Dear Teachers: It’s Okay to Be Tired Already
The semester has just started—and I am utterly, deeply, exhausted. I’m talking bleary-eyed by noon, back spasms, sore calves, and somehow—though I have taught in the same 3 pairs of shoes for ages—absolutely no shoes are comfy for a full day. Every morning at 4am is a game of chicken: Should I stay in bed and try to sleep more, or will the back spasms and leg pain send me on a search for the heating pad?
I am not a lazy person. I do regular farm work, household chores, and workouts (though admittedly, mostly yoga right now), but these first few weeks of a semester—especially fall—are exhausting.
How Many Times Have I Walked around This Classroom?
Here’s a breakdown: Many educators stand for most of the classes they’re teaching, and this is my preference as well. I need to move around a room while teaching so I can quietly check in with students—especially if they’re doing a quick solo activity. This is how the introverts will ask questions: quietly and to just me.
Then, it’s back to the teaching podium to move slides along or write on the board. This is for every class taught (80 minutes in length), and every transition from one class to another (add another 10 minutes to and from each class). Throw in, “Dr. Lute, how do I find…?” short field trips, picking up a few tutoring sessions here, and there and meetings scattered across campus.
And that brings in another element: back pain. I once fractured 3 vertebrae in my upper back (T4, 5, & 6) in an accident with a horse, so suddenly add driving 80 minutes a day (40 to and from campus), 4 days a week, and my back is screaming.
What NOT To Do About It
This is more for those educators just starting out, but keep in mind that just doing more work does not always fix the problem—in fact, in some cases, it can make the problem worse, since you’ll be overly exhausted going into the start of another teaching week or day.
Bringing Grading Home: For the love of all that is good or holy, do not bring student work home if at all possible. It’s better to go in an hour early on Monday or some other option, but if you let it, providing feedback for student work can and will take over your whole weekend faster than juicy rumor on a small campus.
Working at Night: In the same vein, leave work at work—or at least within work hours—while at home. Select a cutoff time. For me, that time is usually 4pm, since I am up and working by 6am and rushing around campus by 9 or 10 (with a yoga workout and a 40-minute commute in there, too). But by 4, my brain is done. I am not at my best or my mediocre by 4pm. It’s time for walking dogs, hearing about my family’s day, or just relaxing somehow—even if just for a few minutes.
Cancelling Plans with Friends: I am a complete and true introvert (who lives on a farm and has. German Shepherd as a shadow, so I am never really alone—like…ever…), so this if for my more outgoing fellers: Keep the plans. Adjust them, if needed, to something more passive or relaxing (catching a movie or some such), but you need the break.
Skipping Workouts or Hobbies Completely: I’m guilty of this one: I get so tired, I skip a workout or participating in a hobby I enjoy—and then it stays permanently skipped. You don’t earn rest or enjoyment—they are rights. Having these activities makes completing the work tasks easier, in the long run, because you have had a mental break or have completed a workout to help you physically. We need the workouts, the hobbies, the yarn, the whatever.
What TO Do About It
In the long run, all the physical and mental activity associated with teaching is a good thing—but trying to adjust to it all at once is rough—and I cannot be the only one feeling like this. But it’s a weekend, so for teachers, this is prime Figure Out How to Make Next Week Easier Time (BUT IT’S NOT TIME TO DO FEEDBACK ON STUDENT HOMEWORK!).
Here are a few to consider:
Footwear: I don’t know about others, but I need to let go of my love for the cute boots and heels—even those with the stacked and low heels—at least for a little while. Time for pampering foot scrubs, sneakers, and ballet flats while I readjust to the pace.
Quick Lunches and Prepped Snacks: When I’m physically AND mentally drained is when I’ll reach for the unhealthiest foods which just leads to more fatigue later on, so next week, time to prep healthier snack stuff for the afternoons. Nuts, cheese cubes, fruit, and cinnamon tea are my favorites, but even with that, sometimes I reach for an overly sugared coffee. Having a prepped little bag of goodies might just do the trick.
Delegating: Perhaps the most difficult of all for me is delegating tasks. Can someone else complete something off of the list? Then, let it go. This is difficult for me because if the task is not completed smoothly and efficiently, then I fear others will think I personally messed this up, and so I end up doing an awful lot that I could probably have let go. I am trying my best to reframe this as giving someone else a chance to learn to do something. Will there be mistakes? Yup. Will the results sometimes be a little off? Yup. Can those be fixed? Probably.
Will I attempt all of these? Sure. Will I succeed in them all? Absolutely not. I’ve lined up the sneakers and the ballet flats, I’m setting out the lunch containers and snack prep materials, and I’m trying my best to delegate tasks, but I know next week will be bumpy, too, so here’s to finding compassion for others—and compassion for self.
Good luck, fellow teachers, and may the odds be ever in your favor!
