. Only the naive assume they will be able to maintain their energy levels consistently throughout the challenges of the term ahead! The rest of know that we are not robots and fluctuations in energy levels are inevitable.
Pacing is such a crucial element of teaching life that it is a wonder it is not front and centre of all initial teacher education. It is all too easy to be lulled into a false sense of undinted energy. Do not get me wrong, it is great to feel energized and empowered at the start of a term, ready for everything the term may throw at us, but the reality is that our energy will fluctuate and there will be times when we need extra motivation to get through.
Work, life, and the balance we need
We all need balance in our lives. All work and no play…, and all that! However, it seems unhelpful to think of this as work-life balance. We live when we work, and work does consume many hours of life. Emphasising segmentation between the two feels counter-productive.
That said, we need balance in our lives. Too much of anything can be troublesome, and a busy career such as teaching is particularly prone to dominating our time. Unhealthy work habits can build over time and burnout can creep up on us.
One of the best ways of staying on top of the demands on our time is to pace ourselves. Sounds easy, and obvious, but it is not uncommon for teachers to be swept up in the tide of each term only to be deposited on the shore of the first week of a holiday disheveled, coughing and spluttering through yet another cold!
To help with pacing this term, try these ideas:
- Plan – there is an ebb and flow to every term. Take a look at your timetable and identify the times in each day, week, and term when demands are high, and the times when the pressure eases a little. Aim to plan ahead for those hectic times so that you can protect the less hectic times. The pinch points in each day or week are when you cannot take on additional tasks or add to your commitments. Beyond work, making sure that family and friends know when you have a lot going on can help. Simple solutions like batch cooking when you have time can ease the pressures on those really busy days when you can get nutritious meals out of the freezer with little extra effort!
- Block time – once you know when your really busy times are you can block out time around those hours/days/weeks to enable you to catch your breath and get up to date on other tasks that may have temporarily fallen by the wayside. It sounds ideal, but those who seem to manage their time with ease tend to do this ruthlessly.
- Set boundaries – there is a simple principle here… do not add to your workload without removing something from your task list. This can sound glib to those who feel disempowered when it comes to negotiating their workload, but the fact remains, it is not possible to continue to add tasks when the time you have in which to complete them remains unchanged. Get into the habit, when agreeing to a task, of asking which task should be dropped or at least given a lower priority. Effective leaders will be happy with this approach.
- Be flexible – flexibility is key when it comes to being a great team player in an incredibly demanding profession. This does not mean bending to the will of others at the expense of your own wellbeing, but it does mean being willing to adjust and adapt when needed. A workplace that operates like this is more likely to be able to accommodate the times when you may need others to be flexible. It’s give and take, not give, give, give.
- Ask for help – great leaders will regularly ask staff what they can do to help them. But there is also an onus on staff at all stages of their career to ask for help when they need it. Overwhelm can happen when you struggle on alone. A timely request for help can bring needed perspective and coping suggestions, not to mention a sense of shared experience in what can be a lonely job at times.
- Make time to zone out – in such a hectic job as teaching, you need to ensure you have zone out time on a regular basis throughout the week, not just at weekends. This helps to balance your days. There is no prescription for this; whatever does it for you. A walk, a run, reading a few pages, scrolling your favourite online content, colouring, drawing – whatever you like to do that puts you in a relaxed state and gives a change of focus for your brain and body. Also make sure that your weekends involve substantial amounts of uninterrupted time away from work – or even thinking about work! It also helps to have a cut off time at the end of each day beyond which you do not work… under any
- Find and follow your passion – make sure you can pursue a passion or interest outside work. This will help to provide balance in your life and give a much needed perspective on work. Take up a team sport, learn something, challenge yourself – it does not matter what it is, as long as it is something you look forward to doing and will make time for.
There is no universal formula for maintaining balance. Self-knowledge is key. Kowing where your boundaries are, and how to regain equilibrium in a way that works for you, is vital. Living a life out of whack is no fun. We cannot thrive under those circumstances. And if we cannot thrive, our job satisfaction will plummet, with the accompanying impact on the quality of our work. Being mindful about how each day is impacting us will undoubtedly serve us well. Have a brilliant term!
Find out more…
The Primary Teacher's School Year Planner | SAGE Publications Ltd
A Practical Guide to Teacher Wellbeing | SAGE Publications Ltd
About the author
Elizabeth Holmes
After graduating with a degree in Politics and International Relations from the University of Reading, Elizabeth Holmes completed her PGCE at the Institute of Education, University of London. She then taught humanities and social sciences in schools in London, Oxfordshire and West Sussex, where she ran the history department in a challenging comprehensive. Elizabeth specialises in education but also writes on many other issues and themes. As well as her regular blogs for Eteach and FEjobs, her books have been published by a variety of publishers and translated around the world. Elizabeth has also taught on education courses in HE and presented at national and international conferences.
