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Dear Subscriber Name, Happy Monday! (said with as much enthusiasm as I can muster) I found myself entering the new week feeling a little discouraged. This is not my usual Monday demeanor. I normally love Mondays because they are a fresh start and new beginnings to attack my goals. However, a perfect storm is brewing. Grades are due on Friday, we are doing mandated standardized testing this week, and I am beginning to see the toll of online learning on my most vulnerable student populations. We are all tired. Last year, I wrote about fall burnout at the beginning of November. I worry that many of my teaching colleagues are about to experience an October burnout. In that November post, I wrote: “The main clue that burnout is starting to creep up on me is when I can sit in one particular spot at home, at work, or even in my vehicle, and I feel “frozen” due to everything that seems to be piling up in my to-do list, my grading stack, and school-related priorities.” The feeling when motivation leaves may be coming all too early. This absence of energy is more than tired; it is burnout. Even though it is a a different kind of school year, I found myself wondering today, “why does the burnout feel the same?” The answer is because burnout is burnout by any other name. It is the same. The question is, when burnout creeps in, how do we respond? As teachers, we know that we can’t necessarily unplug as much as we want to or take time for self-care. I see many teachers posting things about their to-do lists and then adding on: “yes, I know, self-care.” The issue with this is that the remedy for burnout isn’t self-care. The remedy for burnout is consistency in habits. Self-care is something we take time to do when we can. In order to really ban burnout, we must really build in systems to counteract stress. This consistency sounds like another box on a checklist at first, but I have to always remind myself that I am building up an immunity to handle stress...an immunity that will need to be stronger to get through the remainder of the year. The remedy for when motivation leaves are in the habits that I am trying to form each day that lead to mental and physical toughness or resiliency. The demand for this resiliency is a topic saved for another newsletter. We can even enter a discussion about how the profession of teaching needs to adapt and change as a whole. But, I will save these wonderings for another time. For this week? I am refocusing on my needs and priorities like in last week’s newsletter. What I am trying this week (Note these are the same from last year even though I wasn’t teaching in the middle of a pandemic): Moving my body physically (Yoga with Adriene) Journaling (I am trying a traveler’s notebook this month) Getting excited about my current work/unit of teaching Saying “no” when needed to work obligations Setting realistic expectations for a day’s worth of work (Example: When I have meetings until 6 at night and still want to do a nights worth of grading, it probably won’t happen)
How are you battling burnout? What are your celebrations if everything is going well? This week’s journal prompts: “In order to sleep better, before I go to sleep I am going to…” “A deadline I am worried about is…" “What are my largest tasks I accomplish each week?" “I am going to take care of myself this week by…” “I am going to look after my family this week by…” “I am going to grow as a professional this week by…” “I am worried about…”
Brew some coffee or tea, grab a pen or your computer, cozy up with a blanket, and write. Happy reading and writing, Stephanie
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