5 Tips for How to Avoid Teacher Burnout in the New Year

Introduction

This is a great time of year to reflect on the past year, but it can also be a stressful time for teachers. I know this from personal experience. In fact, I often find myself dreading the start of the school day because of all the work that comes with planning and preparing for class. The honeymoon stage with my students is over and we are all ready for a break. It’s no wonder why so many teachers burn out. But, there are ways to prevent teacher burnout in 2023.

Here are five tips to avoid teacher burnout in the new year:

1) Take Time for Yourself

You may have heard this before, but it’s worth repeating: take time for yourself. This means taking time off every once in a while. Prioritize time for yourself, rest, recovery time, and self-care. Each of these may look different to every person, but you need time for you in order to help your students in the classroom. Scheduling time for yourself can make it easier to recover and be well rested for the following school day.

Plan breaks into your daily schedule and make sure that you are eating throughout the day. Don't forget to go to the bathroom too. We all know how difficult that can be, but it is important for your internal health to do so.

2) Prioritize Better Sleep Habits

There are many things you can do to help avoid teacher burnout, but one of the easiest is simply getting enough sleep. The days of teachers working until late at night and then going home to grade papers or prepare for the next day are long gone. Still, it’s easy to go overboard with trying to pack as much into your weekend as possible, which can leave you exhausted and overwhelmed by Monday morning.

If you feel like you are not getting a full night's rest during the week (and let's face it: most teachers don't), make sure that when you do finally get home from work each day, you allow yourself time to decompress before going to sleep. Do your work outside your bedroom if possible and keep blue light to a minimum in that sacred space. This will make it far easier to fall asleep at the end of the night.

3) Positive Movement

Incorporate positive movement into your day-to-day activities. I frame this as positive movement and not exercise as positive movement does not have to be structured, as the usual exercise connotations imply.

Instead positive movement simply means to move your body in a way you enjoy. This may be yoga or dance or strength training in front of the TV or running or walking or hiking or doing laundry or squats or kickboxing. You get the idea.

Try to make time for this positive movement that you enjoy every day, even if it is only 5 minutes. Get out in nature if you can as that is an extra boost to your nervous system and can help you regulate stress that is going on in your life.

4) Set boundaries on your time.

It's important to set boundaries on your time. When you have a lot going on, it can be easy to let things slip through the cracks and not complete them. It is also important to prioritize what you need to do as a teacher, as well as what you want to do.

For example, if you like spending time with your family after school, make sure those things are prioritized by keeping your grading and lesson planning at school.

5) Get help.

The first step is to recognize that something is wrong.

When you realize that your stress and exhaustion are not normal, it's time to talk about it. Talk with a colleague or family member who can help you de-stress and deal with stress in the moment. If you're still feeling overwhelmed and realize you are on the road to experiencing burnout (check out this article: What is Burnout?), seek professional help from a psychologist to discuss anything from anxiety to trauma. Finally, if you feel like you need help receiving more individualized support to create a stress management system in your life (from someone who works specifically with teacher stress management), consider working with an experienced teacher burnout specialist such as myself!

Bonus Tip: Plan your year.

If you are not already feeling the symptoms of burnout, you can plan out your year to avoid succumbing to burnout by summer.

As a teacher, you have a ton to think about—your lesson plans, classroom management and rapport, how much (or how little) professional development you'll get this year, how much time you will have for grading or lesson planning. Plus all of life's other responsibilities on top of that.

Having an overall plan for the rest of the year will help simplify things so that when it comes time for each new day in class, you can focus on teaching and not scrambling around trying to figure out what comes next or where things fit into your schedule.

Note: Planning will become very difficult if you are already in a burnout cycle. Be sure that your plans are flexible and adaptable depending on how the school year changes. They should have just enough structure to keep you sane, but not so much that they cause anxiety if you do not stick to them. If you would like more help with this, consider reaching out to someone like me who helps teachers create more efficient time management systems in order to improve stress management.

Teacher Burnout Prevention: Look ahead and plan for the next year.

It’s never too early to start planning ahead. Planning and lesson planning before the end of term is a good time to think about how you can avoid teacher burnout in 2023.

• Plan for your holidays: This holiday season, you may have time off and still be thinking about what you need to plan for the next year. If the holidays stress you out (for whatever reason), try and plan some activities for yourself during these times. I encourage you to start building habits of self care so that you can go into the new year more refreshed.
• Get organized: Look at what you have planned for the next semester. What can you adapt or change so that you are more realistic with the energetic needs of these activities and the prep time involved. Choose activities that create better balance in your classroom for you and your students.
• Plan self-care: Add a certain routine for when you are going to practice your self-care. Remember that it does not need to be anything fancy like a big soaking tub and face mask. Self-care just means to take care of yourself, such as a nutritious meal, shower, get your hair done, move your body in a way you enjoy, sleep in, have a nice breakfast, make your bed, plan out your day, incorporate gratitude, etc. For more self-care tips, check out my Instagram @jewelsofteaching where I give teacher self-care tips every Wednesday and Sunday.
• Create time-management systems: Just like with “Get Organized,” implement habits and systems that will help you be more productive in the time you have.
• Plan connection with others: Plan time where you can spend time with friends, connect with family, and generally enjoy another person's company without thinking about work.
• Get clear on those boundaries: Write down your boundaries and plans to work within contract hours for the next year. Be very clear on how you will make this happen. It will be flexible as you work things out, but you want an action plan that will help you succeed in the new year.

Conclusion

Burnout happens, and it happens a lot with teachers. We just need systems in place to help prioritize our own wellness that will help us become more effective teachers. If you are feeling burnt out right now, head over to my article: 5 Burnout Recovery Tips.

You can sign up for my Newsletter to receive a Free Burnout Reference Guide as well as tips on stress management for teachers, building better teacher life balance, and incorporating social emotional learning into the high school classroom.

Plus, check out this Positive Affirmations Sheet and/or Reflection Journal for Teachers in my Teachers Pay Teachers Store to help you set up your year for wellness success!

Teacher burnout is a real issue, and it can happen to anyone. But that doesn't mean you have to let it keep you in a burnout cycle.

By taking some simple steps, like setting boundaries on your time and getting help, you can make sure that your mental health and wellness will be top priority in the coming year!