I am currently in the midst of my spring break, and am proud to say I haven’t done any work for school! Too often have I viewed breaks as opportunities to do catch up with or get ahead on work. I’d feel accomplished at the end of a break when I saw how much work I was able to get done. Friends would tell me to take time for yourself, but I would shrug off those suggestions.
Consequences When You Don’t Take Time For Yourself
It’d then be an odd point of pride when I went back to work and would joke that I needed a break to relax from my break. I was putting in my time and more for my work. Isn’t working nonstop what you were supposed to do when you were passionate about something?…
Unfortunately, it only took a few years of this routine for me to feel drained as a whole. I started thinking about finding a more sustainable job where I could finally capture the elusive “work/life balance” that most people I’ve worked with in education strive for.
Lessons From My Time as an EMT in High School
In actuality, I’d gone away from a basic principle about serving others that I had learned in High School. The summer after my sophomore year in high school, my best friend and I completed training to become EMT-Bs (Emergency Medical Technician – Basic). We were excited about the prospect of serving others in need of help, while also getting to ride in the back of an ambulance (which was pretty cool).
One of the lessons that has stayed with me to this day comes from the training we did that summer – you need to take care of yourself first before trying to take care of others. Initially, it might seem counterintuitive, but it really makes sense. For example, if we saw somebody in a fire or car accident, we had to make sure it was safe for us to enter before trying to take action ourselves. Otherwise, we’d be risking two people needing saving/treatment instead of one.
Take Time for Yourself so You Can Help Others
This same principle applies to the work we do in schools. We need to make sure we are taking care of ourselves on a regular basis so that we can be ready to support our students and staff. Working in schools is extremely personal. Every individual has their own history and daily issues. This means there’s a ton of emotional baggage that gets transferred from person to person. We aren’t capable of endlessly taking in all that baggage.
In Practice
- You need to recharge. It’s important to find time to do things that give you energy. For me, this means running, working out in a gym, reading, writing, and doing work around the house.
- You have plenty of breaks throughout the year, so use them. A regular trip I make is visiting my parents in New Jersey.
- Be present when you’re away from work, so you can be present in the work. The days I get the most accomplished are the ones where I know I have my own activities planned after school.
It’s also important to note that there are going to be days or weeks where you don’t have any other option but to put in some extra hours at work. That’s OK. It’s even more reason to take advantage of the time you do have available. Remember that you can only take care of others, once you’ve taken care of yourself.
