The burnout epidemic among tutors: How can tuition teachers better manage their time?

The best tuition agencies in Singapore harbours the most skilled and knowledgeable tutors as well. Those tutors with their expertise and experience strive to provide the best for their students but often times harm themselves in terms of their work-life balance and health. Tutoring is no mean feat as it takes lots of energy, homework, commitment and passion to keep going.

Source: Theguardian

Tuition teachers need to perform at their optimum in order to provide the best guidance for their students. However, more private tutors are reaching a point of burning out and this jeopardises their quality of teaching knowingly or unknowingly.

So, how can tuition teachers better manage their time and strike a work-life balance?

FLEXIBLE SCHEDULE

The biggest mistake that tutors make is to cram in too many tuition sessions in a day. It is better to space out the tuition sessions as that will enable to tutors to have some breathing space. The problem with back-to-back tuition sessions is that it does not allow for tutors to put their mind at ease, recoup themselves. Should they push themselves too hard, it will affect every other lesson in the day and they may not even realise it themselves.

Like a domino effect, private tutors may carry on the tension and stress with them when they move on from one student to the next and this may cause them to look like an unamicable and unapproachable person. Their unpleasant attitude (which may not necessarily be attributed to their character) would cause students to feel uncomfortable during lessons and this eventually leads to an inefficient tuition session.

So, space it out and keep a flexible schedule!

EXERCISE

Dring exercise, your autonomic nervous system brings in responses like increased tidal volume and tachycardia which enables a greater circulation of blood throughout the body. Your body achieve better oxygenation at a cellular level and your lymphatic drainage in enhanced. Exercising also releases endorphins which elevates your mood and keeps you optimistic.

Source: Washingtonpost

All these fancy words are to say: Exercise is good for you. As a teacher, it is your responsibility to be in pink of health and also encourage your students to take care of their health as well. It is essential to practice what you preach and moreover, when you lead by example, you will be an inspiration to those around you. And people never forget their inspirations in their life.

PATIENCE

Often times tutors stress out about the inobedient and lazy students and this causes them to lost their temper. This directly affects their health and it comprises on the quality of teaching. Tutors need to find out ways to guide such students without losing their patience and that is the only way they can put a halt to burning out.

Home tutors especially may be exhausted from the travel and having a long day with other students, so this causes them to lose their patience when dealing with a more “challenging student”. As tutors, you need to take deep breathes to relieve your stress and possibly meditation could help to keep a calm demeanour.

BOTTOM LINE

Being a tuition teacher is not as easy as what people think as it takes lots of persistence, energy and passion to travel that path. Tutors need to keep themselves in a balanced way in order to be at their optimum during lessons!