Everyone knows how much free time teachers have…
From short working days to lengthy holidays it’s just one long party. So some folk say, whether they believe it or to wind you up.
But many music teachers struggle to switch off, just like self-employed people in other professions. Outside teaching and lesson planning, you have all your business admin to do, emails to answer, student marketing, and so on.
Smartphones ping notifications which are hard to ignore. Then there’s the perennial issue for the freelancer or small business owner:
A client (or in our case, a school which makes up part of your work, or a student’s parent) says “jump.” Fearful of losing your income you interrupt your down time to meet their request (or demand!)
Perhaps some of the above resonates?
Plenty of music teachers express feelings of overwhelm and frustration, stress and anxiety. It came up in an (excellent) recent #pianoteachershour discussion on twitter too, to which we contributed.
As teachers our conscientiousness, diligence, and desire to support our students, schools and parents are wonderful qualities. But they can be barriers to switching off.
This is common in freelancers, not just teachers. But being “professional” and caring doesn’t mean burning yourself out.
As a music teacher, Claire’s suffered from this in the past. So have I as a self-employed consultant, and when running a larger business.
We used to fondly imagine taking walks, exercise and breaks but then let other folks’ priorities interrupt and prevent this happening. But now we work hard (and smart) and are both much more protective of our personal time. It’s crucial.
Here are 4 simple tips you might find helpful:
1. Time blocking
Claire set aside specific time blocks for admin and dealing with lesson and teaching queries each day. Then there are blocks of teaching time. She ring-fences personal time, such as for a mid-morning walk after a couple of hours of admin, writing, or so on. And nothing is allowed to interrupt the walk. The work is scheduled around it.
You can do the same. Make certain (even small) time-blocks for you a “non-negotiable.” Guess what? The world does not end.
2. It’s up to you how people treat you
Don’t be tempted to allow schools or parents to make their problems, of their making, into your problems.
If you keep jumping to fix others’ problems when it interrupts you, they’ll keep asking you. You’ll train them to expect you to do their bidding out of hours. Be your gloriously professional and helpful self – when you are working.
3. Don’t be always available – manage expectations
Set up an out of office or vacation response on your email, stating you are teaching or preparing lessons, and defining times you will respond to queries.
Setting expectations is helpful. It means people know when you’ll reply and you don’t eat into precious breaks. You’ll be able to wean yourself off the ping-check-click addiction which can severely interrupt your evenings. And you can do the same with your phone, setting up a voicemail message.
4. Don’t get hooked on crack
By which I mean if you are taking a break, try to remove yourself from your phone, social media, emails, or cat video wormholes.
Or at least take an intentional decision to relax by mucking about online. You may enjoy jumping into the rabbit hole of internet clickbait or participating in social media chats (which can be super supportive communities like the aforementioned weekly #pianoteachershour discussions on twitter; or can be time-sucks).
What you don’t want is to find a precious 30 minutes has passed thanks to the addictive nature of screens. Especially if you would have preferred to do something else. Have a purposeful break, engage in something. Make an active decision to use your computer or read a book, meditate or exercise. It could be anything you want to do, can look forward to then relish.
I’m not suggesting you become an obnoxious, self-centred buffoon (though there’s some helpful advice about obnoxiousness here). But sometimes you need permission to give yourself a break.
You can’t give wonderful lessons and have a thriving business if you don’t rest, relax, exercise, bake, paint, walk, or whatever floats your boat.
Stressed about earning, as a freelancer? That doesn’t mean allowing clients to treat you as a doormat. And if you ruin your health by burning out, you won’t have a business at all.
What next?
- Why not sign up to our free 29 tips for a thriving music teaching business? We promise that our 29 ideas will give you things you can do immediately to boost your music teaching business. They’ll also make you smile. Request our series of tips for music teachers today.