I wish I had a magic answer on how to achieve the elusive work/life balance. This is something I personally really struggle with and have been making a big effort to work on. I am by nature a perfectionist and workaholic which is a pretty deadly combination. When I found out I was pregnant last year, my husband gave me a good talking to about taking care of myself because know I have more to worry about than just my own health. And he was absolutely right. I worked really hard to destress and take time for myself. And I’m not going to lie, I was shocked by how hard it was. It shouldn’t be an effort to lay in bed and watch netflix but for me it was. My brain would spin with everything I ‘should‘ be doing. It took some time. It took practice. I got better at unplugging. I got better at being in the moment. Surprisingly, I wasn’t much less productive than as I was before. And I was definitely happier. I enjoyed work more. I enjoyed my family more. I was sleeping better. (Except when I got super pregnant … then sleeping went way out the window!)

I guess the message of my ramblings is to make sure you take time for yourself. Don’t feel guilty about it. The IEPs will get written. Photocopies will get done. And your staff and students will have a much happier teacher to be with. Whether that time for yourself means taking 5 minutes of your lunch break to browse instagram or one weekend a month where you absolutely under no circumstances open your work bag – do it. Write yourself a behavior plan that includes time for yourself. You work hard. You work damn hard. And you deserve a little R&R. So get on that work/life balance behavior plan!  And follow it!