Personal Development
• Loss of Creativity. Teachers are some of the most creative people on the earth, so when you begin to lose your creativity, you need to pay attention. Just wanting to complete a task for the sake of ticking a box and not putting anything creative or special into it is a sure indication that you might be burnt-out.
• You Stop Enjoying the Students. Let’ s face it, we became teachers because we wanted to make a difference in children’ s lives. When you get to a point in your career where you can’ t stand being around the children, then it is time to really evaluate your career choice. Burn out can cause you to stop enjoying the very reason you entered the profession.
Below are some suggestions on how to get back in control of yourself and your career. They are by no means a cure-all for teacher burnout but they are simply suggestions to get you on a path to healing and loving your profession again.
Find harmony. We hear a lot about work-life balance but that may not be possible to attain. Motivational speaker, Lisa Nichols suggests that instead of striving to find work-life balance, we need to find work- life harmony, that is where all the areas of our lives work to support each other. I think that is more feasible. If you have some amount of harmony in your life you should be able to work on not only your job but yourself. It means that there will be time when the job will take precedence and other times when you focus more on yourself and your family. Try to find work-life harmony.
Take care of you first. Whenever I tell people to take care of themselves, I often remind them of the fact that on planes they advise us to put on our oxygen masks first before we assist others. It therefore means that we need to take care of ourselves first before we can give to others. Our students deserve a happy, well rested teacher and that is what we should strive to give them, no matter what.
Relationships. Faith, family and friends are vital. Take time to re-charge your“ batteries”. Do not neglect any spiritual practices that you choose to follow. Always make time for family and friends, as they keep you grounded. Humans are social beings and when we neglect our relationships and become isolated we suffer, emotionally and physically.
Practice Gratitude. It may seem hard to find things to be grateful for when you are having a hard time, but practicing gratitude everyday will do wonders for your mood and mind-set. Get a journal and write down five or more things that you are grateful for everyday. Try to remain in the present as much as possible. Find ways to enjoy the simple things around you and seek joy in even the most mundane of tasks.
Do not suffer alone. This might be my biggest takeaway. Whenever you start feeling like you may be experiencing teacher burnout, you need to talk to someone. This could be a trusted colleague, your line manager, your spouse or a friend. The value in talking to someone else is that, they can help you to see things from a different perspective. They can be more objective about the issues. Many teachers feel isolated when this happens to them, talking to someone may make you aware that this is a more common occurrence than you think and that you are certainly not alone.