Balancing Work and Life: The On-Going Challenge for Educators

Elena you are not alone. Keep telling yourself this. Stay positive. Also, have a support system. If you haven't already reached out to your family, friends and coworkers, let them know your current responsibilities. If you don't tell them, they won’t know how busy you are. They will understand, support you, and give you the time and space you need to accomplish your daily goals.

Thank you so much for your ideas about the Google calendar and the house keeping idea. I was thinking I should just pay someone to do the simple time consuming chores, but I felt guilty. I guess I am not the only one thinking of this as an option. Your right though, it will allow more time for my family.

Thank you for sharing your tips for finding balance in life! I am struggling to find a balance between work, grad school, and home. When I get overwhelmed, I have a tendency to shut down...just like my students! I like your idea of using Google calendar and color coding the various areas of your life. My school already uses Google calendar, so the transition of moving my home and grad school events over will be quick and easy. Having the calendar will save me time, since it will be my go to place. Your other tip that hit home for me was saying no. For a New Year's resolution six years ago, my roommate at the time made me promise that I would start saying no. I am still working on it, but saying no is difficult as I am a people pleaser! I am slowly starting to realize that I cannot do everything and that it is OK to say no. Balancing my life will not only make me a better person, but it will make me a better teacher for my students.

Thank you all for all of the great tips. By nature, I am a procrastinator, so time management has never been my strength, and after last school year, I vowed to put my spirituality and health above anything else.

This school year I am a fiance, a teacher, a team leader, a mentor, and a grad student - more hats than ever! I've gotten to the point where NOTHING is receiving my full effort, and I am not pleased.

The idea of 1)writing EVERYTHING in my planner and 2)color-coding it is simply fabulous. I can already see how I will be able to enjoy all of the wonderful tasks that I have!

I also like the idea of realistic deadlines.

This blog definitely hit close to home. I am in the same boat as you. I am trying to balance being a new mother, teacher, grad student, wife....the list could go on and on. Just getting through the usual things in a day is had enough. I'm stuggling with ways to deal with all the things that are on my overflowing plate! I've decided on some things---- I don't have to be over the top organized at school. I used to plan weeks at a time and now I am planning days at a time. I've learned to be okay with that. I've also learned to make time for myself. If I put cleaning aside or grad school work aside for one night just to have some Me Time, it's okay. I've also decided to only do schoolwork when my new baby goes to bed. I am a teacher but my new joy is being a mother and I put that first!

Thanks for sharing your stess as I understand completely how you feel!!

Your post struck a chord with me... especially after these first few weeks of school. I am constantly struggling to balance my life between work, home, and grad school. There are literally not enough hours in the day! Being a teacher for students with significant cognitive, physical, and medical disabilities can also take a toll on my emotional well-being. Two weeks ago, the topic of discussion in my Teacher as Professional grad course was avoiding burnout. My class shared with one another some of the causes of their stress and anxiety, along with what they do to avoid burnout. Sometimes it is just nice to know you are not alone. I'm a constant worrier, frantic list-maker, and completely anxiety-stricken when it comes to finding balance in my life. And I don't even have kids yet! I am also a people-pleaser - so I appreciated your comment about learning when it's ok to say "no". By reading the posts in this blog, along with discussions with my classmates and colleagues, I have come to a much better place... definitely on the right track to finding balance. I have started yoga, budgeted time in the week for literally everything (I love you iPhone and Google Calendar!), and have made a conscious decision to take time each day just to slow down and appreciate life. My dogs are another source of happiness and stress-relief (having a boyfriend who is also a teacher/professor helps too!). For some other great insight into avoiding teacher burnout, check out the book On Being a Teacher: The Human Dimension by Kottler, Zehm, and Kottler.

I've been struggling with the same thing. I tracked all the things I do for students outside of the direct instructional time: http://expateducator.com/2011/08/27/t-2-preparing-for-the-extra-duties/ .

I'm not sure I'll ever get home before 6:00 pm. That said, the housekeeper allows me to sleep in on Saturday, go on hikes, and read. Enjoy!

Yeah, saying, "I'm full on right now but I'll add it to my docket of tasks I might be able to get to in the near-to-medium future," is soooo much easier than saying no. And killing the tasks is so easy, especially when like 80% of the "almost commitments" to people were never actively followed-up on by those same people who wanted us (a few weeks/months back) to be involved in them (i.e. spearhead for them) in the first place.

I think I heard this on a Brian Tracey podcast, and I love it, "When in doubt, throw it out."

I hear you! I've just gotten over a major burn-out period (it lasted slightly over a year). I guess the mono/shingles experience 17 years ago just didn't register strongly enough.

Find out who facilitates a "Mindful Wellness" class in your area. This has made a HUGE difference in my life...slowing down for the 3 hours one night and for a bit each day (homework). I was relaxed, de-stressed, didn't over-react...and could accomplish SO much more when I sat down to work. Look for programs based on Jon Kabat-Zinn.

Enjoy!
Meg

1) I ride my bike or walk to school every day (it's a short 4 mile round trip).
2) I go to yoga twice a week.
3) I schedule family and friends (just like work) on my calendar to make sure to keep connected and balanced with work.
4) And most important: I say NO a lot! I keep a very low-activity schedule outside of work: no more than two events a week on weekday evenings, and no more than one event a weekend, so that one day of each weekend has no outside responsibilities. That means scheduling in "no events" time on the calendar, so that I can see where/when to say "No." It's easy to say "I'm going to say 'No' more," but difficult to do. But I have seen the difference in weeks where I hold to the plan (more balance, better sleep, better patience) and weeks where I don't, so that's been affirming!

I ride my bike to work every day, all year long, about 24 miles round trip. It's the number 1 thing I do to keep me healthy and sane, and is the best way to prepare for the coming day and process at the end. Saving on gas, car maintenance, and health club costs are another plus.