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A Teacher's Best Friend

Life Coaching for Teachers

Back to School Burnout Tips

Back to School Burnout is real. This time of the school year can be difficult, stressful, and out of balance…

  • Events in the evenings like meet the teacher night, curriculum night, back to school night, etc.
  • Lots of emails to parents about your expectations, supplies, new procedures etc.
  • Extra prep and planning
  • New colleagues or administration to get used to
  • LOTS of meetings
  • A room to clean/organize/decorate etc.

It’s all a lot to manage!

You may have had all kinds of hopes, dreams and expectations for the school year. But here you are…already exhausted and on the edge of burnout.

Sound familiar?

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First a Person, Then a Teacher

Do you ever feel like you put yourself last? That you get the “leftover” energy and time? You are last on your to-do list and forget that you are first a person, then a teacher?

Being a teacher can often feel all-consuming. It can take all the time and energy (emotional, mental and physical) that you have. In fact, there is always more that can be done, improved, reworked etc. And when teaching takes up all the oxygen in our life, teaching becomes more than a job. It becomes an identity.

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Building Teacher Resilience

Most people define resilience as “the ability to bounce back after set backs”. Popular wisdom on the subject may even define resilience as the ability to pull an all-nighter for work and still show up to teach with a smile on your face the next morning. In our cultural cult of overwork and productivity, resilience has been twisted and confused. In building teacher resilience, we have to unlearn some of these messages and redefine the term.

So I define resilience differently…

Resilience is knowing how and choosing to cultivate the personal resources needed to meet the demands of your life.

Let’s break it down…

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Cultivating Mindfulness as a Teacher

Unglued. Snapped. Exploded.

Not the most flattering adjectives – but ones I’ve used to describe my reaction to the 1 millionth annoyance of a stressful day. We’ve all been there. It’s not our prettiest, scrapbook-worthy, teacher-of-the-year moment.

What do you do when a moment like this hits? Do you react or respond? How can you make a wise choice amidst the stress? [Read more…]

Stop Taking Things Personally

It’s been a rough day. The lesson didn’t go well. The students didn’t respond how you wanted them to. They didn’t learn. They misbehaved. They were disengaged.

What’s the next thought that runs through your mind? 

> I failed 

or

> I’m a failure

It’s a subtle difference. But it’s important. Read more for tips for teachers on how to stop taking things personally and create emotional space between you and the work.

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Taming Your Teacher Gremlin

Taming your Teacher Gremlins - Blog Post by A Teacher's Best Friend - Life Coaching for TeachersYou know that little (loud) voice in your head that tells you that your ideas are bad, that you aren’t good enough, that you’re not beautiful enough, that you don’t have enough… I not-so-fondly refer to that voice as my gremlin. That gremlin is only out to steal our joy, kill our dreams, and make us play small. Read on for some tips on taming your teacher gremlin:

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10 Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Renew Your Teaching Contract

10 Questions to ask yourself before renewing your teaching contract | A Teacher's Best Friend | Life Coaching for Teachers

“I’m so exhausted,” she said through tears, “I just don’t know if I can do it another year.” This came from one of the teachers I coach this week in our session. She is fried crispy, overwhelmed, and just ‘done’. And she is also trying to decide whether or not to sign her teaching contract for next year. So – want to know what I asked her? I’m going to share with you 10 questions that you can consider if you find yourself in this predicament.

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Organizing Your Teacher Desk Workspace

Organizing Your Desk Area A Teacher's Best Friend

What happens to you when your teacher desk/workspace is cluttered and disorganized? Chaos? Time wasted trying to find things? Duplication of efforts? (Finding a pile of copies you made last week that you just re-copied) Frustration? Aggravation? Here are my tips for organizing your teacher desk / workspace.

Having an organized workspace takes three easy steps. First, you have to reflect on how you need your workspace to function. Second, you have to be intentional about your workspace. These two steps will help you create a workspace that works. And finally, you have to maintain it daily.

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How to Have More Time and Money as a Teacher

How to Have More Time and Money as a Teacher

“Abundance” isn’t a word used a lot by teachers. In fact, the opposite phrase “not enough” is used by all of us probably a dozen or more times a day.

Not enough time.
Not enough money.
Not enough support.
Not enough resources.
Not enough sleep.
Not enough of me to go around.

And for 2020…Not enough PPE/space/ventilation/masks…you name it!

But here is the crazy thing: You will never have more time, money, support, resources etc. if you continue to tell yourself there isn’t enough. [Read more…]