Happy ALMOST New Year! It’s that time of year again when we all start thinking about the new year coming in. Growing up, I never cared much for setting New Year Resolutions. But, the past few years, it has become something that I have focused more on. It’s up to you if you want to set a resolution and how you’re going to track it – but if you want to set one, I’ve included 10 New Year Resolutions for Teachers below.
Accept that you can’t do it all.
This is a big one. I am seeing more and more teachers burn out every year because they are doing way too much. And that’s not always our fault – it’s expected of us really! There’s always something new to take charge of. Someone else to help. Something new to introduce to the class. And that’s on top of everything else. This year, I want you to prioritise what absolutely MUST get done, and the rest, do your best. If you can’t get them done – what will happen? What are the consequences? Will it affect anyone else? If no, then, really don’t push yourself to achieve it all. Accept that you can do some of the things all of the time or all of the things some of the time, but you absolutely can not do all of the things all of the time.
Progress
Think of something that you would like to progress with this year. It may be a course that you’ve been wanting to go on, or meeting up with other teachers/schools to find out how they do things day-to-day. Progression is huge for our self esteem and confidence. By pushing yourself to progress with just 1 thing this year you won’t feel under pressure to complete everything. Focus on that 1 thing – then be sure to head back and let us know what it was and if you achieved it!
Look after yourself.
This is huge. You can NOT pour from an empty cup. If you feel absolutely awful and you can’t get out of bed – do not go into school. The more you try and fight an illness and work through it, the worse you’ll probably feel when you finally rest – on the weekend or during holidays! Think about your students – would they come in if they looked/felt like you do right now?
Spread kindness
Working in schools can be tough, especially if we’re having a bad day. Spread some kindness around your school – leave positive, uplifting notes for colleagues or even set up a kindness basket. The basket can get passed around the school to different colleagues each week. The first person fills the basket with goodies (doesn’t have to be expensive or a lot!) and pass it on to an employee (remember to keep it anonymous!), then they fill it and pass it on to the next person to enjoy. It’s a great way to boost that extra morale.
Work together
Is there another teacher in your school you envy with how fabulous they are at something? They probably feel the same way about you with something else. We all have our individual strengths and weaknesses. Why not work together to help improve each other’s weaknesses. I have learnt SO much from other teachers, they are worth their weight in gold. Don’t be afraid to ask!
STOP taking work home!
Do you know any other profession that takes home so much work for our pay level? The answer is probably no. And it’s not just a little bit of work – it’s a LOT of work. Think about ways that you can minimise this work load so you don’t have to take it home. Do you have teaching assistants who can help you with some of it? Could your assistant run the class for you for 2 hours a week while you catch up on paperwork? Find a system that works for you that will help get your home life back.
Communication
How do you communicate with your students families? Is it a good, easy system? Or is taking up too much time and you don’t hear much back? Do you write events into individual emails or books for your students to take home? If so, that’s a of time being taken up. Consider getting a newsletter template and then email this to all parents at once – or print out to take home with students. This can include all the important information and events that are going on in class. Plus – it’ll cut down your time so much instead of having to write everything individually!
Leave that comfort zone
Let’s face it, we all get comfortable in the way that we teach. We like the way that we do it, and we’re not always ready to introduce something new. But, the world is constantly changing and we need to make sure that us teachers – and our students – are ready for these changes. Find something new that you haven’t used before and push yourself out of your comfort zone to use it with your students. Think escape rooms, google classroom etc.
Work Life Balance
This is a really important one and I think it should be on the top of everyone’s New Years Resolution list. Work/life balance. You know, when I was younger, I used to think everyone would live until they’re 100! Now, you see more and more young people dying every day. We need to remember that we have one life – and it could be a short one, we just don’t know. So please don’t waste it spending too much time in – or thinking about – work. Make sure that your work/life balance is more in favour of your life.
How can you do that? Simple. Work out how many hours a week you devote to work right now. That’s time in the classroom and out of the classroom, even things like sending emails at home – that is all eating into your home life.
Now, work out how many hours a week you should be working – if you must do extra each day after school because you just can’t handle it, try sticking to an extra 1 hour per day. This could be split 30 mins before school and 30 mins after school or 1 hour before or after school. After this, it’s over. No school emails. Or responding to parents or colleagues. No thinking about work. Switch off. Think about life – and enjoy it. This might be difficult, but soon, people will start to understand that you are not just a teacher – you are a human being as well, with your own family and your own life!
Be positive
I know, this one can be hard. I’ve been guilty many times of being stuck in a negative rut. Sometimes, it just feels like people are against you and you’re constantly being struck by more and more negativity. But, once you start to let the negativity manifest inside you, that’s when it’s going to get worse. Always try and look for the positive in every situation you find yourself in, even if it seems impossible.
Staying positive will keep you in a better frame of mind and you won’t get stuck in a rut so bad. If the staff room is a place full of negative energy – avoid it. That doesn’t mean you have to eat lunch in your classroom – go for a walk, go to another room to sit for lunch, you could even head out to your car! That peace and quiet away from the negativity will do you good. You could schedule a call each day with a family member to have a chat with on your lunch break so you don’t feel lonely.
Along with this, you may find there are people working in your school who are proper Negative-Nelly’s. Don’t let their negativity pull you down. See if you can turn things into more positive approaches when they get negative with you. If they can’t be positive, distance yourself. Find someone else who is more positive. Negativity can rub off on you and pull you down – you don’t want that!
So, what New Year resolution are you going to be setting this year? Is it something about you? Or your classroom? Or even your students? We love hearing resolutions. Good luck with achieving them – and we hope you have a wonderful, successful, healthy 2019.
