Teaching is a stressful job. That’s kind of a given. Just scroll through the feed of any of the teacher groups on social media and you’ll see the evidence. We’re a complainy bunch, and with good reason. But does it have to be like this?

There’s a lot of talk these days about this idea of work/life balance. The term suggests that balance is a matter of ‘work’ versus ‘life’. It implies that you have to choose one at the expense of the other. Consequently, you begin to frame your 'work' as something that has to be suffered until it's time to switch off. You and I both know that’s damn near impossible if you’re a kaiako! So the thing you do for the biggest part of every day can easily become something you secretly resent. The classic love/hate relationship.

The result of this way of thinking is that the day to day challenges of the job begin to overshadow the joy of being a kaiako. You know the challenges I mean - availability of resources, behaviour issues, disruptions to the timetable and the list goes on. And as if that wasn't already a heavy load you're also having to conduct all of this in a language that you're still learning! Pressure much?

On the flip side you find yourself spending less quality time with your whānau, you pull out of the sports your enjoy or you cut back on time spent helping at your marae - the activities that nourish your soul. These are all the things that make you who you are.

Here's the thing though, teaching is not just a job, it's a vocation. It's more than a career. It's a service to our future. Teaching and your involvement with kura becomes very much part of your identity and that's something to be embraced. This is how we do! Kaiako feel a deep level of responsibility to their hapori kura, to their hapū and iwi and ultimately to their tupuna.

So now your motivation is at risk because all of the negatives begin to weigh you down. The reason you chose to become a kaiako feels like it’s melting away under the heat of stress. Before you know it you're boiling up a big ol' pot of burnout.

So let's change the term "work/life balance" to life alignment. Instead of viewing work as something you do 'instead of', see it as what do you as 'part of'. Finding balance is much more a matter of aligning all the important aspects of you as a whole person. Think about how your role as a kaiako contributes to all aspects of you as a whole person. Embrace your identity as a leader. When you do this you'll be better able to keep the hoha aspects of the job in perspective - they don't matter enough to be sapping your joy!

3 keys to finding alignment

1. Clarity - get really clear about why you chose to become a kaiako in the first place and strengthen that vision by writing it down. Put it somewhere that you’ll see it every day and get into the habit of saying it out loud. By reconnecting yourself to your big ‘why’ you’ll have a firm anchor point during the storms.

2. Planning - one of the major contributors to stress is a lack of planning. I’m not talking about lesson or unit planning here, I’m talking about life planning. Make a list of the activities that keep you connected to the people who are most important to you. Prioritise that list so that you can be firm about what is negotiable and what is not and then plan your time around those.

3. Reflection - shift your perspective on how things are going. Set aside half an hour or so to look back over the week and write down at least 5 things that went well. Don’t limit yourself to kura stuff but include things that reach beyond the gate, especially as they relate to your list of priorities. Keep it in a notebook or in your daily planner - any place where you can easily view it again. By highlighting the small wins you can regain your sense of control over time and energy.

I hope these tips help you find a better alignment with your role as a kaiako and as a whole person. As much as being a kaiako is part of your identity so too is your role as a parent, a sibling, a partner, a team member and a friend.

If this article has helped you in any way please share it with someone who would get something out of it. Leave a comment and let me know what resonated with you.

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