Today we’re going to talk about three tips for teachers who want better work-life balance.
Before I continue, since it’s back to school time, if you’d like FREE resources for your class visit my Free Resource Library.
School has just started for some of you and for some of us, like myself, we’re gearing up to go back.
I’m heading back after maternity leave after giving birth to my first child. I don’t want to miss any of his firsts and I want to spend more time with my family instead of working all year round like I used to.
I used these three steps in my class when I needed to rush home to care for my ailing grand-mother-in-law and they worked wonderfully.
While I was rushing from one thing to the next before, now I’m going to use this method to focus on my students and be fully present with them and then have time to go home and be with my family. This is why I plan to implement the following steps.
What about you?
What’s your why?
When you figure out your why, remember….
So let’s do just that by integrating the following three steps.
Actionable Steps:
#1. Plan Out Prep Time
If you watched my last video, and you’ve unit batched, then all you’re doing is creating your day plans during this time, print out any handouts you may need for your lessons, and note down any tasks or assignments for your students.
If you have extra time, work on additional prep for the following day or week, like cutting out any material you need for projects.
#2. Assign Independent Work Time
Look at where in your day, you can slot in independent work time so that your students are working on tasks on their own. You do need to teach your children how to do this first.
This time is useful for working either 1-1 or in small groups with students who need extra support.
This step is so important because I tend to spend far too much of my recess and lunch working with students who need more attention when it could easily be done during class time. It eats into my recess and lunch times where I can eat at a decent pace and interact with collogues, which is incredibly important for community building.
We’ll focus on more specific strategies in regards to this step in The Creative Child Community.
#3. Working After School
If you implement the first two strategies, you should be able to complete most of your work during school time. Therefore, you hopefully won’t need to spend as much time after school working and can go home to your family.
I know it’s not realistic to not work after school, so I’m going to give you about 1-2 hours to work. That’s fair, right?
This is where you get to work on any additional tasks, like marking or prepping for the next day.
Once you’ve completed your tasks or the time’s up, it’s your time to go home and be with your family and indulge in a self-care routine. This method won’t work every day as meetings come up but for the most part, this is doable.
Recap:
Here are the 3 steps to make work-life balance a priority in your life during class time:
- Plan out prep time
- Assign independent work time
- After school working
Additional Thoughts:
Start with at least one of them so you don’t feel overwhelmed and then gradually integrate the second one.
While I’ve given you some fairly actionable steps, we’ll go into a step-by-step strategic plan for you when you join The Creative Child Community. If you’re curious about Unit Batching, we’ll talk about that in The Creative Child Community as well.
My hope is that as you integrate and make work-life balance an important part of your day, your self-confidence in yourself, your teaching career and your skills will increase.
If you’d like additional resources for your classroom here are the three ways you can access them: 1) Free Resource Library; 2) At my store; or 3) The Creative Child Community.
Next Steps:
If you found this article beneficial, would you do me a favor? Share this with your family, your friends, your loved ones, your co-workers or someone who you think could benefit from this. Thank you!
Until I see you next time, remember to create, experience & teach from the heart.
Take care,
Charlotte
