Focussing on Today (leaders)

Our research found that teachers who had stayed in teaching for many years had several personal strategies which have helped them to get through difficult days, and also to feel happier about their role day-to-day.

One of these is to focus on today, rather than looking too far ahead. This skill can help teachers to tackle the essential tasks needed for that day in a pragmatic way, rather than setting unrealistic expectations, and can help them to gain feelings of satisfaction and accomplishment.

Examples might include:

• Identifying the steps needed to get through today.
• Recognising the small “wins” – such as the successes in a moment of the lesson, the improvements in behaviour or understanding for a particular student.
• Postponing tasks to another day – especially where the day is particularly intense.
• Recognising that there are times of peak workload where certain tasks might need to be prioritised and others postponed.

Leaders can help this, by recognising and valuing day-to-day successes, and also by helping teachers to know which tasks are urgent and which can wait for another day.

But what really matters is what works for teachers and students at your school – what would help your teachers to focus on today?