How to Create Boundaries Around Your Time for Back to School
Boundaries are NECESSARY in the world of teaching, now more than ever, and here is why. If you live in the grey area with parents and students from the beginning of the year by answering emails and phone calls at all hours of the day and night, you are inviting work to bleed into your personal life until your personal life is non-existent!
Parents and students will expect you to respond to them at all hours if you begin like this. They won’t see and respect your time at home as separate from your work at school. So to keep this work life/ home life separate, you need to set boundaries!
Here's how!
From the beginning of the year, set up "office hours" with your parents. For example, “I will be answering voicemails and emails from 8am until 4pm Monday through Friday. If you leave me a message after 4pm, I will get back to you on the following work day during those hours.”
Post this in your back to school letters, on your website, at open house! Then, STICK TO IT! This may be the hardest part. But make a pledge to yourself to stick to it for a month. Work hard to build that routine and create a habit. The more consistent you are, the better it will work.