Four Ways You Can Leave the Stresses of School at the Front Gate

We understand the responsibility you have to your students, and we’ve seen just how tough it can be sometimes to show up and give 100% every day. While we can’t control things like your students’ behaviour or school bureaucracy, we can give you some tools to be able to control how you handle hurdles and cope with whatever the school day throws at you. 

In this article, we explore four ways that educators can create better work-life balance, practice mindfulness, and (try to) leave school stress at the front gate. 

Schedule a commitment right after school that forces you to disconnect from the stress of work

This is the first step in creating boundaries and a healthy work-life balance. This allows you to think about your priorities outside of work and gives you the power to choose yourself. This commitment could be anything, like meeting up with family or friends, heading out for a walk or going to the gym, or promising yourself that you will head straight home and spend half an hour practising mindfulness.

Use your commute to process your day and get in a positive headspace for the evening

The second you leave school grounds, make an active effort to disconnect. To help you with this, we created an After School Hype Playlist on Spotify. You can also create your own hype playlist with songs that you love. Other options include listening to audiobooks (you can get free audiobooks through your local library on the Libby and BorrowBox apps). One of my personal favourite ways to process my day is by calling and checking in with my family and friends.

Change your clothing to signal a transition

Once you get home, get changed! Doing this can shift your mentality from work to home, reducing stress and allowing you to be more comfortable. This trick can also help you to detach from your persona in the classroom and improve your mood, enhance your productivity, and encourage time for self-care.

Implement a mindfulness ritual for yourself as soon as you get home

As mentioned in step one, putting aside time to practise mindfulness can significantly improve your sense of wellbeing and mental health. There are many simple ways to do this, and there are techniques and activities for everyone, no matter how busy (or sceptical) you are.

Here are some of our favourite mindfulness techniques:

• General meditation
• Dismiss unwanted thoughts about school or other stressors, and practise being present with a Body Scan Meditation
• Leaves on a Stream
• Various grounding techniques
• Gratitude
• Trying a digital detox or creating a technology free space in your home where you can draw your attention to your favourite offline activities and/or rest. We have an article on how you can do this as a teacher, too!

Teachers can also sign up to Headspace for Educators, a free platform that teaches you how to care for yourself and for your students through mindfulness.

These suggestions will significantly improve your work-life balance and overall sense of wellbeing, but don’t be disheartened if you cannot do all these things every day. After all, the best thing you can do is try your best.

Is there anything else that you do to leave the stresses of school at school? If so, share your advice with other educators below!