Teach Secondary Issue 13.4

teachwire.net/secondary Maintaining a good work-life balance can be difficult, concedes AdamRiches – but there are things we can all do to stop the job crowding out our personal space F rom the very first day I started training to be a teacher, I realised that working in education was going to be intense. Although I had, and always have had a good work ethic, it never really made sense to me that teaching entailed so muchmore than what was stated in the job description. I suppose the irony is that from day one, I knew that the actual teaching bit of being a teacher accounts for only a fraction of the job - the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Taking over Striking a work/life balance as a teacher is no mean feat. The sands are always shifting, and it feels like there’s never enough time in the day. Be it planning, preparing, building on subject knowledge, sorting and attending CPD and other duties, there’s a fine line between what we’re able to do at school and what ends up spilling over into our wider lives. Of course, there are many professions where you can expect to take work home with you at some point – but for many, teaching is a way of life. And if you’re not careful, it can take over your life. Key to controlling the impact teaching has on your life is to avoid the creep. Each year, we all start in September with grand promises to ourselves that ‘ We’are only going to so much at home.. .’ Come mid-October, the reality is very different. The pressure makes us feel that we need to do that little bit more – engaging in some extra planning, getting that data in, logging those detentions. But what can we do to make sure we’re effective and efficient at our jobs, without losing our actual lives? Strip it back If we’re honest with ourselves, there are some things in schools that we have to do, and some things we think or feel we should do. Often, the former can become clouded by the latter, causing our efficiency to take a bit of a hit. The process of sifting through everything that’s landed with you and then simply cancelling out the white noise is a crucial part of workload reduction, which will eventually lead to a much better work/life balance. Just because somebody else is doing something we’re not, that doesn’t mean we need to change what we’re doing. It’s so important to be both self-aware and to not be led by others – whether those happen to be people in your department, school or on social media – because that way, you won’t be piling unnecessary pressure on yourself. It’s natural to compare ourselves to others in similar professional roles, but trying to emulate others is something that teachers can often fall into, causing them to internalise a perceived need for perpetual, endlessly cycling self- improviement. When you look at your practice, you need to ask ‘ What works for me? ’ and ‘ What works for my students? ’ (or indeed team, if you’re in a leadership role). It’s important to be self- evaluative of your own teaching and accept when something isn’t working. One of the biggest contributors to workload is attempting to implement something that simply isn’t working for you, which will only end up consuming your time, sapping your energy and creating yet more stress. Sure, be proactive in instigating change if it’s needed, but remember – if things are working well, observe the old phrase, ‘ If it ain’t broke, don’t try “Distinguishingbetween tasks youhave todoand those youdon’t is ahugely important part ofbeinga teaching professional” Bringing it ALLBACKHOME 28