What Can You Do to Protect Your Wellbeing?

Both challenges in schools and the behavior of leaders, parents, and other teachers have a real and significant impact on the wellbeing of educators. Thankfully, there are steps individuals can take to protect themselves and better manage their own wellbeing.

Changing your behaviors and habits is not easy, particularly in the context of life in a busy school environment. You might have a limited amount of willpower, but a few effective habits can help you make better decisions.

Below are 8 tips to help improve your wellbeing as an educator.

1. Acknowledge what's happening to you: Avoiding burnout isn't easy when you're not fully in tune with what's happening to you. For example, you may know you're feeling stressed or exhausted, but you might have a hard time pinpointing why you feel that way. Being able to identify specific things that are impacting you in and out of work makes it easier for you to tackle them.

Some teachers find that journaling helps. Writing down what's happening when you’re stressed, and any specific feelings you have, can help you discover patterns. If writing isn't your thing, you can set aside a bit of time each day when you can reflect on your worries. Getting these out in the open can help you to gain clarity on what’s happening in your world and give you more mental breathing space later.

Of course, you can also touch base with a friend or colleague and gain their perspective. They may be able to help you find solutions that you struggle to see.

2. Accept you do have a choice: Remember you control your work and not the other way around – educators have a lot on their plates, and all of us could easily work until midnight each day. Set your working hours and do the work you can do within them, and then pick up anything not done on the next day. If you don’t do this, the day simply expands to fit the work and you may never feel caught up.

As you likely feel pressure to complete work, it may not feel like you have a choice. This pressure is often self-imposed. But what we do and how we respond to situations is usually in our control. We can choose whether and when we work additional hours or if we want to take steps to reduce these.

No one is pretending this is easy and that there aren’t staff members who need significant support to deal with this as well as mental health and other workplace challenges. Yet recognizing that there is choice is an important first step.

3. Maintain a life outside work: Taking work home seems to be almost inevitable for those in leadership and teaching roles, as well as some support roles. For example, lesson planning and grading are just two of the activities that teachers often complete outside normal school hours.

While you can't always avoid taking your work home with you, it is important to create some separation. Dedicate a specific space to completing your work, and try to ensure it's away from the areas where you relax. It will help you maintain space away from any possible school anxiety. If the only space available is your living room, you can create an office corner and avoid completing tasks on the sofa. Once you decide you're done with work for the night, step away from that space and silence your phone until the next working day begins.

Maintaining an active social life is also important. Spending time with your family or friends and focusing on your hobbies are helpful in avoiding burnout. Take some time to consider what gives you the biggest release from stress. Focusing on activities that are fun helps you detach from school-day anxieties.

4. Give yourself time to focus on your mental health: When weekends and holidays come around, consider dedicating time and even a day to focus on your mental health. Although stepping away from work-related projects doesn't make problems disappear, it gives you the chance to recharge. Being able to refresh yourself allows you to tackle tasks more effectively when you need to focus on work again. 

When taking a mental health day, make sure you put off any work-related commitments. Your time away from work doesn't need to be productive in any way. If you need to treat it as an opportunity to relax and do nothing, then do so. 

5. Prioritize the work that matters: Not all work is created equally — take opportunities to review what is most important. One way of doing this is to weight tasks against the following framework.

• High effort for me and low impact for pupils or colleagues? Ditch these.
• Low effort for me and low impact for pupils or colleagues? Not a priority.
• Low effort for me and high impact for pupils or colleagues? Make these your priority.
• High effort for me and high impact for pupils or colleagues? Review – are they worth doing or is your time better spent elsewhere?

You might also use a to do list to record the work you feel you must do and a 'don't do' list to keep track of tasks you chose to skip.

6. Learn to say 'no': When someone asks you to complete a task that impacts your other work, saying "no" can benefit both you and your students. Of course, this is easier said than done. One way you can say no is through negotiation. If the new task comes from your principal or department head, let them know what else you have on your plate and ask which of these should you not do in order to accommodate the new work. This also helps raise their awareness of your situation.

7. Focus on what has gone well: Many staff members tend to focus on what’s gone wrong or tasks that have not been completed at the end of each day. Instead of dwelling on what you didn't do, focus on the big picture and congratulate yourself for what you have accomplished. It's important to focus on these  positives. One way to do this is to create a habit of asking yourself two questions at the end of each day: What has gone well today, and what has been completed? List the three most important things and take these home with you.

8. Establish a support network: You can create both formal and informal support networks to help you manage your wellbeing. Talking to your colleagues is an effective way to offload some of your worries. Other educational staff might see things you are missing and help identify solutions to your problems. 

Speaking with your principal may also prove useful, and they may have insight into what is going on. At the very least, it ensures they're aware of how you feel, which makes it easier for them to provide support.

Talking to a trusted friend and those outside education can also help give you a different perspective on what is happening.

If you would like to find more tips about managing a full range of challenges that impact staff wellbeing – from full interactive courses to bitesize videos and guides - The Welbee Toolkit is for you.

It has been designed to help those working in education look after and improve their own wellbeing. Why not sign up for a free account today?