Are you a teacher who finds themselves burning the midnight oil, grading papers, and crafting lesson plans long after the school day officially ends? If so, rest assured, you're not alone. In the world of education, it's all too common to unintentionally become the teacher who takes work home, spending precious hours each night immersed in grading or planning. It wasn't in your initial career plans, was it?

Recent statistics reveal a stark reality. Four out of five teachers report that their workload has increased – a fundamental shift in the daily life of educators. Some teachers are grappling with as many as 27 additional hours of work without any increase in pay, which is time taken away from personal lives, hobbies, and well-deserved relaxation.

Imagine having just 30 minutes of planning time each day – it becomes virtually impossible to efficiently handle all your tasks. And what's the consequence of this relentless cycle? It often leads to teachers becoming workaholics.

That's why in this episode, we're here to explore why teachers often become workaholics, how to identify if you're one of them, and most importantly, the actionable steps you can take today to reclaim your work-life balance and reignite your passion for teaching, even amidst rising demands and responsibilities.

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[0:01] If you are one of the thousands of teachers working outside of your contract hours, I want you to know you are absolutely not alone.

In the world of education, it is way too common to find ourselves burning the midnight oil, grading papers, crafting lesson plans long after the school day has officially ended.

And I don't think any of us intended to be those types of teachers and to take that work home, spend hours every night grading and planning.

Was that was never in the plans. But there are a lot of factors that get us to that point. My friend Jim Manley said it best, teachers who are working outside of their contract hours, that's not a time management issue. It is a workload issue. Most of us have a lot of great time management skills, but the workload that we are experiencing, that just, that doesn't fit into that. In recent studies, four out of five teachers claim that their workload has increased. Think about that for a minute. The very foundation of our daily teaching life, that's been shifting.

Teachers have reported as many as 27 hours of additional work without an increase in pay.

That is time taken away from our personal lives, our hobbies, and well-deserved relaxation.

[1:11] 57% of schools admit to giving teachers more work due to unfilled positions, and this not only places more pressure on us as teachers, but it also raises questions about the sustainability of our education system.

While time management's great, There is no way to time manage hack your way out of an increase in workload. If you're given just 30 minutes of planning time each day, that becomes virtually impossible to tackle all of your tasks efficiently.

[1:38] And what's the consequences of this relentless cycle that we're experiencing?

It often leads to us becoming workaholics. The term might sound familiar, but today we're gonna delve into the why, the how, and most importantly, the what now.

If you're a teacher who is working way too much or might consider yourself a recovering workaholic, then this episode is for you.

We're gonna dive into why teachers often become workaholics, how to know if you're a workaholic, and five actionable steps that you can take today to start reclaiming your work-life balance and reigniting that passion for teaching.

[2:11] Because my friend, I'm telling you, you deserve to live your best life inside and outside of the classroom. So let's not waste any time and let's get into it.

[3:11] So before we get into how teacher workload and workaholism is really perpetuating the teacher burnout cycle, and most importantly, like how and what we can do about it, I want to share a little story with you.

[3:24] And I have to be honest with you guys, like I don't think that I realized that I was a true workaholic until after I was in burnout recovery for several years.

In all seriousness, like I didn't recognize that I was a workaholic or why I was until after I started this podcast.

And something that I've realized as I've talked with more and more teachers is that they don't realize it either because it's a really slippery slope.

The day that I actually realized I was a workaholic was the day that my daughter said to me, Mommy, you're always working.

And then later that evening while I was sitting on the couch like typing away, my husband said, Brittany, I feel like I get the crumbs of you at the end of the day.

Cue mommy wifey guilt, right? Like it was a punch to the gut.

And I know so many teachers feel like that too.

Like their family gets the rest of them while school and students get the best of them.

If you've ever felt like that, like I want to tell you, you're not alone and you are probably a workaholic.

You probably just don't even realize it. After hearing that that day, I really sat down and I reflected to realize I've been a workaholic my entire life. It's not just with teaching.

Achievement was something that was really important growing up in my family and working hard.

So as long as I can remember, like I've been a high achiever.

[4:45] I was in every club in high school, I was in multiple plays, in a traveling theater troupe, I took AP and honors classes, and then I went into college and was working a part-time job or two at a time while I was in a sorority and taking 18 plus credit hours per semester.

