Secrets for Success this School Year

August 27, 2023

With the school year quickly approaching, I've been spending most of my days hard at work on my computer. Looking over new material, lesson planning, and creating activities for the first week back to school. I'm anxiously awaiting my teaching schedule and my class lists so I can jump back into my regular routine.
But it's SUMMER! I've had the last 10 weeks to "rest" and "recharge" which of course were super busy with launching my new curriculum. I haven't even had the opportunity to reorganize my house... yet...

It's easy to get caught up in the back-to-school season, throwing ourselves back into the classroom we love. If we don't make time to recharge we'll hit burnout before Chanukah!

So before my school year is back in full swing I am making time to ENJOY my last licks of summer (because Ice cream is a year-round treat even in MONTREAL)

A few weeks ago I went to the beach with my family. It was so nice to rest and recharge and get a change of scenery away from my desk. I took my toddler to the Zoo this week and enjoyed him excitedly looking at the animals. Next week we may have to go back to the farm.

Just as summer is a season for us to recharge, so is the weekend. While I have Shabbos to rest with my family, I don't get the chance to leave my house and explore the world with my toddler. The weekdays are busy and the weekends give us an opportunity to visit family, run errands, and do fun activities.

For the last four years, I have dedicated my Sundays to preparing curriculum and lessons for the upcoming week, with the occasional trip to the GROCERY store...I know SO FUN!

I feel like I work non-stop (not including personal projects) and I want to have more time for my family, my home, and my hobbies (and side business). I want to have more energy during the week, so I can power through my prep work during "work hours". So I sat down and came up the ways I can reach these goals.

Here are my top 5 Secrets for success this school year.

This one won't surprise you if you know me and it's to PLAN. Create a schedule/routine for work and rest. Know the time you're teaching, the time you have for preparing, the time to go grocery shopping, the time to cook and clean, and the time you have for rest.
I took an extra week in my planner and made a mockup schedule. I was able to see a rough outline of what my week looks like and when I can fit most of my tasks in and a good time to schedule appointments and meetings.
This is definitely not perfect but gives me a good basis which will help keep me organized and on track, especially for a busy week. I can also see the time I have for work and rest. Assuming I can stay focused on my work, I can guarantee that I'll be done with schoolwork and prep by a specific time at night.
Meal plan and prep. Food is a huge source of our energy and the biggest stress of my day. My mornings are rushed between taking care of the baby and teaching the first period, from forgetting to eat lunch because I'm "in the zone" of prepping and then starving and eating "bad choices" to losing track of time taking care of the baby that it's 7:30 before I started thinking about dinner.
Having simple meal options for breakfast and lunch will keep you going. For busy mornings I go with a Kind Bar or an oat muffin which I keep frozen and take out as needed. On super good weeks I'll prepare a bunch of sauteed veggies and make a quick veggie-heavy egg.
For lunches (when I have Shabbos leftovers) I found making a "left over" bowl was a great an easy way to eat lunch. I made a lot of quinoa or rice for Shabbos along with grilled chicken or meat, and adding in veggies. I'll keep various pre-cooked foods in the fridge, cooked veggies for salads, mixed greens instead of lettuce which needs to be chopped, and salad toppings in the cabinet.
I try to preplan dinner and now that my baby eats dinner has to be ready a lot earlier than 8...8:30... I try to cook dinner while I have my baby video call family or watch music videos to get it done early. (I wish I could say I'm consistent about this but...I'm human.)
I keep my old weekly meal plans for meal ideas in the back of my planner.
Another meal hack is to have one meal you make double and freeze, and one meal you take out of the freezer.
Allow yourself to rest. Make sure you're not working too hard. I've been making that mistake for too long and I'm putting an end to "overworking".
But how?
The first thing is to designate time to work and time for rest. If you have time while your children are at school or for an hour or two after they go to bed work then and then set a cut-off time. It's not always possible to plan and prepare during "contract hours" but you can set your own hours. Ensuring you get enough rest (just kicking back on the couch) is huge for your energy and keeps you from reaching burnout too early.
Too often we allow ourselves to get up in work too hard or we're too tired to focus and a task takes a lot longer than it has to.
Allow yourself to take off if you are sick or just need a day to really catch up. It's okay to take a mental health day a few times a year. Teachers are people too. (I was once told by my curriculum director not to cancel my sub and to just take the day when my appointment was done before school.)
I'm just as bad as every teacher and hate leaving my class with a substitute, but if you prepare accordingly you'll feel a lot better about leaving your class for a day. (This includes having a clear substitute packet, and emergency lesson plans when you just "can't" prepare)
It's okay to split the workload with another teacher. No one says you need to do it all yourself. If you can divide up the work everyone wins.
Remember that you love your job! Teaching should be something you love and that you're passionate about. It's important that your students sense that you are happy and excited to be in your classroom. If you are not interested in being there, why should they?
Teaching is a special job, and if you remember why you are a teacher you can get through even the hardest days.