7 Practices to Prevent Teacher Burnout

<span style="font-weight: 400;">1. Take care of you, too.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400; font-family: montserrat_lightregular; font-size: 16px;">No matter how hard you try, you can’t be the best teacher for your students if you’re not taking care of yourself. Get enough rest. Eat healthy snacks (and stop skipping lunch to stand in line at the copy machine). Eat dinner with your family or friends. Go see a movie. Hit the gym. Watch bad reality TV — whatever. Do something that helps you be a happy, healthy, whole person.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">2. Enjoy the amazing moments.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400; font-family: montserrat_lightregular; font-size: 16px;">Sometimes, we’re so caught up in going-going-going that we forget to stop and smell the roses — or, in our case, watch our students bloom. Teaching is one of those professions where everyone around you is growing; it’s part of the magic that makes us love our jobs. Don’t stop noticing it. Take note of the everyday “small” successes of your students, your colleagues, and yourself. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">3. Share your workload.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400; font-family: montserrat_lightregular; font-size: 16px;">Many teachers are on learning teams where they can (and should!) share planning. Grab coffee with your team, and choose activities that allow you to divvy up the planning and prepping. Pooling ideas and resources with coworkers will help you grow individually and as a team.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">4. Don’t bring it all home.</span>

<span style="font-family: montserrat_lightregular; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">You need your recovery time, too, and there’s nothing quite as terrifying as a huge rolling cart stacked with projects, essays, and quizzes to grade. Only bring home a manageable amount. (Also, remember that not everything needs to be graded. You know who you are. Admit you have a problem and cut back by giving some work stamps or stickers for completion.) Another trick? Do what you least enjoy at school during your prep time. If it’s grading, use your prep to grade and save what you enjoy more (maybe </span><a href="https://www.azk12.org/homeroom/2017/10/04/5-tips-for-making-your-smart-board-work-harder"><span style="font-weight: 400;">creating a Smart Board presentation </span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">or cutting up notecards) for your “homework.”</span></span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">5. Utilize your minions.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400; font-family: montserrat_lightregular; font-size: 16px;">Yep, a little responsibility isn’t going to hurt them. In fact, they’ll probably enjoy it. Kids can use sanitizing wipes on desks and chairs, restock art boxes, and organize the classroom library. It might not be perfect, but it’ll get done way faster and save you the headache.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">6. Stop being your own enemy.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400; font-family: montserrat_lightregular; font-size: 16px;">Everyone has room to grow, but, in this field, it’s all too easy to be way too hard on yourself. Stop beating yourself up! Learn from mistakes and let them go. You worked hard to get where you are — don’t forget the years you’ve spent in college, interning, studying, observing, and practicing. You’re a professional, and you can move mountains.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">7. Make meaningful connections.</span>

<p><span style="font-weight: 400; font-family: montserrat_lightregular; font-size: 16px;">— with your students, their families, and your coworkers. Don’t pull away from the relationships that make your work as a teacher so powerful. Purposefully give attention, care, and compassion to those surrounding you. Build relationships that are so much more than staff development modules and meeting the standards. Let them get to know you. These connections will fuel your spirit and serve as constant reminders that your work is touching lives.</span></p> <br /><span style="font-family: montserrat_lightregular; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">When times get tough, take a breather and regroup. We need you out there, soldier! Steer clear of teacher burnout by setting genuine priorities, </span><a href="https://www.azk12.org/podcast/detail/s5-episode-6-be-kind-to-yourself-self-care-matters/29"><span style="font-weight: 400;">practicing self care</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, and focusing on the good stuff. There’s an awful lot of it.</span></span>