Step 3 of Becoming a Better Educator: Creating Balance at Work

Creating Balance at Work

Balance….whats that?

This topic has probably been the hardest task to accomplish at work.  There are times where I feel no balance at work and other times I feel extremely at ease.  I knew I needed to find some type of flow at work so that I wouldn’t feel overwhelmed, over worked, and frazzled.  I realized that this will only get done if I put steps in place that I can repeat daily so that over time it will feel like it’s just apart of my daily routine.  Having these steps in place creates a sense of familiarity that gives you ease, clarity, and comfort.  If by chance your day does not go as planned at least you can pivot back to the “routine” because it’s what you know.  Believe it or not my “balance at work” starts at home.

Creating balance for me looks like this

5:20am: wake up and daily planner/goals for the day

5:30am: take out breakfast and lunch for the day that I already meal prepped on Sunday

5:40am: shower

6:00am: get dressed, clothes for the week have already been ironed

6:05am: hair and makeup

6:15am: wrapping everything up, pouring coffee

6:20am: leaving my house for work

6:50am: getting there early enough to find parking and sit in my car to decompress, scroll on instagram, read my horoscope, and pray

7:05-7:45am: In my office where I write down tasks for the day on a sticky note.  I love to cross things out once they are done so that I can get a visual of tasks that have been completed.  Answer and send emails

Look at my daily schedule to see students that I will be servicing and preparing for my sessions

7:50: greet students and start the day

I always take lunch no matter what even if it’s not at the exact time I put on my schedule.

I stopped socializing.  I found myself socializing and then not getting all of my work done at the time I wanted.

I stopped over volunteering.  Although I enjoy helping out; at times I need to ask myself is this worth me sacrificing my time and energy?

I said no to things that had nothing to do with my job.  I would only do this if you have good standing in your job and if its directly out of line of your job title.  I use to say yes to everything thinking people will like me and see me as a “team player”.

Burn out is real and it’s quick

Works should be enjoyable not complicated

I hope this helps and can give insight on how to achieve balance at work and if you need some extra help and accountability then look no further and book a learning call with me.

See you in the next Blog

Step 2 of Becoming a Better educator for yourself Time - management for work

How many of us feel as though there aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done? Do you feel as though you could never get all of your work done?  Are you spreading yourself thin with projects that have nothing to do with your actual work? Are there not enough hours or are you not using your time wisely?  Combination of both?

Time- management is the biggest thing we struggle with as educators.  We need to get everything done in a time-span of 6.5 hours.  I struggled with this the most.  It would be 12pm, I didn’t eat any breakfast and had to cancel my session once again because I needed to deal with something that honestly had nothing to do with me.  So I stopped… Yes I stopped, said no to things, and took control of my time.

How?

I don’t come to work on time, I come early.

My work day technically starts at 7:15am even though the students don’t come in till 8am.  I came in early due to parking restraints in the neighborhood that my school is located in.  But the earlier I came in the more work I got done and the more organized I became.  That extra 30-40min allowed me to decompress in my car, set intentions for my day, get paperwork done in my office, and organize a schedule of the days task.  I started to see how much more focused I became.

Setting an Schedule for Students and Parent Engagement

Im pretty fortunate as a counselor that I can make my own schedule.  After doing this for about 7years I have made a schedule that best fits my needs.  I try not to schedule any students during the first and last periods of the day.  This can get tricky after I change my schedule for the 10th time due to other service providers and I’m very lenient with my colleagues.  Not scheduling students first and last periods has worked out best because something always happens in the beginning of the day and the end.  It allows me to still see my mandated students and give me wiggle room.

I meal prep

This is my game changer.  I meal prep breakfast and lunch for the week every Sunday.  This helps me with more than one thing.

1. I don’t have to think about what I’m going to eat the day of

2. Food is already made so it’s one less thing I have to worry about when I wake up

3. I don’t have to order and wait for food at work so I can actually take a lunch break

4. I save money

5. Keeps me consistent with my fitness goals

Breakfast: overnight oats, boiled eggs with avocado, scrambled eggs, and oatmeal

Lunch: quinoa with chickpeas, cucumber, tomato, feta, red onion or kale salad with chicken

Lastly

I iron my clothes for the week

Yes, I know this sounds absurd.  My co-workers are like “that’s so much work”, “how do you know if thats what you want to wear”, “what about the weather?”  Well, I look at the weather in advance and I pick my clothes and don’t look back.  I iron on Sunday for the week and it’s one less thing I have to worry about in the morning.

I know this may not work for everyone but its all trial and error.  Finding a schedule that works for you will change your life.  It will keep you focused and will give you extra time that you didn’t think you had.

I hope what helps me can help you.

