Who else is ready for teaching to feel like a more sustainable career?

Sometimes you just get to the point where enough is enough.

And you start to recognize that what you’re doing plays a major role in why you’re feeling the way you’re feeling and getting the results you’re getting. This is actually great news because it means you can get different results when you choose to do something different.

In other words, you’re the boss of your life. I know there are tons of things outside your control. But that’s not what this is about.

This is about recognizing when something’s not working, and being okay to let it go and try something else.

This is the final post in a series about how to make teaching feel like a more SUSTAINABLE career.

Click here to read from the beginning

The focus of this post: SUSTAINABLE

Experiment and adjust as you go.

Maybe you’re completely overwhelmed by everything you have going on right now, but when you look closely at your day-to-day, you pinpoint a lot of your stress is coming from, of all things - the laundry.

Are those socks on the kitchen floor clean or dirty?

The laundry makes the house look messy and you feel like you’re failing at adulting because it shouldn’t be so hard to put away the clothes the same day you wash them.

No shame here - not for a second.

Just collecting data.

So, let’s explore a little.

If you’re having a hard time keeping up with the laundry - is it possible your family actually has too many clothes?
If your kids’ closets (or yours) are packed with clean clothes, of all sizes and seasons, is it time to do a closet cleanout?
Are your kids old enough to do their own laundry?

If you’re folding your kids’ clothes - what would happen if you stopped?

What if you had a conversation with others in the house, asking for their help with a new system you want to try?
Are you kind of particular about laundry and need to do it a certain way, so it makes it hard for people to help you?

Could you have a folding party to catch up - complete with a movie and treats to make it more fun?

When you fall behind on laundry, do you turn it into a moral failing of some kind? PSA. It’s not. It’s just dirty socks.

Could you pair throwing in a load of laundry with something you already do? So, as soon as you walk into the house from work, you head straight to the washer and turn on a load. That way you’ll build a habit and it’ll start to take less effort over time.

Have you been wanting to try out a laundry service? Check out the prices to see what it would actually cost and then make your decision.

This is all about being curious, experimenting, collecting data, and adjusting as you go when something doesn’t work.

If you try something and it doesn’t work, try not to take it personally. Just take it as a data point, make a tweak, and try again. And make it fun if possible.

How do you make laundry, fun?

You’re super creative, but here are some ideas to get you started:

Turn laundry time into bonus alone time. Shut the laundry room door. Grab a tea and light your favorite scented candle (seriously, go all out). Then hit play on the newest episode of your favorite serial killer podcast and fold away.
Set a timer for 10 minutes and a goal to get all the clean laundry to the rooms where it has to go. The people who live in those rooms are responsible for folding it and putting it away. You can do the towels/sheets. When you beat the timer - do a little celebratory dance just for funsies.

I set timers all the time - probably goes back to when I was a kid being dared…

“Betcha can’t get to the mailbox and back in 60 seconds!”

I know NOW they didn’t feel like getting the mail and were tricking me into doing it, but joke’s on them because now I use it as a fun kinda mental manipulation to motivate myself.

Find someone else in your life who’s buried in laundry and do a Fold N’ Facetime. It turns a task that can be a pain in the ass into a time to reconnect with a friend who’s in a similar boat.

Special benefits for ADHD brains with experiments like this….

If you struggle with Time Blindness, setting a timer and writing down how long typical chores end up taking is helpful for future planning.
Your brain probably loves novelty/challenge, like beating a timer - especially if it’s a visual timer.
Finishing the task will make you feel great and you can sprinkle in an extra reward - even a simple “Good job!” you say to yourself, for an added boost of dopamine, which of course feels good for all brains, especially yours.

I think you get the picture.

Let’s move on to a different example, k?

Staying at work until 5pm every day isn’t working for you, but you’re not sure how to be ready for the next day without staying a couple of hours after the students leave.

Let’s dig a little deeper, here.

Leaving at contract time is a boundary you can put in place for yourself. But you have to be realistic, too. If you have a meeting after school that runs until 4:30pm, even if you used your prep time well that day, you may not feel ready to leave right after the meeting.

