Weekly Wins

Burnout doesn’t necessarily result from how many hours you work. It’s more related to the connection between the effort you’ve put into it and the impact you perceive. 

We can put in hours and hours of work into something that we love and enjoy and not get burned out. In fact, it might energize us. This is why it’s vital to reflect on the wins.

We’re actually wired to watch out for danger, and we forget to reflect on the victories from the past, even the recent past. 

Too often we focus on what didn’t happen, or what didn’t work, or we want to achieve in the future, rather than the wins.

So I recommend recording your wins regularly. Every week, take a 3x5 index card like this one and write down at least one “win” from the last week (It doesn’t matter how big or small these were). 

I find this to be a great way to end a Friday, reflecting back on the inevitable wins of the past week that you otherwise might have missed. 

It’s a good way to start a Monday also to help start your new week in a positive tone.

Regardless of when you do this, after a while, when you have a tough day, you can whip out your collection of weekly wins and remember the good you have been able to accomplish. You will have a set of reminders of why you got into this noble profession in the first place. 

I suggest doing this with a teacher buddy and sharing the wins out loud for regular accountability and it’s a positive way to interact with your coworkers!