Click the link to schedule a discovery call and lets work on creating something for you that will help you develop personally and professionally.

Back to School Blues….or Back to School Views?

Yes, we all know it’s that time again.  The dreaded back to school blues.  I mean the commercials have been saying back to school since July!  This is always followed by others who are not educators chiming in with “ Well you did have 2 months off” which I would love to reply with, well why don’t you try teaching, educating, problem solving, and crying every other week for half the salary of most.  BUT….. this year I am choosing to not have that pessimistic attitude.  I am choosing this year to have different views instead of the blues.

If you’ve been an educator for more than 5 years then you know every year is different but also the same.  What do I mean by that?  For example, you know you will have to work 8-2:30 or longer some days.  You know you will have to go to boring PD’s.  You know you will have at least one administrator or teacher take you past your limit, and you know you’ll have that one student bring you to your boiling point.  So then why choose to stress over it?  I encourage you to put this in the “already been there done that” pile.  This means that you are a pro at conquering this part of your job.  You know what it feels like therefore you know how to handle it.  It’s all about the way in which you want to view the situation.

Repeat after me: This school year NOTHING is greater than my self-happiness and self-worth. 

With that being said I have a challenge for you.  Before you walk into the school building I want you to ask yourself, What is your meaning of an educator and are you fulfilling that?  If you could block out all the noise and what if’s how do you think your day would go?  Would your lessons be more fulfilling? Would you feel as though you accomplished everything on your to-do list.  Were you able to eat lunch?  Does it mean that you finally left on time?  Are you worrying less about what other educators might think of you?  Does it mean that you leave work at work instead of taking it home?  Sit with yourself and write down whatever comes to mind.  Now what I want you to do next is check off all the items that you have control over.   Psstttt…you do have control over it, we are just made to think we don’t.  For the items that you feel that you don’t have control over think about how you would like to handle that scenario if it comes up.  What outcome would make you feel most at ease.

This year I am choosing to lead with my heart.  Everything I do, everything I say will come from my heart because anything coming from my heart is pure and genuine.  This year I am choosing to say no to tasks that are not directly linked to my job title and I am not going to feel guilty about it.  This year I choose to not take student’s attitudes toward me personally because deep down I know they’re also just as confused as I am about life.  This year I am choosing to create clear boundaries with my co-workers.  This year I am choosing to have fun.

This is my meaning of an educator.

What’s yours?

This school year NOTHING is greater than my self-happiness and self-worth. 

Educator Wellness

It’s been 2 months into the new year and I’ve already experienced at least one or more crisis daily, almost weekly.  I’ve had one student refuse to go to class due to anxiety, one who is experiencing a divorce, and one who had a fight. Thats only my caseload since I am 1 of 3 counselors in my school building.   SEL is the new hot topic since the pandemic but anxiety is at an all-time high, and teachers come into my office crying because they are overwhelmed that their co-teacher called out of work……again.  I work only in one school and I know that this is probably happening all over the city.  I sometimes wonder to myself why am I so immune to this and when will my breaking point happen?

As a school counselor I am the one students come to for guidance and now my teachers are also looking for an outlet.  What should I tell my teachers?  “Don’t worry about it, you’ll be fine, they’re just one kid don’t take it personal”.

No, but seriously, don’t take it personal.  Thats my secret to not getting to my breaking point.

This one small statement holds all the power yet hearing it makes you feel so powerless.  The truth is you DON’T have the power when it comes to the student you educate, you only have the power to control your reaction to any given situation.

As an educator, you have to learn how to disconnect a student’s or colleague’s behavior with your own self-worth as a worker.  At times we feel if they are not listening or they are not engaged, then it’s US who’s the issue.  I’m the one who hasn’t gotten through to this student, I’m the one who needs to change my approach.  In reality no matter what you change, if that individual is in crisis nothing you think you can do will help.

It’s time you take the power away from; what am I doing wrong to, what can I do to give power to this person?

Here are some ideas:

Pass it on: call an AP, teacher on prep, or a counselor and say “hey can you come to my classroom, I need to take a walk”. This is of course considering your relationships with each of the parties mentioned.

Pass it on Part 2: Ask the student to take a walk and take a break from the situation

Walk a way confident:  Pat yourself on the back and say “ I did the best I could with what I have”.  This is giving yourself the power back instead of critiquing yourself

Put it back on them:  What do you think can be done in order for this to have a positive outcome?  This way you’re not the only one to come up with the solution.

Last but most important: DONT’ TAKE IT PERSONAL!  Imagine someone saying that statement to yourself, hands on your shoulders with a big smile on your face.   At the end of the day you’re human too.

Leave it at the door, disconnect, and recharge

If you want more tips or are interested in getting coached by me then set up an appointment via my website or Instagram.