Writing in Education Week, Kelly Scott, a secondary English teacher in Chesterfield, Va., offers four tips to survive the long winter months before spring break — when you’re already feeling burnt out.
1) Turn off a barrage of social media negativity.
Following teacher accounts on Instagram and TikTok is pretty much synonymous with teaching these days. Many offer a hefty amount of validation by exposing the negative and downright ridiculous aspects of teaching that only fellow educators can appreciate or understand. These accounts are invaluable.
But if your feed is a constant barrage of negativity — the most harrowing tales of bad student behavior, admin antics, and teachers confessing their desire to leave the profession, this will affect your own mindset and attitude. You may be relieved to know you are not the only one irritated by poor student behavior and outrageous parental requests, but relief can quickly turn into frustration and disgust that doesn’t end when you put down your phone.
Don’t adopt an outlook of toxic positivity; just be aware of the content in your feed and how it impacts you.
Balance the negative with some lighthearted professional content and be sure to follow some humorous nonteacher-related accounts to sprinkle in a laugh here and there.
2) Limit exposure to vents and rants.
Venting is natural and feels good, but some people make it their only means of conversing on the job. “Venting vampires” will release all their pent-up anger, frustration, and disillusionment with a particular class, the school year, or the entire public education system in general.
If you’re constantly receiving vents and rants, offer a vaguely positive statement to interrupt the negative flow. Say something like, “My class has actually been pretty cooperative this week” and move on. Don’t commiserate.
Be aware of how the attitudes of co-workers can shape your feelings toward your time in the classroom, especially during long stretches without a break.
3) Minimize mindless scrolling for job opportunities.
If you are feeling burnt out be mindful of how much time you spend job scrolling. What begins out of boredom and curiosity may turn into obsessively searching and thinking the grass is greener elsewhere. Investing excessive amounts of time into job searching can also make you disengage from your current job — compounding negative feelings you may already have. Stay in touch with how much time you spend looking at other job opportunities. If you are trying to escape reality, this could result in feeling even more dissatisfied.
4) Plan mental health days to support well-being.
Taking a strategically timed mental health day can give you something to look forward to during the winter blahs, but make it count. Once you schedule the day, activate an out-of-office email response so you completely unplug.
Don’t use your day off to grade papers or to get ahead with planning. Indulge yourself. Maybe spend the whole morning drinking coffee on your porch and listening to a favorite podcast. Or go shopping and browse with no sense of time. Maybe you decide to spend the day in nature hiking in silence.
For this day to be worth using sick time, make sure it benefits your mental well-being. Be selfish and make the day all about you. This could be the boost you need to keep going until spring break.
Education Week