And I honestly thought that once I became a teacher, I would finally be able to slow down and really enjoy life.

[5:08] But you know, the ugly truth was even before I had kids, teaching wasn't enough money.

Like, granted, this was 13 years ago. Like, now inflation has made it way more difficult.

But I was so used to filling my time with accomplishments and goals and achievements and never having time to relax.

But I had to hold a second job just to really supplement my income and afford to live.

And I opened up my own business. I was selling T-shirts and things like that.

It was super successful, but I got burned out.

I mean, like, I honestly, I was just doing it for extra cash.

There was no real passion behind it. So then I went back and I decided I'm gonna get my master's degree to make a little bit more money, feel a little bit more accomplished because why not fill the time with more stuff?

So I got my master's degree, still not happy. I dove into some self-care, going to therapy.

And as I learned about these things, I turned that passion of learning into creating home fragrance and bath and body products.

Again, I loved it. I was so happy with it, but I was still a teacher.

I was literally working all day. I would step till two or three in the morning creating products, labeling products, shipping products, get up at 5.30 the next morning.

Literally, there was like a fire in my house and I got burned.

So there's no pun intended, but I was literally burned and burned out.

And I realized, you know, this stuff is completely unsustainable.

I am messing up. Before that moment that my daughter and my husband said those words to me, like, I didn't know who I was outside of work and accomplishments.

Like, I would run myself into the ground to make my goals happen.

You've probably done this too.

I struggled with tunnel vision. I'd run so hard and so fast towards all of my work goals, telling myself, you know, I'd worry about taking care of my mental health and being present in my relationships when all of my goals were done, when I was making enough money to feel safe, or when I accomplished what I wanted to, or when the summer came around.

But here's the truth, that never happened.

[7:16] When it comes to goals and to-do lists, that stuff never goes away. It never stops.

And I realize that so many teachers are falling into that because more and more is put onto their plates, and they also feel the way that I did. Because if you're a high achiever like me, you're always pushing for more.

Almost all of us are going to carry these open-ended goals, these to-do lists with us until our last day here on earth. And I'm not even trying to be morbid.

I'm just saying, the kids you have in your class, they're always gonna need more.

You can always be doing more. There's always something to get done, legit, like it never ends.

So when you come to the realization that repeatedly saying, like, I just have to get through this week and then things will calm down, that it's not a healthy mindset, but rather a path leading you straight to burnout, you're gonna start to realize and understand that the responsibility for change, That really lies within you.

[8:14] We've talked about this before, about how we can become addicted to stress, but the workload that we are experiencing as teachers, that can often lead to teachers becoming workaholics.

I am big on sharing with you guys what I'm learning about me because even though I've been on this journey for a few years, I'm always learning. I'm always growing, and it's a constant process of undoing unhealthy coping mechanisms, unhealthy patterns of thinking over time.

So even to this day, like I have to stop and realize, oops, there I go again, like I'm falling into the trap of working overtime and missing out on family and friends and hobbies outside of work.

[8:51] So as we receive more and more responsibilities, the expectations we set on ourselves, the expectations we have to uphold all of those things, that's becoming a really sticky situation.

[9:03] So what does it mean to be a workaholic? Well, it's, it's not about working long hours.

It's about the way that work infiltrates every aspect of your life.

Of your life. It's when you find yourself glued to your laptop during family movie night, or when you wake up in the middle of the night and you're thinking about lesson plans, or when you spend your Sundays worrying about the week ahead, those Sunday scaries, if you will. When you're thinking about your students or your job, when you're at home, and you should be enjoying who you are outside of that role. Being a workaholic often means that you've lost that crucial work-life balance. Your dedication to your job has started to overshadow that personal life, your relationships, your wellbeing. And here's the tricky part. Many of us don't realize that we've crossed into workaholic territory until it is too late. We're so focused on those goals, those achievements, and the constant drive to do more, that we don't see the toll that it's taking on us. We don't realize we're doing it for recognition or to prove our worth or the never-ending desire to exceed expectations. It's like, it's like an invisible force that's really compelling us to keep pushing harder, to work longer, to sacrifice more, all in the name of our professional identity. And the technical definition of a workaholic is a person who compulsively works hard and long hours.

