As you might expect, teaching is a hands-on, tiresome occupation that can be tough both physically and mentally.
However, many who venture down the teaching career path find it to be both wonderfully rewarding and essential to society.
Of course, teaching can be harder than a lot of professions, especially in the early years of adjusting to working in the sector.
We’ve put together this quick-fire list of five essential list of ways that teachers can ensure career longevity by avoiding the notorious ‘teacher burnout’.
Tip 1. Exercise
This may seem counter intuitive, especially after a hard day’s work slaving within a hot classroom, but trust us when we say that exercise outside of work is an excellent way of releasing any stress that you feeling building up during work.
Tip 2. Plan ahead…
Organisation is vital to a successful career in teaching. Falling behind with your lesson plans and marking can really come back to bite you, and cause you a lot of stress. Make sure you plan your diary appropriately, allocating enough time to plan effectively and pro-actively, instead of piling together lessons in a panic. You will benefit, not to mention your pupils.
Tip 3. …But take each day at a time
Nothing takes its toll more on one’s mental frame-of-mind than being fearful of the future. Learn to enjoy teaching more by concentrating on the immediate tasks at hand instead of stressing about what’s to come this time next week, or this time in a fortnight. Providing you’ve abided by ‘Tip 2’ you will be more prepared for the future, therefore shouldn’t spend more time worrying about it.
Tip 4. Seek counsel
There is far more support available to teachers than there was, say, 15 years ago. Capitalise on this by talking regularly to the teacher counsellor that was assigned to you when you started your role. Often it’s the case that problems are solved simply through seeking advice from another professional, and people often feel less-stressed when they have shared what’s on their mind, instead letting it burn inside them.
Tip 5. Be excited
Whilst re-using previous lessons can be an effective way of planning ahead, if you find that you are becoming bored of your own lessons then you should reconsider binning them. Teaching the same thing over-and-over again can become stale, and so can your performance as a teacher. By periodically introducing new aspects to your lessons you will enrich your day-to-day life as a teacher – causing you to naturally be more excited. And, rest assured, if you have become alienated by your lessons, then your pupils certainly will!
