How to Enjoy Your Life as an Educator: Beating the Burnout Part 1

We know that burnout in the field of education is real. We know that there are systemic structures that lead to burnout amongst teachers, specifically special education teachers. However, there are educators that truly enjoy their job and enjoy their life as an educator. In this episode I chat with Braelan from @thatspecialeducator about how we enjoy our life as educators. This is part one two a two part series, part two is over on Braelan’s podcast That Special Educator so make sure you listen to both parts. 

This is not your typical make sure you mediate and journal as a form of self-care (not that those are bad, love some good reflecting time) podcast episode. In this episode we ditch the script and just chat about our lives and what we do as educators to make sure we continue to love the job we go to each morning. One of the points we focus on throughout part one  is that we are more than just educators. Yes, being and educator is part of our identity but we do not let that be the ONLY part of our identity.  We talk about how we have passions outside of school that bring us enjoyment and help us keep our work life at work and our personal life at home. For example, at work I have a group of friends that I enjoy chatting with, but we do not chat about work. We chat about our lives and hobbies and what is going on in the world. It can turn into a negativity game or a “who has it the worst” contest sometimes when the focus is just on work. If I have one recommendation it would be to find your friends in your building that you can eat lunch with a couple of times per week and just chat about life. 

Also, if you create strong systems and procedures in your classroom-you will be able to manage your time so you do not have to stay late every day. I have never stayed late because of the work I have to do and I never work on the weekend. When I was in grad school and getting my PhD I had 3-4 jobs at a time while taking a full class load. This forced me to develop strong systems and procedures for getting everything in my life done and still having time to enjoy the things I wanted to enjoy. I knew when I started my job this was something I needed to focus on or I would become overwhelmed. This truly helps me enjoy my life as an educator. 

Look to other people in your building for their systems and procedures if you see that they are doing things really well in an area. It probably took them a while to develop that system and I am sure they would be happy to share it with you. I am talking about systems around collecting data, parent communication, and scheduling all the meetings. If you feel like you are in a constant state of just treading water, this is probably something that will be hugely beneficial and can really help you enjoy your life as an educator. 

Lastly, stop playing the comparison game. People are looking to you for how you do things in your classroom just like you are looking to them. Instead of comparing yourself to the teacher next door, collaborate! This will help you increase your self-confidence as an educator and really enjoy the work you do. 

Enjoying your life as an educator does not have to be this far off goal that only a small percentage of teacher achieve. We all can truly enjoy our jobs. You just listened (or read) our strategies, use these as a launching point and build some of your own. We need as many amazing teachers as we can get and that includes you! So start enjoying education and stick around for a long time! Make sure you go listen to part to about we enjoy being an educator outside of school!

Resources Discussed in this Episode
Free Behavior Intervention Guide
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