Maybe you think about how you could free up some time to work because either there's so much to do or you really just want to get stuff done so you feel accomplished.

Maybe you spend more time working than you initially intended.

Like you sit down, you say, I'm going to do 15 minutes of grading.

Then three hours later, you're still grading. Maybe you work in order to reduce those feelings of guilt, of anxiety, of helplessness or depression.

I think a lot of teachers fall into that category because of how we feel about our jobs.

Our students, maybe the insecurity that maybe we'll lose our jobs if we don't do more, things like that.

If you've ever been told to cut down on work and you didn't listen, you might be a workaholic.

Or maybe you deprioritize your hobbies. deprioritize leisure activities or exercise because of your work. You say, like, I don't have time to do that. I've got so much to do. And I'm gonna come out and say it. I'm gonna give you a little Mama Brittany here to tell you. You're, never gonna get out of burnout if you don't recognize the true reason why you're overworking, why you are a workaholic. So let me say that again. You.

That came from me wanting to prove myself, to prove that I can do anything I I set my mind to. For many of us, we want to do that in teaching. We want to prove that teachers are not to blame, that we do care, that we're dedicated, and we're going to do whatever it takes to make sure that those kids succeed, because we don't always hear that from parents or from society. Over time, this need for external validation, that becomes ingrained in our psyche. We, we start to believe that our value as individuals is directly tied to our work performance and that's a heavy burden to carry. It's also worth of mentioning.

And if you're feeling any of those things right now, go back.

Listen to Episode 70, because we dive into why you need some serious boundaries.

But if you have a hard time unplugging from work or detaching your worth or your identity from your accomplishments, I see you.

I've been there.

That's why I told you my story, because it's still a process to bring awareness when I'm sliding down that slippery slope.

I know it's really hard to make changes, but imagine what will happen if you don't.

I know that if I had not started to make those changes, I would feel like a shell of a human.

I would be spread really thin, running on E, never experiencing those joyful moments outside of work.

And that's what we all want to experience. And so then the question becomes, what do we do about it?

And there's a lot of things you can do.

But here are just a few that I recommend to kind of get you started.

And as we move through this series on simplification and systemization, like I want you to know that these are all going to build on each other.

So the first thing is you want to sit down and you want to create a list of all of your personal and work priorities.

About identifying those essentials, so you can start to focus on what truly matters. If you don't have these core priorities, everything's going to seem like a priority. And that's just not true. Not everything is important. And.

And at work, the biggest priority is not lesson planning, although it seems like that's part of our jobs. It's really not.

The real priority is bringing quality education to our students.

It's about making a meaningful impact on their lives. It's making those connections with them.

And while there are tasks associated with that, when you start to realign what's the real priority here, you will start to realize that some of those tasks that you're doing or that you're deeming as a priority, they're just associated. They're not the true priority. By clarifying your priorities, you're going to have this clear roadmap for where to invest your time, where to invest your energy. It's about making these conscious choices that are aligning with your values and what truly matters to you. So get out a piece of paper, a pen, write all that out, create your roadmap. But after you've looked at those true priorities, adjust your perspective on what is really good enough.

We often hold ourselves to this impossibly high standard. We're striving for perfection in every aspect of our work and our personal lives, but here's the truth.

The pursuit of it can lead to this burnout and dissatisfaction.

Instead, I want you to consider what is good enough for each task and each responsibility.

Not everything requires this Herculean effort. By shifting your perspective and embracing the idea of good enough, you're freeing up some mental and some emotional space, and it allows you to work efficiently and avoid unnecessary stress. It's about finding balance between excellence and realistic expectations. And if you find this perspective, and if you find this perspective shift to be challenging, remember, like I'm telling you, you are not alone. It's a process. It takes time to rewire our thinking patterns. So to support you on this journey, I've created a free 10-minute Audit Your Work-Life Balance training. It is.

And so once we have our priorities, we can start to batch and block that other stuff, including our personal lives, because that's where work-life balance occurs, right?

Remember, we discussed this in depth in Episode 72, where we talked about creating standard operating procedures, but batching and blocking can really seamlessly fit into those procedures, which is going to streamline your workflow and then help you to regain control over your time.

