The ability for a person to maintain some sort of a respectable balance between professional and personal expectations - even though it’s important - can be tricky.  It’s easy to allow ourselves to fall victim to the “workaholic” mindset as a means to make sure that we feel that we are “good” at our jobs.  

In this episode, I have a conversation with Matthew Woods, a fellow member of the Education Podcast Network, about the challenges teachers are facing during the Covid-19 crisis.  He shares - through his administrative perspective - how the struggle with finding balance causes many teachers to “throw in the towel”. I also talk with Matthew about what caused him to become a workaholic as a young teacher and how this mindset impacted every aspect of his life. During this interview, Matthew shares with us his insights and how he worked to shift his mindset from “workaholic” to focus on what really matters.  

Mr. Matthew Wood is a classroom teacher, turned administrator, who now serves as Director of Student Affairs in his current district.  In addition, Matthew also worked with pre-service teachers in his role as an adjunct professor and field instructor and he is also a published author.  

In this episode you will: 

• Hear about Matthew’s burnout story - both as a teacher and as an administrator.  (11:50) 
• Learn about what caused Matthew’s workaholic tendencies and how some teachers wear their busyness like a badge of honor. (21:00) 
• Hear how it’s possible, even with all the struggles with this new way of teaching, for educators to find a balance between putting their students first while also taking care of themselves.  (25:00)
• Understand the power of resilience and how planning ahead can support you in living the life you want. (31:00) 

CALL TO ACTION: THINGS YOU CAN DO TOMORROW 

1. Make the time - don’t find the time.  Get into the habit of using a planner to schedule out your day intentionally so you can accomplish both what you want to and what you need to,  
2. Reflect and celebrate the things that ARE working right now.
3. Stop and enjoy the moment.  You don’t always have to keep pushing yourself to find the next best thing.  It’s okay to just stop and enjoy the time that you are spending with your students.  

FIND OUR GUEST 

Twitter: @woodfromawoods

Facebook Page: Leading Out the Woods

OUR GUEST’S RESOURCES 

Personal Website: www.leadingoutthewoods.com 

Podcast: Leading Out the Woods 

Matthew's Books:

• I Wanna Be…
• The Sandbox Mentality: Empowering Leadership (He is currently working on)