Motivating yourself for Supply Teaching

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The New Year is officially in swing, and many of us are returning to work after enjoying some time relaxing with friends and family. It can be hard to adapt to the hustle and bustle of professional life after the festive period (especially if you work in teaching or supply teaching), but never fear! We have 5 handy steps here to help improve your workplace positivity during this dreary time and carry you forward in 2018.

1. Visualise Success

Take some time to think about what you want out of 2018 work-wise. What do you want to achieve? Do you want to be more organised with your paperwork this year? Are you aiming for a promotion within your teaching career, or perhaps you’ve been wanting to try supply teaching? Once you have thought about your desires, visualise yourself achieving them. This will help to motivate yourself, which in turn should improve your positivity - not only within your work environment but in general life!

2. Set Yourself Goals

Setting yourself specific goals in line with your professional aim for the year can also help you become more positive. You have decided what you want to achieve in 2018, now break it up into manageable, time-based chunks! What will help you get that promotion to Head of Year? What will help you to secure a long-term supply teaching role that gives you more work-life balance? Think about the steps you will need to take, and then put a time limit on them. Working towards these goals can make a wild dream become a lot more attainable and should keep you on track for success – ergo you will become more positive!

3. Express Gratitude

When returning to work in the New Year it can be easy to dwell on the troubles of the previous year. Thinking this way can have a detrimental impact on your workplace positivity, and so it is vital to focus on the positives during this transitional period. Get a notepad and pen and write down 5 positives of your current position. They could be anything, for example: You work in a fantastic class, your supply teaching hours give you a good work/life balance, you are given support and guidance with professional development, etc. Reflecting on the pluses that are so often overlooked can make the negatives seem a lot less daunting, and can help improve your positivity towards work.

4. Make Time For Yourself

It goes without saying that everyone needs to get away from the workplace in order to recharge. If you are feeling that you can’t escape the stresses of your role then you need to try and schedule in some time to just be you. Whether you decide to take a short walk on your lunch break or you arrange an evening in with friends, taking time to appreciate who you are without your professional label can help you to become more positive within the workplace.

5. Try A New Activity

Many of us become so wrapped up in our professional lives that we don’t take the time to experience new things within our personal lives. When humans go too long without excitement we tend to stagnate – or get into a ‘rut’. What better way to stimulate the brain and encourage a positive mind set than by taking up a new activity? Whether you’ve always wanted to learn to crochet, play Badminton or volunteer at an animal rescue, it’s time to stop wanting and start doing. It can be difficult to find the time, especially with highly demanding jobs, but if you can set aside a couple of hours a week to participate in something you’ve always wanted to do then your mood is likely to improve – both inside and outside of work!

Still struggling?

If none of these steps help to improve your workplace positivity then you may need to consider whether you are truly happy in your current position. Sometimes no matter how hard you try, things just don’t work out and suddenly the job which was once perfect for you no longer is! If you have found that your teaching role is no longer suited to your needs then why not try something new, such as supply teaching? Or if you are already working as supply staff then why not consider a different type of supply teaching, such as long-term rather than day-to-day? Working as a supply teacher brings many benefits, such as:

  • Working hours that fit around your life, rather than fitting in your life around work

  • Competitive rates of pay

  • Less paperwork, lesson planning, scheming and marking

  • Variety (no day is ever the same!)

  • The opportunity to get to know several different schools

Sounds good right? We think so too! With a variety of day-to-day, short-term and long-term positions available on both a part-time and full-time basis, we’re sure to have a role which fits in perfectly with your life. So, why not try supply teaching with Simply Education this year and become more workplace positive in 2018?

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