Too jaded to do anything after work

castaway_lady

I can't be the only one who has this issue, so Im hoping for some "cures". I'm an exhausted/ burned out teacher and so fed up of having nothing left in the tank to do anything after work. I get up at 6.45, leave the house at 7.45 and commute for nearly an hour. The typical day is manic busy, but then again so are most people at work! Another hour commute home and I'm beat
It takes the hours drive home to thaw out after the day. Then I crash and burn. The odd day I make it out for a walk, but living in the country that's getting impossible in the dark evenings now.
I need to get to the gym but I do this once a week now at most, not even every week, on a Friday afternoon and a walk of too at the weekend because I can't face driving to the gym. By Sunday afternoon my energy starts to return at about the same time my mood crashes at the thought of the next week of exhaustion. I'm pure sick of doing nothing except drive, work, sit and sleep.
I'm not sick (yet) but health wise this is depressing, I know I've lost tonnes of fitness and strength not to mention life!

LegacyUser

Omg I'm your twin here.
Not in the same profession, but just burnt out after work every day.
Have had blood tests with GP& not deficient in iron or anything.
Just simply wrecked at the end of each day. Often go to bed at 7pm, so it's not a lack of sleep either!
Wonder if many others here have the same issue...

KnocKnocKnock

Castaway Lady, I can completely relate! I'm also a teacher who feels like my life revolves around work and I've no energy for anything else. I can't offer much useful advice, I can only say that hopefully, it's just the time of year and I can empathise!

implausible

The only way I ever get any exercise done is if I do it before I get home or if I have to. Once I'm in the door, that's it. Is there a gym/pool near your school? That way you'd have your exercise done and shower got before you get home, could be worth a try. Buddying up with someone is also good motivation as you don't want to let the other person down.

The job can be exhausting and you need to keep yourself able for it.

If the tiredness is really excessive, are you sure there's no medical cause? Have you got your thyroid checked?

sullivlo

Any chance you could have an active commute? Cycle or walk part of the way?

I try to be as practical as possible on the weekends too so that I have less to do in the evenings so that I can actually sit and do nothing if I need.

I also try get things done before going home as if I go home I won't go out again.

I get quality sleep (rather than quantity - too much sleep is almost as bad for you).

Get the auld bloods and whatnot checked too. You could be breeding a virus - kids are notoriously generous with them.

MintyMagnum

Or B12 levels too.
Try a multivitamin like pharmaton.

allthedoyles

Give up using all sweet things and use pure honey throughout the day in your porridge , in tea coffee etc.
Honey will give you energy

Fakediamond

Get a dog! I also want to crash every evening after work but my dog has other ideas. So, first thing when I get in, I have to walk the dog. That means every day, dark nights, pouring rain, freezing. I also live in a rural area so have to load the dog into the car to get to somewhere safe to walk, or find another dog loving fool to brave the dark with me. The dog gives so much back to me in other ways though, keeps me sane really, after a horrible day at work.

I totally get what you mean about burnout, employers want more for less and it's taking its toll on the workers. It's getting harder to just keep going, never mind happy and motivated in our jobs!

MEGA BRO WOLF 5000

Op...that's a mental day. If I did it id be wrecked too... Can you shorten your commute? Is the job permanent? Long ass day...

amtc

I don't think this is atypical! I'm usually up at 6... in by 8...leave at 6.30...suits as going over m50. Work from home 2 days.

I think a lot is to do with sudden change in darkness etc. this week.

sentient_6

I was talking to a work colleague about this recently. Iv a 6 month old and our evenings are all go with her, dinner, walking the dog, washing the dishes etc etc. It can be exhausting.....if you let it get to your head.

Im not joking when I say this, the trick is don't sit down for even 2 minutes when you get home, or you'll get instantly tired and not want to get up again. Most evenings we don't stop and relax until about 9 after everything gets done.

seamus

As others have said, get yourself checked out by your GP to make sure there's nothing medically wrong, you're not low in any hormones or vitamins, etc.

Counter-intuitively, not getting exercise in will sap your energy. If you can even get a 30 minute brisk walk in, it can perk up your energy - can you do this before you even leave work?

Also watch your diet. If you're snacking on sweet stuff during the day and including things like chocolate in your lunch, then you're going to feel a "crash" later in the day when your insulin spikes.

LegacyUser

castaway_lady wrote: »

I get up at 6.45, leave the house at 7.45 and commute for nearly an hour.

As you're a teacher, I'm gonna guess that you typically leave your workplace at 4.30 and you say have the same commute home. Even if you left at 5.30, what you're describing would actually be quite a handy day compared to a lot of people, you still have 4-5 hours a day to spare before you get the head down for a full night's sleep and you have weekends off and plenty of holidays, far more than most.

I leave the house at 6.00 to start a 2 hour journey to work, typically an 8.5 hour day. My girlfriend leaves with me to go to the gym, because she has two businesses to run on top of a full-time job. I find time to head to the gym, study, run, go to the cinema and help out on a farm, all with considerably less time than you. We're not untypical and I know people who manage all that who are parents and really do have a lot to juggle in comparison.

