Teaching English online even if you are having the time of your life while you do it is hard work. It requires a lot of mental and physical effort. Try these 5 amazing tips for the busy teacher so that you can keep pushing forward without burning out.
For you to reach your full earning potential and attain great career heights, you need to put in twice the work to make it happen. And while it is commendable that you are hardworking and committed to your job, you still need to set up time to chill and relax.
There is a common adage that says, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. This is very true whether you are working online or offline. So, it is important that as much as you’re putting in effort to work, you are also enduring that you are taking out time to relax.
But as a teacher, relaxing is not just going to be in the conventional sense. You need to find a space and activity that replenishes you and adds even more value to you as you are relaxing.
Each of us have various things that we can use to entertain ourselves. This article is not going to focus on that. Instead, I’m going to look at activities and things you can do generally to help improve your working experience and reduce stress.
These activities are not so different or very exclusive to teachers but they add value that people in your position would appreciate.
Even though you haven’t started working as a teacher online yet, these activities I’m going to share with you are things that you can imbibe right now to make it a part of your routine when you do get that online teaching job.
I have tried as much as possible to make sure that these activities are inclusive so that even if you are teaching online or in physical classrooms in different countries, you can still find something on my list to do.
1. Practice Time Management
Time is a currency that each and every one of us has at our disposal and how we spend it is what will determine our stress levels.
If you spend your time worrying rather than actively doing things that will ease your stress and anxiety, you will end up elevating your stress levels making it difficult for you to relax even when you are on your free time.
A part of your daily routine should include a specific moment in time set aside to schedule your activities for the day. For people who like to be spontaneous, this may sound strict and ridiculous but by properly managing your time, you will be able to free up extra time for random activities. Every second of the day does not have to have something assigned to it.
2. Work Smarter, Not Harder
Many of us prefer to do things the traditional way. We have an idea of how we think things should be done and even though there are simplified and more conventional ways to do things, we choose to stick to the old ways because we think that it is preferable.
The problem with going the old ways when it comes to teaching is that it is very exhaustive. It will drain you physically, mentally and emotionally.
There are several tools and resources at our fingertips that can transform your teaching experience and make it seamless whether you’re teaching online or offline.
By utilizing these resources, you are able to direct your energy exactly where it should go and significantly save up on time and resources that you would have spent developing concepts or ideas for your classroom courses.
3. Remember to Pause
For workaholics, the idea of a pause may sound like it would defeat the purpose of their desire to work hard.
But the truth is, as humans our bodies were designed to rest and even though you are clocking in your regular sleep hours at night, during the days when you have to work, you need to recognize the moments where you just need to drop everything and pause even if it’s just for a few minutes.
When you feel the stress levels rising in your body, take a moment and just breathe. We underestimate the power of breathing and how it can significantly help us to relax and ease the stress and anxiety out of our system.
4. Connect With Others
Teaching is a social profession. I say this because it requires you to connect with other people in the same field in order to replenish the resources that you expend every day on the job.
You could either try to create time to hang out with your colleagues in real-time or you could sign up for conferences that are centred around your profession like the one that TEFL organizes annually.
Those are excellent forums for networking and also connecting you with individuals who have succeeded in your field so that you can learn a thing or two from them and this is just on the basic level.
You could also attend retreats organized specifically for teachers. Those communal spaces allow you to connect with people who can relate with everything you are going through and get practical information on how to navigate certain territories.
5. Identify Your Stressors and Prioritize Your Workload
Stress is not an invisible enemy that just happens suddenly without reason. There are specific things that trigger stress in us. As a teacher, you need to identify exactly what is causing this stress.
It could be the deadlines that you have. Experts agree that the excessive workload on your hands is usually the main culprit. To remedy the situation, you need to set up the time to organize your list of workload and then prioritize them accordingly.
You don’t have to do everything at once and you don’t have to get it perfectly right the first time or every time. Just ensure that you are giving your best while taking the time to rest. This is absolutely important for your mental well-being.
Final thoughts
Finding time for yourself shouldn’t be something you forgo. It is mandatory in order to keep your sanity as a teacher. Your wellbeing should always come first because without you being in a good mood, your student will suffer as well.
Your mood affects theirs. And in the times we are living right now, a stable role model is needed more than ever. You are that role model and in order to continue being a good one, you have to take care of yourself. You need it, you deserve it. You are the best and you should take the time to show yourself that too.
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