We are getting to the last few weeks of 2018! Yeh!
But with everything in school and at home at Christmas, you might find yourself a touch stressed.
Below are a few suggested strategies to help cope with the end-of-school-year stress and problems.
1. Strategies!
What are the sources of your stress?
Is it behavioural issues from pupils? An unhelpful colleague? Marking? Planning? Paperwork? All of these?
Whatever it is, make a list of issues.
Decide if you need to do deal with them .
If you do need to deal with them, then give yourself a deadline that is achievable and a strategy for delivering.
If there are events that leave you emotionally exhausted, come up with a with one or two strategies to reduce the stress for each. When they occur, use them as an opportunity to test your techniques and take notes on what works for next time.
Whatever your worry, put in place a strategy for dealing with it.
2. Priorities – Too much to do!
One of the most important thing to do as early as possible is to prioritise tasks in the order of importance.
Focus on what really matters – child safety and what effects learning –
Deal with the most important tasks first and get them done and finished.
Accept that you can’t do it all and choose what not to do.
3. Goals
It is crucial to be realistic when setting up goals towards the end of the year because no matter how you try, you can’t do everything.
So set goals that you can reach. If you can’t reach all your goals the have a strategy, tell your colleagues, ask for help or reduce your goals.
If you are going to reduce what you do, then tell your SLT in good time.
4. Smile
Everything will be okay. The sun will come up tomorrow and life will go on.
Smile. Hum a song. Try to remember why you became a teacher.