Work-Life Balance

Throughout the past two years in the educational leadership program, it is probably fair to say that we have all struggled balancing work, school, and family.  One cannot go through such a program without having the values of hard-work, determination, and selflessness.  There have been several times that I personally have missed family events and pulled an all-nighter in order to complete assignments and I don't feel like I am an an exception.  Now that we are coming to an end of the program that does not mean that we will have less to do, but will have different demands and deadlines. 

When beginning our careers as school administrators, this can be our chance to build some good habits for our health.  By setting some guidelines when it comes to when we work, our home life will benefit.  One administrator I heard from suggested that you not check e-mail on the weekend or after leaving work and put away cell phones when engaging with family.  He also mentioned that if we do not take care of ourselves, we have nothing to give our students, faculty, and community.  This type of thing does not come naturally for most of us educators, but for our sanity and effectiveness it might be the first thing we need to focus on.

Nichole Goodliffe