For almost a decade of teaching, I have had stories of ups and downs, glorious moments and failures, and above all, things I did and still do that led me to burnout. In this post on Self-Care Ideas for Teachers, I will share some of these experiences that may be relatable to my readers, and I will give some tips on how you can escape burnout as a teacher.
A friend once reminded me, ‘ Wherever you go, you will always experience burnout.’ That came out when I told him I wanted to stop teaching because I was tired of all my tasks. Indeed, my readers can attest to that because many of my posts here featured my murmurs about this job I have.
But again, it is not about the TEACHING JOB that led me to burnout. It is about the other tasks aside from teaching that did. And then again, it is part of the package of being a teacher. This could be what they always say: “Our job is not limited to the four corners of our classroom.”
These ancillary functions of teachers could be mainly why Filipino teachers opt to go abroad to earn more and escape the tedious non-teaching related jobs we do. Some remained as teachers, while others transferred from academe to different industries. The latter is what I want to try.
But since I am still here, allow me to share the things I do to embrace the job I have right now and focus more on these Self-Care Ideas for Teachers, which you can also try to forget about the burdens and escape from burnout.
Travel.
I have featured it in my post, Mental Health Break 2021 for Teachers – SURIGAO DEL SUR ESCAPADE, that traveling can help us unwind and relax. This year, we (people in the photo below) could not travel because of our busy schedules.
However, this year, we have our travel stories, not as a group but with our family and friends. Just looking at this photo makes me want to contact them and pack our things for another travel memory.
All of us in the photo are teachers, but since this was taken in 2021, many have transferred to different offices and schools.
The good thing about being a Filipino living in the beautiful country, The Philippines, is that you are offered the wondrous natural beauty of various spots.
Eat together.
One of the Self-Care Ideas for Teachers we always do is that we EAT a lot together. We do this almost every week if our extra money permits. HAHA!
Eating together, especially after work, is a bonding time we dubbed as “EXTRAVAGANT DINNER,” hahaha! This is because here in the Philippines, you can enjoy FREE dinner when you eat with family and are invited to attend any party, but once you decide to DINE OUT, that is a chunk taken from your budget.
This was taken during my birthday, when they surprised me with dinner and karaoke ^_^ This is the reason why I can say that my work is my second home, as they are a family to me ^_^
Limit Procrastination
When I am busy with work, I usually spend my FREE time watching KDRAMA, which is pure PROCRASTINATION. When I have a deadline to meet, but I do not want to work yet on a particular due task, I watch 1 Episode and work in between.
My point is that wanting to avoid burnout is not always ESCAPING the tasks but DOING them! When I was moving on from a heartbreak (DRAMA), I was told that to get over the pain, you need to go through it. To avoid burnout, you should burn yourself out and find an escape to breathe. It’s like doing planking. You need to hold the position even if there is pain, even if you hate doing it because you know once you are done, you are accomplishing something.
If procrastinating is your escape, then limit it. Go through the PAIN of working on a task. That goes with the flow, the balance of nature and life — that pain and suffering are inevitable.
When doing YOGA, Sarabeth constantly reminds me, “DISCOMFORTS is your route for growth and development.
Final Thoughts
As teachers, we are expected to juggle many things as part of our job. We can always complain, but still, we are expected to show up and deliver quality education to our clientele, our students.
We can escape burnout by traveling, doing our hobbies, and maintaining good relationships with our workmates. However, one crucial thing to do is to embrace the realities of whatever job we’ll have; burnout is expected.
We just need to know how to handle them ^_^
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