As a school public relations or communications professional, your job can be quite demanding. The unpredictable nature of having a job in school communications means that every day is different and comes with a new set of challenges to address. While it’s important to meet all of the requirements of your position in order to successfully do your job, it’s also critical to maintain your mental health and personal life in order to cultivate a healthy work-life balance.
A work-life balance is crucial for today’s educators and school staff, who often report high levels of stress and anxiety. Working in school PR means the requirements of your job are ever-changing and move quickly, and the odds are that you’re the sole person responsible for everything from social media to internal communications to school newsletters and digital platforms. Without intentionally cultivating a work-life balance, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and feel overworked, which often leads to burnout.
Here are five ways school PR professionals can cultivate a healthy work-life balance:
1. Schedule posts ahead of time
Sometimes you know ahead of time that you will need to send out messages to students or staff after regular school hours or before the school day starts. Rather than take time out of your evening or morning routine to send these messages, utilize the scheduling capabilities of your school-home communications platform to create and schedule communications during your regular workday to automatically send when they need to. With ParentSquare, you can schedule media-rich newsletters, messages, and mass notifications to families, staff, and even students, ensuring all stakeholders are engaged and in-the-know when they need to be.
2. Don’t let the negative comments get to you
When you encounter negative communications on social media, it’s important to approach these situations with neutrality and kindness, acknowledging that people share their opinions because they just want to be heard, not because they want to hurt you.
As the human behind the social media accounts of a school, several schools, or even an entire district, you are bound to encounter negative comments from frustrated families and community members. Unfortunately, the cloak of social media makes it easier for people to say things they never would say in person, and comments and messages often can come off as rude and downright mean. It’s important to keep in mind that most of the time, the people saying these things to you don’t know who the real person on the other side of the screen is, and the thoughts and feelings they express have nothing to do with you as a person. When you encounter negative communications on social media, it’s important to approach these situations with neutrality and kindness, acknowledging that people share their opinions because they just want to be heard, not because they want to hurt you.
3. Set healthy boundaries
Because your job can be done from anywhere you have access to a device, it’s critical to set and stick to healthy boundaries to maintain a balance between work time and personal time. Whether you choose to work only during your set work hours or commit to keeping work duties out of your home (this means no checking emails before bed!), creating a boundary for your time is important to cultivating a work-life balance. Unless you have to be “on call,” it’s perfectly reasonable to choose your availability outside of the standard schoolwork day. Of course, there will be occasional times when you have to make an exception to this rule––such as a late evening snow day announcement you have to send out from home––but ultimately, the creation of these boundaries will help you use your time more wisely, improving your wellbeing and productivity every day.
Setting healthy boundaries at work can sound like…
“I’m going to unplug while I’m on vacation. I’ve prepared [BLANK] and they will take care of any emergencies should they arise in my absence.”
“I’m at capacity with my workload for the time being. Which task could I prioritize to a later date?”
“I won’t be able to have that done by this afternoon because of some other items on my plate; I can have it done by lunch tomorrow.”
“I’ve set a goal to limit checking work emails in the evenings. Please call me if there is an emergency.”
4. Create templates for communications
Save time and energy by developing templates in your school-home communication platform for different types of posts you create on a regular basis, including newsletters, forms, and more. ParentSquare enables school communications leaders to create templates that streamline the creation of different posts, making it simple and efficient to enter the necessary information into the template and schedule content to go out to families, staff, or students. Additionally, by sharing templates with teachers and staff, you can empower them to create their own posts––while ensuring their content has all the elements it needs and aligns with the school’s branding.
Building templates in ParentSquare is easy!
5. Plan time offline
It’s important to schedule offline time throughout the day and each week, but also each semester. During the day, you can take time offline by working on office tasks or walking around the school to take photos and videos for social media. Depending on your habits and needs, you might consider taking an entire day each weekend to be “unplugged,” instead focusing on personal hobbies, relationships, and activities. You should also plan to take certain holidays or vacation days completely off throughout the school year––strictly adhering to this plan will help you create better digital habits and cultivate a more effective work-life balance.
What you do for your school community as a school PR or communications professional is critical and valuable, but your work should never risk your own wellbeing. Cultivating a healthy work-life balance is key to doing your job effectively while maintaining your mental health and personal life. Healthy boundaries and routines are foundational to this goal, but ParentSquare can also help you streamline your duties and communications to increase your efficiency and improve your work-life balance.
Posted Thursday, January 19, 2023
