We live in a world where accessibility has never been easier. We also live in a world where it is incredibly hard to separate your home and persona life. There is a constant tug-of-war. My simple advice would be this – don’t be too accessible. Have clear boundaries. You are going to read a lot in this blog about maintaining balance. As parents, as educators, as students…we need to maintain balance. This is already my second post about balance in a month. To be a great teacher, you have to have a life outside of school that is independent of your success at school – you have to do it. If you don’t, this profession will gobble-up every ounce of your time, and you will get burned out. Worse, you will miss out on many great things which don’t involve work.
Teachers, you need to unplug from work. We have all had administrators who like to contact us at home while we are not at work. My advice is to not set that precedent. Don’t even look at your email. Don’t respond to a text. Don’t answer a call unless it is an emergency. If you have to, purchase a second phone for personal use and don’t give out that number to your employer. Good administrators will rarely bother you at home, but they will almost always take your own call(at all hours) if there is a concern. That is a servant leader.
I once had an administrator who liked to send out their weekly news bulletins during Tennessee footbal games on Saturdays. They hated Tennessee, and I hated those news bulletins. The quickest way an administrator can alienate themselves from their staff is to send them communications at all hours. Usually those bulletins contained “heavy asks.” They knew that by sending them out during the game, they wouldn’t have to answer as many questions. By the end of the game, that administrator would “go dark” (meaning be unavailable) until Monday morning. I wish I could say that I was disciplined enough not to read them, but I did. I wish that I hadn’t. I usually read them and worked to get ahead for the week as a result. Or I read them and knew a storm was brewing. There was always a storm brewing with this principal. Have you ever known someone where a tempest is always brewing around them? Yep, definitely don’t read their after-hours communications. You will never find rest. You will lose time with your families. Set that boundary early in your career, and don’t relent.
In general, I communicated well as a teacher – maybe too well at times. Some things can wait until the next day. In fact, most things can wait. It is rare in teaching to be able to put a “bow on the day” and know that your work is done. There is almost always still work to do. My advice is to work hard, and once done with your day, set it down at a reasonable time. Life is short, and you don’t want your life to be all about work. While your work is important, it needs to be compartmentalized and have its place. If you work for someone who doesn’t respect this, start looking for another job – fast.
I don’t have a ton of memories(when they were young) for one of my youngsters. I made the choice to work far too much. I was a provider for my family, and took that seriously. I also took my job seriously. I worked for some folks who were more than willing to accommodate that choice. I was fortunate to have a job in teaching that I loved. I enjoyed working with families and their children. In fact, it rarely felt like work at all. However, you don’t get those years back with your own kids. You can’t always give the best hours of your day to someone else’s kids. You don’t want to be teaching your own children how to drive, and realize that you wished you had done more fishing with them when they were younger. Find that balance, and that means saying, “No,” to work on behalf of your family. That means finding a building where the culture is one that respects and honors the balance that you need with home and work.
If you are going to be an effective and innovative educator, you have to let your mind and body rest. You can’t run around all day with your hair on fire.
Next to love, balance is the most important thing. John Wooden
Pro Tip: If you don’t have a family, you still need to get out of there and unplug. You need to have a life separate from school. I was in that boat for about half of my career, so I know.
Bonus Pro Tip: And ya’ll, don’t look at work communication while you are on vacation. Resist that urge.
Are three pro tips too much?: Well, you are gonna get a third piece of advice…and for free! Beware of working for people who are disorganized. Now, some folks are great admins and organization is not their thing. However, if their lack of organization is costing you large amounts of personal time, get the resume’ ready and get those feet walking.
