Teaching can be exhausting. We all know it. But there are different levels of teacher exhaustion. It can range from excited tiredness to can’t lift my head off of the pillow. I present the Teacher Exhaustion Scale!
The Night Before the First Day of School! We’ve all had this feeling. Not being able to sleep because of the excitement of the new school year. While we don’t feel tired because of the nervous anticipation, it leads to exhaustion later on.
The Week Before Summer Break. At this point, you have put in the time and effort all year, and there are only a few days remaining to make a difference. You are tired, certainly, but you realize in only a few short hours, you will have all summer to take a breather, and find some time for a little R&R.
Parent Conference Week Fatigue. Multiple days and nights of conferences. Planning for each conference in order to say exactly the right thing, all while still planning, and teaching each day. By the time the last conference is done, so are you.
Winter (Break) is Coming! This December exhaustion sets in sometime after Thanksgiving, and doesn’t quite disappear until several days into winter break. At that point, you have only a few days to recuperate before you turn around and hit the ground running again.
Random Monday Burnout. It might come after a typical weekend where you had too much to do, then spent four hours on Sunday evening completing your lesson plans for the week. Monday morning feels like it should be reserved for a nap, but there is no rest for the weary. Before you know it, you’re up at the crack of dawn all over again, wishing you’d gone to bed just 15 minutes sooner. Luckily, you can use the Sleepify sleep calculator to determine exactly when you need to go to bed to feel refreshed in the morning, which should help to avoid this type of tiredness from happening again!
There’s no tired like First Week of School Teacher Tired. You have poured your heart and soul in to getting ready. You’ve sent letters during the summer. You’ve taken part in open houses. You’ve greeted students and families, and made them feel welcome. You’ve prepared team and culture building activities and sketched out your first four weeks of lessons. You’ve been “ON” for five days straight. And when the weekend hits, there’s only one way to do it right. Falling asleep in a chair at 6:30pm on a Friday because of the sheer exhaustion.
So, as you prepare for another break, I want to share my best wishes for a peaceful and relaxing break. May you enjoy a good nap, a few Z’s, a good snooze, and about forty extra winks!
Rich (@RACzyz)