Today we’re going to talk about how we can achieve better work-life balance as teachers before we get into the classroom.
Before I continue, since it’s back to school time, I’ve got three awesome opportunities for you. 1) Grab some FREE resources for your class from my Free Resource Library; 2) Shop for additional resources at my store; or 3) Join The Creative Child Community and enjoy some massive time and money savings.
As teachers we work our buns off, and it’s so difficult for us to find work-life balance because the line between these two tends to blur.
We think about your students before, during and after school.
Gosh! On my way to school, I try determining how to make specific lessons more enjoyable for my students. During class, I try to meet as many learning or emotional needs as possible. After school, I reflect on what worked and what didn’t, what changes need to be made, complete prep work, plan for the following day, mark assignments, update my class website and so much more. I work until the wee hours of the night. I work just as hard on the weekends as well.
So, today, we’re going to look at how build in work-life balance so that our lives don’t revolve around teaching every moment.
It’s great to have a calling.
It’s great to have a vocation or a purpose.
But we first need to take care of ourselves before taking care of others in our role as teachers because…
So, here’s how we’re going to do it.
Today we’re going to look into how to integrate work-life balance into our lives outside of class time in 2 simple steps.
Next week, we’ll look at how to do this within our class time in 3 manageable steps.
Actionable Steps:
#1: Unit Batching
I’ve heard about creating lesson plans for a week or a month, but I’m asking you to think bigger.
Create a unit from start to finish for the entire term. If you’re teaching multiple units in a term, then create at least one of those units.
The reason for putting in this extra work up front is so that you don’t have to think about what you need to change or do the next day or the next week.
You’re evaluating how this entire unit looks over time, what your students will learn at the beginning, middle and end, and what strategies and specific lessons they’ll learn.
Once you’ve created this unit, then all you have to focus on during the work week, is focus on differentiating or stretching specific lessons to meet various learning needs.
If you’d like a way to help you plan, here’s a resource that many teachers enjoy.
#2. Slotting It In
Slot in the following times so that you have it blocked for you to take care of yourself and your personal needs. This is not a time for working on teaching tasks. If you’d like a FREE planner, download yours from my Free Resource Library.
- Time For Yourself: Even if it’s just 5-10 minutes. If you’d like to know how to manage your self-care time, check out FREE resource called, 15 Comforting Self-Care Strategies & Reflection Guide in my Free Resource Library.
- Family and Friend Time: About once or twice a week, spend about an hour with your loved ones. It doesn’t have to be a lot, but put it into your calendar.
- Hobby/Indulgence Time: Look at something you enjoy doing that’s just for you. For example, I enjoy singing, so I need to make sure that I slot it into my calendar at least once a week or once every alternate week so that I have time for myself.
Recap:
Here are the 2 steps to make work-life balance a priority in your life outside of class time:
- Unit batching
- Slotting it in
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 video 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!
I’ll see you next Friday at 5:30pm PST.
Until I see you next time, remember to create, experience & teach from the heart.
Take care,
Charlotte