I don't think the length of your working day or your quite easy commute is the issue. Perhaps your diet is poor, or you have bad exercise habits, or bad time management, but your working day and travel aren't the problem, in fact the relative ease and predictable regularity of them is probably your biggest asset in building a healthier life. Alternatively, you may want to think about whether teaching is for you at all if you find quite a short working day to be so taxing.

silverharp

sleep also, most people don't get enough, OP do you get 7 to 8 hours? maybe do something like switch off all gadgets/tv etc at 9pm and wind down with a book

intheclouds

Same meself.

I do manage to get to the gym 3 days a week but I get up at 6am to do it and hence Im in bed even earlier as a result. By the time Friday comes I am falling asleep by 9pm and I need the weekend to recharge.

seamus

Guessed wrote: »

As you're a teacher, I'm gonna guess that you typically leave your workplace at 4.30 and you say have the same commute home. Even if you left at 5.30, what you're describing would actually be quite a handy day compared to a lot of people, you still have 4-5 hours a day to spare before you get the head down for a full night's sleep and you have weekends off and plenty of holidays, far more than most...

Tbh, while I see what you're saying in most of your post, it's a bit unfair to compare working days based on pure hours worked.

A school teacher may have a relatively short day, but overall it's a full-on day. Your average office worker spends their time reading and writing emails, compiling information and looking at reports, broken up with significant periods of surfing the web or going to get coffee.

In an office worker's terms, a teacher's day is like a day of back-to-back presentations from start to finish, where you are the presenter. A primary school teacher has a shorter day again but will actually be a lot more physically active than a secondary school one.

Different roles have different duties, and cannot be directly compared as "easy" or "hard" based on whether you do 5 or 12 hours a day.

You are correct in that the OP has a day that's more predictable than many others' and more hours in the evening, which they should use to their advantage. The additional time in the evenings in particular could be used to beat the gym rush and get in when it's quiet and out when everyone else is just starting.

But you can't say that they have no excuse for being tired - I'm willing to bet you'd trade your hours for hers, but not the job.

intheclouds

Constantly knackered myself from long commute and long workday.

Get nothing done any evening bar preparing dinner and few chores. Spend the weekends pre cooking and getting bigger chores out of the way.

On monday morning the treadmill restarts and I get back on.

Rekop dog

Sounds like you're in the a rut of a routine more than anything, and giving in to the laziness. Exercise more and eat cleaner and you'll probably notice a marked difference in energy levels. I know teachers who have very active post work lives on midweek days, train your mind to not go into switch off mode when you get home. Also I know it's cliche'd but teachers get a crazy amount of holidays compared to most so opportunities to refresh are never too far away. Medical reasons aside there's no excuse to be so lazy so don't listen to the overly sympathetic posts, get busy living or get busy dying.

Tigerandahalf

A few posters here with the usual anti teacher stuff but ignore them. I can imagine being in charge of 30 plus kids every day must be physically but especially mentally draining.

It is always recognised as being one of the more stressful jobs and being able to switch off is probably a key skill to survive in the job.

Since you have a decent commute consider some good relaxing music for the car. Avoid negative radio and the usual current affairs stuff.

Do try to get a walk in every day. It is a great way to clear the mind and switch off.

With winter coming in and darker days consider taking vit D3 supplement.

With your holidays do treat yourself as well and book a few days away to recharge.

If you don't have family yet take advantage of those holidays and travel as much as you can.

Best of luck.

Windorah

Guessed wrote: »

your working day and travel aren't the problem, in fact the relative ease and predictable regularity of them is probably your biggest asset in building a healthier life. Alternatively, you may want to think about whether teaching is for you at all if you find quite a short working day to be so taxing.

As soon as I read your OP I knew to brace myself for these types of replies! I'm a teacher too and looking after (never mind teaching) thirty something little gangsters is exhausting! Just look up the most common professions for burn out.
I think exercise and diet are hugely important. I get up at 5am to exercise and still manage to be at my desk by 8am. I genuinely find I have so much more energy after exercising. Diet too is so important.
I put everything into my job and by the sounds of it, you probably do too. So ignore the above comment about teaching not being for you. Look after your health, physical and mental and hopefully you can find a balance in your life. And if you figure it out let me know how!

The_Honeybadger

Re exercise you can put together a pretty versatile home gym for very reasonable money. A yoga mat, some adjustable dumbells, bands and a foldable bench and you're set. Get your workout done or go for a walk asap when you get in from work. It's a crazy waste paying a gym sub and only going once a fortnight.

After that get plenty of sleep and eat a good balanced diet with plenty of fresh veg. If you are still suffering from excessive tiredness I would be giving the doctor a visit to make sure everything is ok.

