Did you come here looking for the answer to this question? I only have suggestions… I went to social media seeking the answer to this question. What I learned is that most educators are wired to always keep work at the top of their mind. We physically and mentally take work home after hours on week days and on weekends and some feel “teacher guilt” for doing things not related to work. This is why teacher appreciation is so important…
What I learned from other educators through their responses that might help is that you can:
- Preschedule outings with friends and family (basically obligate yourself to other activities in advance)
- Do mindless activities like watching TV or playing games on your phone
- Choose only one of your 2 weekend days to lesson plan
- Participate in physical activity, like exercise or yoga
- Make a to do list and return to it when you go back to work — there will always be something to do!
- Take school alerts/emails off of your phone!
- Schedule specific hours to work on school work and strictly stick to those hours!
- Don’t even bring the work home — if it’s not there, you can’t work on it
- Curl up with a non-school related book in bed
Ultimately, it seems as if we, educators, cannot escape working outside of school hours unless we are intentional. Have suggestions? I’d love to hear them in the comments!
#MrsHallScholars 