Managing Burnout Effectively

It's officially one year since the world shut down due to COVID-19 and March 19th marked one year since I had been on my college campus. As I reflect on where I was last year, I remember being glued to the TV watching the news compulsively as the reports of overwhelming deaths and the rapidly spreading COVID-19 virus. Being a New Yorker, I was very concerned as we were being hit particularly hard by the pandemic in March and April 2020. At that time, burnout was inevitable and just getting through a week meeting my expectations as an educator was a big accomplishment.

Although I was experienced teaching online, many of my colleagues were not. I was so happy to see that so many educators took up this new responsibility without complaint or anger. However, a year later, I'm starting to see more and more signs of burnout among my colleagues and students which concerns me. If you're one of those educators that feels overwhelmed and burned out, in this blog post, I'll share some tips to help you manage burnout effectively.

 Set a schedule

One of the things that has helped me to be successful and effective with meeting my goals is making and using a weekly schedule. I do this in a variety of ways. I have a traditional planner- I like the Full Focus Planner from Michael Hyatt, and I have a digital planner- I like Trello. No matter what type of planning tool you use, the key to managing your weekly overwhelm is to set a schedule. My process is to set a schedule for the upcoming week and specifically list out all the tasks I will complete each day. The tricky part is actually sticking to the schedule, which is easier said than done... but practice makes perfect.

Build in moments of intentional wellness

One of the most effective things you can do to prevent burnout is to build in regular moments of intentional wellness. This can be very formal like scheduling a massage or spa day, or informal, like taking a bubble bath or reading a book. Whether big or small, be sure to include these moment in your schedule and make time for it. These moments are just as important as the other items on your schedule because these are the tasks that will sustain you and get you through the more stressful moments. Take some time now to add them to your schedule. I have an accountability buddy system and one requirement that we have is to include a daily treat, This way, we already know that we must treat ourselves with something special each day and this becomes a habit.

Take a break

I know that many educators use College Breaks such as Spring Break and Summer Break to "catch up" on work, grading, etc. I also know that this might be a novel recommendation, but what if you actually took a break during the break? Before you dismiss this idea as ludicrous, hear me out. If you're a worker bee like myself, then this may be difficult but don't worry, you don't have to do "nothing" during this break. Perhaps you can spend time doing something you enjoy that you don't get to do often, like engage in a hobby like knitting or cooking. For me, since I enjoy teaching too much to take too long of a break away from it, I like reading journals sharing innovative teaching strategies. No judgement here. Do whatever brings you joy!

Reflect on the things that bring you joy

There's a chance that you may have been so overwhelmed by the events of the past year that you've lost touch with the things that really bring you joy. For instance, I LOVE to travel, but with the inability to travel due to the pandemic, I've been very disconnected from that passion. Recently, I've started watching Caribbean Life on HGTV just to reconnect with that passion. It has really increased my excitement and passion for traveling. At first I thought this would make me more resentful and sad, but instead, it's reignited a fire in me and hope for the future. So I would encourage you to reflect on the things that bring you joy and be sure to make space for those things in your life.

I know that we're still in a difficult period and there's still a long road to recovery ahead of us, but take opportunities to reconnect and disconnect as needed. This will look different for everyone but one thing is certain- we all need to help and support each other.

I'd love to hear if you've experienced burnout over the past year and what you have done to cope. Share it with me in The Online Educator Facebook Group.