Trimm Trabb

Guessed wrote: »

As you're a teacher, I'm gonna guess that you typically leave your workplace at 4.30 and you say have the same commute home. Even if you left at 5.30, what you're describing would actually be quite a handy day compared to a lot of people, you still have 4-5 hours a day to spare before you get the head down for a full night's sleep and you have weekends off and plenty of holidays, far more than most.

I leave the house at 6.00 to start a 2 hour journey to work, typically an 8.5 hour day. My girlfriend leaves with me to go to the gym, because she has two businesses to run on top of a full-time job. I find time to head to the gym, study, run, go to the cinema and help out on a farm, all with considerably less time than you. We're not untypical and I know people who manage all that who are parents and really do have a lot to juggle in comparison.

I don't think the length of your working day or your quite easy commute is the issue. Perhaps your diet is poor, or you have bad exercise habits, or bad time management, but your working day and travel aren't the problem, in fact the relative ease and predictable regularity of them is probably your biggest asset in building a healthier life. Alternatively, you may want to think about whether teaching is for you at all if you find quite a short working day to be so taxing.

Your day sounds really easy compared to my day. I work as a teacher during the day and then as a nurse on the night shift during the evening. I also do the ultra marathon every week as well as studying for my PhD. I have 6 boys and 6 girls, all of which I consider to be extremely easy to manage.

But don't these business owners actually just boss their employees around, send emails and drink lattes most of the day? Sure there would be nothing taxing about that, no wonder there it's so easy to fit in all that other stuff. Maybe you and your girlfriend have a bad diet and that's why you can't live your life as well as I live mine?

Kh1993

Not surprised the anti-teacher poster is an unreg.. ignore, I wouldn't do that job no matter what you paid me. I'd consider my 9-5 office-y job 10x easier than teaching so don't bother takin the snide "if you can't handle the short day" bs to Heart (I wonder if that poster would have commented if the op hadn't mentioned teaching..)

Is there any way you could turn your commute into reliable public transport even? I don't teach, work til 5/6 but I find the hour in and home on the train are a great stress reliever to switch off, read etc. I don't think I could face a long drive after work so you're doing better than some people!

Food is a big one. Everyone has their tired days where they over do it on the sugar and caffeine and just crash. Maybe try split two decent meals between breaks? I know some teaching friends who'd have a big proper dinner at their lunch break. Maybe a change of habit could give a little bit of life?

purplesnack

+1 for the change in diet. I used to be the same as you OP until I changed my eating habits. I cut out caffeine, all refined sugar, processed foods and now eat whole foods and drink plenty of water. My energy levels all day are way up and I'm sleeping so much better too.

It's also easy to get into a routine of crashing on the couch in the evenings. Sometimes you have to force yourself to get up and do things, but you'll feel better if you do.

donkeykong5

Get vitamin b complex tablets in aldi for €1.49. Make sure you take one daily. In a week you will be fine. but keep taking them .

donkeykong5

Get vitamin b complex tablets in aldi for €1.49. Make sure you take one daily. In a week you will be fine. but keep taking them .

donkeykong5

Get vitamin b complex tablets in aldi for €1.49. Make sure you take one daily. In a week you will be fine. but keep taking them .

donkeykong5

Get vitamin b complex tablets in aldi for €1.49. Make sure you take one daily. In a week you will be fine. but keep taking them .

ted1

What do you do between getting up and leaving the house? An hour is quite a bit to be potting about. Get up half an hour later.

Cut out an sugary snacks. Sitting in your ass actually zaps your energy. Get up and go for a run or walk , it takes about 21 days to make a habit , so at first it'll be a struggle but after three weeks it'll be part of your routine

LegacyUser

ted1 wrote: »

What do you do between getting up and leaving the house? An hour is quite a bit to be potting about. Get up half an hour later.

+1 on that, never understood what people waste time being up so soon before they leave (obviously not including those with kids). I'm out the door in 10 to 15 mins after I get up, even less than 10 mins sometimes. Showering the night before is a great time saver and something I always do.

As for the comments on teaching being a short day, its very obvious people making these comments have no idea what its like. I am a lab/office worker usually in work about 9 hours a day (sometimes more). That's made of periods of working quite hard but also taking over an hour for lunch, plenty of chats and internet browsing, getting tea etc.

Occasionally I do some outreach work in primary schools, its fun stuff so the kids are interested (rather than if it was their school work). Its usually for about 3 hours 10am to 1pm or something like that and by 1pm I'd be wrecked, much more tired than after a normal full days work.

Dr Crayfish

I've got something similar. I get up at 8, cycle to work, it's only 8km, usually go to gym at lunchtime, and then I'm home around 6ish. After making myself dinner I just want to veg and watch TV or mess around on the internet. I was only thinking last night how anyone has the energy to do other stuff, I can't imagine having kids. I'm 36 now, am I just getting old?
OP, maybe it's just the way things are, but if you could cycle maybe or go for a run at lunch or something you could squeeze in some exercise, it may even make you feel less tired all round.