My Approach to Preventing Burnout as a Teacher

It's quite easy to work ourselves out while indulging in workplace activities, but the best measure is looking for ways to quickly curb that from happening, and when it does, delving into things that'll help us calm down and be energized to go again, and being a teacher in a public school; I can relate to the possibility of workplace burnout because my profession is one that's very demanding, and indulging in all the activities that revolve around it can easily make you get overwhelmed, which can go on to take a toll on your well-being, making you feel demotivated, drained, and uninterested in working in this profession that you used to be passionate about and that has brought you joy.

One of the major challenges that comes from being a teacher in a public school that usually leads to workplace burnout for me is the large population of students and the need to strain my voice just so they can hear, and in a day, sometimes I have to move to at least four classes to explain the same topic and rewrite the same note multiple times in each class, and that's not forgetting other activities such as writing lesson plans, dealing with students, school management activities, marking, and grading after assessment, amongst many others, which can go on to become too ambiguous for us to handle, and below are some of the ways I usually avoid workplace burnout.

One thing I usually do to avoid workplace burnout is set boundaries, like knowing when to stop; for example, when I first started this job, I used to have loads of leftover work to take home, and before you know it, I'm exhausted and unwilling to go to work the next day because I've allowed work to interfere with my personal life. But since I've set boundaries, it has helped me a lot, and that's alongside me prioritizing self-care: Most times I realize it's when I neglect signs that I end up falling into burnout, so most times I make sure to eat before going to class, know when I'm tired while teaching, and find a way to sit and perform my duty rather than keep walking around and draining myself out.

Also I usually make sure to take a break when I know I need it, not keep burning myself out when it's obvious I'm losing it, I knowing when to take a break is a great way to avoid burnout and I do this once in awhile when I noticed how I'm feeling, Also, I sometimes resort to engaging in non-work-related activities, such as here on the Hive blockchain or on Discord; reading people's posts about various topics and communicating with friends on Discord usually serves as an avenue to flush out the stress and renew my mind with things that bring me joy.

On other occasions I find a way to diversify my teaching style, for example, giving classroom or class projects that get the students engaged while I have enough time to myself to relax and get back in shape while still in class, and most importantly, on days that I feel like I just can't handle the stress any longer, I don't shy away from asking for help at all; sometimes I call a colleague to please help me engage with the students so I can relax or just exchange periods with that colleague, so when next they have the same class, I'll go and take them when I'm now better. Doing this also helps lighten the work burden I have.

Overall, we must understand that burnout doesn't just make us feel down and make work unbearable; it also goes on to affect every other aspect of our lives, and that's why we must find a way to strike a balance in all activities we indulge in. We must ensure we don't lose ourselves in the process of trying to give our best at work. I take note of these because I know I matter, and no one can take my well-being seriously if I don't.

All photos are mine.