Burnout in Education: How To Avoid It
Burnout in the educational field is trending upwards. In a 2022 Gallup poll, 44% of educators teaching Kindergarten through 12th grade, reported feeling burned out “often” or “always.” Knowing this, educators (teachers and/or leaders) can follow these five practices on how to avoid burnout in educatoin and enjoy a fulfilling career.
Set Boundaries & Stick to Them
Prioritize non-negotiable personal time to recharge. It is better to have a consistent small amount of time to disconnect than try to wait for a large chunk of time that may never come. For example, you may protect Tuesday afternoons from 4:00- 4:30 pm to walk your dog and listen to music because you know Monday is chaotic and you’ll need a breather by the next day. You create a sacred time to unwind and you work around that consistent, small time. You prioritize you and have higher output at work due to the break. What would this look like for you?
Streamline & Simplify
Reduce unnecessary tasks by focusing on what truly impacts student learning. Take a daily or weekly audit to see where your time was spent. You’ll notice common tasks you can complete in one chunk of time instead of spacing out throughout the week. Likely, you’ll find a lot of tasks that don’t move the needle in helping you improve in your practice or push student learning forward. Think about how to reduce those tasks, advocate for alternate requirements from your boss, or eliminate them altogether. Creating a weekly cycle checklist where you complete necessary tasks in efficient, pre-determined bunches allows you to work efficiently. For example, every Monday you write lessons plans for the following week (or review them if you are a leader). When you do similar tasks together, your brain is able to produce more and in a quicker time frame because you’re not switching tasks requiring different parts of your brain to fire.
Foster a Culture of Support
Encourage staff to check in on each other and normalize asking for help. When the possibility of burn out occurring to staff is no longer kept a secret, it brings everyone together to avoid feelings of depression, anxiety and displeasure. Share strategies for how you yourself decrease feelings of burn out and encourage staff to share theirs as well. A sense of community will be built around a common obstacle everyone wants to avoid.
Celebrate Small Wins
Acknowledge progress and successes regularly to maintain motivation. When all you hear is bad news and experience negativity in your work environment, its hard to stay interested in your current task or role. Acknowledging forward progress keeps the focus on improvement rather than perfection. Students will mirror this behavior and begin to celebrate their own small wins, embracing a growth mindset in their own life.
Practice Intentional Self-Care
Build routines that support physical, emotional, and mental well-being. Being able to pinpoint the origin of feelings leading to burn out allows you to create a system of support to battle it. For example, if Wednesdays are full of meetings causing you to get behind on your daily tasks, carve out thirty minutes after dinner to catch up knowing Thursday after school will be spent enjoying your favorite self-care activity (ie. grabbing coffee and walking around the local pond, grabbing dinner with a friend, visiting a nail or hair salon etc.). Knowing the triggers and scheduling relief helps you push through the stress that leads to burn out.
Next Steps & Additional Resources
Creating a self- care plan that is realistic and revitalizing is key to avoiding burnout. There will be days and weeks that you are unable to implement one of the steps above, but getting back on track with implementing preventative measures will ensure you experience fulfillment in your career.
If you are looking for additional resources on this topic, browse below:
- Blog Post
- Podcast Episodes
- Printable Guide
If you need more resources to help you become an even stronger teacher leader or coach, browse these printable and digital options. Check out other helpful blog posts here. Be sure to also check out my latest book, Always A Lesson: Teacher Essentials for Classroom and Career Success.
GO BE GREAT!
About the author, Gretchen
I am a teacher trainer and coach. Working elbow to elbow with teachers and teacher leaders to ensure instructional proficiency and student achievement soar lights me up. We have a real need in our nation for strong educators to remain in the field. My blog, book, podcast, courses and instructional materials are geared towards empowering teachers (and those that lead them) to receive the support needed to grow and thrive today, tomorrow and always.
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