TM4T Stress Armoury 47 - The Tick Tock Teacher
Now, in case you haven't noticed, this website is really about time management, so no stress management advice would be complete without mentioning our trademark advice: get organised.
Some teachers are stressed, not by the difficult stuff (like getting 9T to do any homework) but with basic life skills. Things like:
failing to remember or mis-remembering appointments
paying bills late
missing deadlines
being politely reminded about clutter in the office
not being able to find files on your PC
forgetting which parts of a scheme of work you've taught.
running out of stationery
leaving things at home
having to borrow equipment from colleagues
finding a matching pair of socks in the morning
not being able to find things on your desk
None of these should be stressful in themselves, especially if they are infrequent. However, when you list them all out, and consider that there are probably a lot more examples, you can see that this is a recipe for a stressful life... or even if you have such a laid-back personality that it doesn't bother you, then you can imagine your boss making your life stressful anyway (or your family, spouse, colleagues, students).
It is also true that even if all that list applies to you, it might not cause you stress... if the rest of your life is not too stressful. The key point is that when things DO start to get a little stressful (for example, when you really need to nip down to the post office to send a letter to the exam board before the last post) it can be made a lot more stressful if you aren't organised (for example, if you can't find your car-keys, and can't remember where you put the stamps...).
You should organise your teaching life assuming the worst. Constantly keep your workspace and your diary well-organised, so that any emergencies can be handled smoothly.
Luckily, the answer is right here. Just click on the Home button, and start getting some quality time management advice.