So you're not, you're giving yourself.

I'm not going to let this bleed over into my personal life.

And so blocking and batching and building that into an SOP, like we talked about in episode 72, I'll link that episode in the show notes, that is where we're creating these blocks for batching.

So blocking and batching and building that into an SOP, that's kind of where that magic happens and where you can start to have those conversations.

And as we create these blocks for batching, it's really important to know your limits, to set those work and phone hours. That's really essential.

Recognize, first and foremost, you are a human being. You have finite energy and finite time.

We only have 24 hours in our day.

That's, you know, the same for anybody on this planet.

The idea is you can't do it all.

You can't do it all all the time. That's a myth that really can lead to burnout.

That's workaholism. So I want you to give yourself permission to set some of those boundaries.

Be aware of how many hours you can realistically dedicate to work each day without sacrificing your wellbeing.

With. So give yourself permission to set those boundaries. Be aware, like, how many hours can you realistically dedicate to your work each day without sacrificing your wellbeing, without sacrificing your personal priorities? It might be 8 hours, it might be 6 hours, it might be 4 hours. The exact number, that's not as important as the commitment you are. The.

I want you to dedicate these hours to work and then when those hours are up, it's time to step away.

Setting boundaries around your work, that prevents it from spilling into your personal life.

Some people have the time to dedicate an hour after school, but if you have kids, if you you have a family, that may not be reasonable, or maybe it is, you know, for one day a week, you have to decide what is your priority and what your limits are.

In our hyper-connected world, our smartphones can be both a blessing and a curse.

Like we see emails and our brain tells us, hey, this is important, I have to do this.

So to prevent work from infiltrating every aspect of our life, we have to consider designating time for our emails and for our phones.

During those times, we might can respond to those work-related messages.

We might can respond to those emails.

But outside of those hours, your phone can take a back seat so that you can live in the moment and be present in your personal life.

I've touched on this concept before, but it's really worth revisiting because it's a game changer when it comes to switching from work mode to home mode.

Here's the thing, our brains thrive on routines and cues. So when we are deeply engrossed in work, because we're workaholics, it can be really challenging to shift our focus away from it when we step into our personal lives.

And that's where those transition rituals come in.

A transition ritual is like a bridge. It's between your workday and your personal time.

So it sends this clear signal to your brain, hey, time to switch gears.

It's like flipping a mental switch. It's allowing you to be fully present in your non-work life.

These rituals can take many different forms. It might be as simple as doing a couple of breaths.

Maybe it's closing your work laptop, maybe putting it in a designated spot, or perhaps it's a short walk or a quick mindfulness exercise just to clear your mind.

You're not only signaling to your brain, but you're also hitting that priority.

So you can like really kill two birds with one stone there.

The key is really consistency.

By doing the same ritual at the end of each workday, you're creating a reliable queue.

It's like telling your brain, OK, work is done now.

Time to enjoy your personal life. And these rituals can be tailored to your preferences and what resonates with you.

The goal is just to create this clear boundary, reducing that tendency to carry the weight of work into your home life or continue working.

Lastly, the one thing I can say that's helped me do more without infiltrating my personal time is creating those automations. I get it to do work for me because I'm able to get that work done without blurring those lines of personal and work life. And I harness the power of automation, because like, essentially, what you're doing is you're delegating certain tasks to technology. You're allowing yourself to achieve more in less time. So this not only enhances your work efficiency, but it's also safeguarding that personal time.

And the goal is to really create a clear boundary.

So automation is that tool that really empowers you to reclaim control over your time and maintain that work-life balance. I've done a few episodes on this in the past, and we'll be heading into a Simplify and Systemize series in a couple of weeks.

So if you aren't subscribed to the podcast already, make sure that you follow on your favorite pod player so you never miss another episode because we are going into a full-on series for that and you're not going to want to miss out.

So just to recap, if you've been stuck in that cycle of perpetual achievement, if you've ever felt like work is your center and everything else revolves around it, it's time to take a step back and it's time to reevaluate. Because recognizing that you might be a workaholic, that's the first step towards change. And it's the key to really reclaiming your life, your relationships, and your well-being. You don't have to let work consume you. And you really can find and reignite that passion. We as.