Do you come home tired each night? Are you in need of simple ways to keep up with routines outside of school? Maybe you just want to build in more time to rest when you are home.
Check out a few tips and tricks below for keeping up with routines at home and finding ways to balance work and life outside of work.
We have all heard the term "teacher tired" or some version of it. There is end of the day teacher tired, first week teacher tired, or end of the year teacher tired. Simply, there's no tired like teacher tired! But there is something we can do about it. I have been in the place of being so tired, exhasuted, and close to teacher burnout, but I have created a few resources that can help ease this tired in my life and help others to balance work and life outside of work.
Does this look like you? Maybe you close the classroom door, put your head down on the desk, and just wish for a few minutes to nap. Or, maybe you hold it together throughout the day, but crash on the couch, yet again eating takeout and watching your favorite show.
Tip #1: Complete One Task a Day
Say what?? Only one task each day? We often let laundry and dishes pile up. We don't pick up toys after our toddler. We rush to come up with a dinner plan after school. Pick one task that you are going to complete each day. This can be as simple as picking up clothes off the floor as you change into comfy clothes at home. If you have kids, take just 15 minutes to do whatever you can to clean up your home after they go to bed. You will be amazed how much you can get done in just 15 minutes if you put your mind to it.
Additional ideas include:
Put one load of laundry in the wash in the AM. Move it to the dryer in the PM.
Load your dishwasher after dinner. Empty it right before bed, or first thing in the morning.
Prep a few items for dinner, such as chopping veggies, before you leave for work.
Vacuum one room each evening.
Tip #2: Plan Ahead
Meal planning, planning for chores (see Tip #1), or planning what to wear for work. Try to make those plans ahead of time. I like to take just 15-20 minutes on a Sunday to prep for the week.
Meal Prep: I write out a list of meal options and check to see if I need any additional groceries for the week. I take meat out of the freezer to defrost in the fridge. Check out Teacher Cooking Made Simple, a cookbook of recipes that are simple to make or easy to clean up. Clicke the link below to download the PDF.
Lunch Prep: Depending on what I want for lunches, I will pre-portion snacks into baggies, cut up fruits and cheese, and put drinks in the fridge to get cold. I might even fry up some chicken or taco meat to use in salads or other dishes throughout the week. Anything that makes lunches quick and easy to put together in the morning is my go-to!
Outfit Prep: I often plan ahead on outfits. I don't write out lists, but I will pull out a few staple items (dresses, pants, sweaters) that I plan to wear throughout the week. This makes getting up in the morning easier and the morning routine faster. Needing some teacher outfit ideas? Check out some of my teacher outfit inspo at the links below (Instagram Account Needed)!
Tip #3: Find Rest
When figuring out how to balance work with life, one of the hardest parts is often finding time to rest. We can schedule in all the chores, errands, and meal prep, but we don't naturally schedule in rest. One thing I can assure you, is that if you are taking time to mindfully plan for your week, you will find pockets of time for rest. And joy can be found in those moments of relaxation and renewal. One of the most important pieces of advice I give new teachers is to find something outside of the classroom that brings you joy.
Do you have an evening activity that you can look forward to? I love to take a few days each week to turn off the TV and cuddle up by the fire with a cup of tea, a cozy blanket, and a good book. I find joy in renewing my mind thorugh reading, while winding down before sleep. Yes, I have a toddler at home and she keeps us moving until her bedtime. But having a good routine in place for her and myself, has allowed me to use the time after she goes to sleep to find joy in rest.
Ideas for Hobbies/Activities for Teachers (that mostly avoid screentime):
Reading
Listening to Podcasts
Hiking
Knitting
Baking
Photography
Blogging
Painting/Drawing
Volunteering
I hope you have been able to find even a small way that you can simplify your life, find joy in teaching, and balance the demands of teaching in the classroom with life outside of work. Teacher tired is a real thing, sometimes all the time teacher tired, but YOU can break the cycle and find ways to enjoy what you do both in and out of the classroom.
Interested in learning more about how to make your day in the classroom easier? I have an entire course on Organizing Made Simple for the classroom. The master course for teachers covers organizing materials, lesson plans, data, includes images, and video of all the organizational hacks I have found during my time teaching.
Learn more about Organizing Made Simple in the Courses page
on Upper Elementary Made Simple.