Teacher Work-Life Balance: How to Really Balance the Scales by Thinking Outside the Box

Greetings fellow teachers, teacher leaders, and literacy leaders! Whatever you consider yourself, and wherever your journey currently is, I am so glad you are here taking a few minutes of your time to be here and get some information and inspiration!

This week I’d like to share some insights to my Work-Life Balance virtual workshop I recently held with my KDP chapter! Truth be told, I don’t consider myself to be the SEL/Work-life balance expert. In fact, I always avoided workshops like these because I found the advice to be the same; teachers should drink more water, get more sleep, say “no” more often, and learn to put themselves first. These are important however, I was always looking for something more... something I could actually attain and utilize. Sometimes getting more sleep and exercise is just not in the cards. 

I am blessed to have a trusted colleague and educator friend Dr. Clinton Smith who is always sharing his latest research with me. He is a special education guru, and has published many articles and book chapters. I highly recommend you read his chapter in the book The Power of Teacher Leaders 2.0 edited by the great Nathan Bond. I had the pleasure of presenting his book chapter findings a few weeks ago in St. Louis at KDP Convocation.

My session started with highlighting what we discussed in our Convo session; focusing on the idea that we have invested our time and energy into SEL for our students, but there is a direct correlation to SEL for teachers and SEL for students. Teachers need to understand the interrelated areas of competence: 

• self-awareness
• self-management
• social awareness
• relationship skills
• responsible decision making

When we both embrace and exercise these areas individually and with one another as colleagues, we increase our ability to strengthen these SEL skills for ourselves as teachers, which gives us the knowledge and support to help students discover and practice these skills. Having these as a foundation for our everyday work in school helps shape our thinking and be open to work-life balance ideas.

As educators, I feel we strive to find the work-life balance and develop our own SEL however, our work is intertwined with our everyday lives and influences all we do. This is why understanding SEL for ourselves as teachers is key for our students. Our role as teachers is part of our identity, and I don’t feel that is something we should feel shame from. Many others do not understand this, which is why it's necessary to recognize this in yourself, and what you can do to make choices to find a balance. 

 It also takes a while to find this balance- it doesn't happen instantly after one webinar. We need to allow ourselves to find our way how we see fit, not how others do. Taking suggestions and advice is great, but it’s always easier to give advice than follow it, which is why I tread lightly through this topic and try not to give advice I wouldn't take. It’s also why I agreed to present on it with real active strategies that I know I’d try to employ, so rather than suggest and not follow my own advice, I thought: what do I need to hear, and what could possibly help others who feel “stuck” with this? In my opinion, finding this balance isn’t always about the actions or steps, but the mindset you develop over time to make choices that will support your work as an educator, goals as a teacher leader, and health as a person and loved one to so many. This is why I chose to share what I learned from a very special podcast on leadership from John Maxwell. The episode Five Questions Every Resilient Leader Asks Themselves with Valorie Burton inspired me to think about my own work-life balance, and how these questions can guide me to check in with myself and my priorities. These questions guide my "to-do" lists, and what I choose to work on. I also keep in mind responsible decision making with these questions such as "is it meaningful or is it urgent?" 

I urge you my friends to consider these ideas in your own work-life balance journey. If you missed the workshop let me know and I'd be happy to share the information with you! 

Final thoughts- Keep focusing on your own SEL and helping your colleagues develop theirs as well. Keep focusing on understanding: how can I add more joy to what I'm doing, how do I want to show up, how are you meant to serve, what do you want, and is it meaningful or is it urgent? Finally, remember that finding the balance is your journey, no one else's and you will find it in your own way and at your own pace!