Remember the bigger picture, here. You’re trying to let go of what doesn’t work (staying late).

But maybe leaving at contract time every day isn’t possible. Not EVERY day. Cool, but staying until 5 every day isn’t the best choice either when you’d like to be home to….

Start supper
Get out for a walk
And hang out with your family.

So, experiment time.

Let’s be real. On days when there are meetings after school, you’re probably pretty burnt by that point - even if you had a great day.

So ask yourself (and be honest), how productive is any time you spend in your classroom past that point?

For me? Not very.

So, I started doing the basics right after the kids leave and before the meeting starts:

Get all the papers on my desk and front table sorted and away.
Make any copies I need for tomorrow.
Having all the papers away helps me feel more organized and I can relax in the morning instead of rushing for the copier.

I also take my coat and school bag to the meeting to leave out the front door as soon as it’s over.

I realized I’m usually starving by that point, with very little brainpower left.

I mean, am I really going to sit down and start drafting a test at 4:30pm? No, no I am not.

But everyone’s different.

Maybe you’ll find it hard to relax if x,y,z aren’t done before you leave school.

That’s fine, too.

Try setting a 30-minute time limit (“Betcha can’t get all your stuff done and packed up in 30 minutes!”). But seriously, having a time boundary is really helpful to stay focused.

Start with whatever is most important (not the easiest) to feel prepared for tomorrow. If it’s just mindless busy work it’s probably time to shutter’ down for the day.

If it’s likely you’ll be interrupted by a teacher friend wanting to chat, project a timer from YouTube up on your screen. Then, they’ll see you’re in the middle of something and, unless it’s important, ask if you can chat tomorrow.

Sure, it may make you feel a little weird but this is an experiment - so try it out and adjust if it doesn’t work for you.

Another option on days when you have meetings after school is to get to school a few minutes earlier or multi-task at lunch.

Am I suggesting you skip lunch?

No.

But if running through a set of copies before you eat your sandwich is possible and it means you’ll be able to walk out right after a meeting and get an early start on your evening - I’d argue that it’s a viable option to consider.

On those super busy days (you know the ones) be extra nice to yourself.

Have your students do some independent work, so you can finish up some correcting to give them feedback. Of course, this depends on your grade, students etc. but we can agree it’s not a great idea to assign a bunch of stuff that needs to be corrected asap on a day when you have no extra time after school.
If possible, plan tests for days when you’re free after school to start correcting so you don’t feel like you have to take it home.

The only rule with this whole thing is that there really are no rules.

Just draw on your natural talents, notice what works for others and you’ll come up with creative solutions to test out. That’s how you can make teaching fit in your life and make it feel like it’s a more sustainable career.

Maybe the change you make is that any day you DO stay past contract time you’ll show yourself extra kindness.

You’ll make sure to have an extra snack so you’re not famished, choose a tea from your special stash, and do 3 minutes of deep breathing while you’re waiting for the water to boil.
Then, you’ll put on some gentle music while you mark (or alternative 90s hits, if you’re me) to lift your energy.
You’ll order take-out for supper before you head home.

This way, yes, you’re choosing to stay late, but you’re in charge. It’s your choice, not out of necessity, plus you’re finding small ways to care for yourself while you do what you feel you need to do.

It’s why “work-life balance” is slippery. There’s not always a separation or perfect balance. It’s possible to do a little self-care wherever you happen to be - even at work.

Letting go of how you do things can be scary. But if it’s not working anyway, you might as well try something new.

It’s worth the effort because what you come up with will make this job of teaching more sustainable so you enjoy all the other parts of your life, too.

You got this.

So think about it.

What are you ready to let go of so you have space to scheme and dream up options that work better for how you want your life to be?

PS: And if you’re finding this blog series for the first time. Welcome. It’s over 🙃

But don’t worry. If you want to read more, click here to opt-in to the limited email series on how to make teaching feel more sustainable.

Each message will give you some inspiration and encouragement to take small actionable steps because teaching and having some kind of life outside the classroom doesn’t have to be so hard. 💜