Creating Boundaries Between Work and Home

I am a person who generally likes her job. As a high school science and engineering teacher, I am humbled by my students. I enjoy showing them that they can learn what they think is impossible in a physics class. And in my engineering classes, I get to help students be creative, think critically, and solve problems using cool technology. What’s not to like?

But when I first heard the plot of the show Severance, my immediate reaction was, “Sign me up.” Having a “school” self and a “personal” self who are unaware of each other seemed like the answer to all my problems. Like so many teachers, I have a hard time respecting when I am on and off the clock. I started teaching in a boarding school, so I literally lived at work. When I moved to a day school, the pandemic hit and my patterns were slow to change. Then, for two years I studied for my master’s degree while at times working multiple jobs. In one sense or another, I truly was always working. As I was about to graduate, I felt burned out and wondered if I had earned my master’s degree in the wrong field entirely.

Given the extreme pressure many educators feel on their time, I wonder if other teachers think about this the way I do. A severed Liz’s life might not be so bad. A severed Liz doesn’t have to have the awkward moment when she bumps into students in public. She never struggles to stop worrying about school stuff. She doesn’t mull over conversations that went poorly at work.

Obviously, there would be some downsides too (as the show makes clear)—but lately, I’ve tried some things that help me feel a little bit “severed.” I’m not perfect, but I’m proud of these changes and hope to keep working on them. 

4 Ways to Keep Work and Home Life Separate

1. I no longer default to bringing my work home with me. When I first started teaching, I always had to prepare for work from home. I had to brush up on content, write practice problems that were solvable and had reasonable answers, grade, and watch email. But with more experience, I don’t always need to do this. I have resources and experience to be ready for work—yet I still always brought everything home. Now, I think about the next day. Am I prepared enough? Does the grading that needs to be done need to get to students tomorrow? Or will they still learn just as effectively if I grade that assignment during business hours?

I still bring work home with me occasionally—but only work that must be done for 8 a.m. I might grade the test I want them to see immediate feedback on. Or I might write up a handful of practice problems. But I am targeted and only do those nonnegotiable tasks. The rest of the work can keep for the next day. 

2. I’m more honest with myself and others about my time. When people needed me to do something, I always felt like I had to drop everything and get it done ASAP. As a result, I was overextending myself. I would stop everything and meet with a student during lunch. I’d pack my day with meetings in ways that meant that I felt rushed and unable to prepare for what I needed to do: teach well. Now, if I don’t have time to meet, I just say it. On days when my teaching day is very busy, I protect downtime like I protect teaching time. When scheduling meetings, I tell people, “While we are both free during D block, Tuesday is my busy class day. Can’t we meet during D on Wednesday?” 

Part of being honest with my time is fielding requests more intentionally. If a student contacted me, I used to immediately respond and accommodate whatever they needed. Now, I still respond, but I don’t treat every request equally urgently. If I treat a student’s request for some physics extra help in the same manner I do when a student is in crisis, then the physics questions feel just as urgent. I have a more lenient late policy because I don’t always make time for students at the moment they need help—the lab can be handed in when I have time to field that question. 

3. I’ve taken my work email off my phone. This one was hard. But I noticed that when I unlocked my phone, I had a default list of apps I open. Text, personal email, junk email, work email, Instagram. Without realizing it, I was always engaging with work by opening the app. For a while, I tried to just not check it, but we are creatures of habit. Ultimately, I uninstalled the app altogether. But honestly? I still see my email as often as I need—I have a school-provided laptop I can use to check in—but now only when I am of a mind to see it. 

4. I’ve tried to model for students and colleagues. These changes have made me much happier in and out of my work. In my personal time, I feel more present and engaged. I’ve found other ways I’m minimizing phone use, and I am much more careful about when I am working off the clock.

I hope to model ways that I’m severing for my colleagues and students. I recently had to handle an advisee crisis. I made a point of apologizing to administrators and colleagues for contacting them outside of work. I assured them that I was only using these hours because it was urgent—and they understood. I tell students when I will be unavailable, so as to manage their expectations for communication. I also try to be mindful of the amount of work my students bring home. 

Everyone knows that the teaching profession is a tough one. But I hope to manage that challenge intentionally. At work, I find I am arriving much earlier, both to check email and to prepare. But I am happy to do so. I am more focused and on task. When I am grading, I try to be efficient because I’d rather leave the tests at school than carry them home. These changes make me like my job even more. I have found these ways of capturing the “severed” bliss I thought the show might be about. Maybe they can help you sever too.