Burnout among teachers is no joke. The hours, the pressure, the marking, they can all take their toll, and that’s without the unique pressures of the past 18 months. You give so much of yourself when you’re teaching, it’s no wonder that it’s draining.

But, with half-term fast approaching, and the chance it provides to reset, what can we do to reduce the risks of burning out by Christmas?

Mental health and wellbeing: How teachers can avoid burnout

1. Break up with your inner perfectionist  

Many of us are perfectionists: the PowerPoint has to look just right, the extra resource must be made, the lesson plan needs bells and whistles. But perfectionism and teaching aren’t always the most comfortable bedfellows. There is absolutely nothing wrong with solid, decent, run-of-the-mill lessons. There are times when you can push the boat out and try something special. And sometimes good enough is good enough. It’s much more important that you’re there and on form - an all-singing, all-dancing lesson won’t be that great if you’re tired and snappy because you stayed up until midnight planning it.

More tips on teacher wellbeing:

• When teachers should say ‘no’ - and how to do it

• Leadership: how to build a culture of kindness 

• Four simple ways to improve teacher wellbeing

2. Set boundaries  

I used to lug marking home and spend evenings planning. One day I decided that I just wasn’t going to do that any more. It was non-negotiable; everything would just have to fit into my time at school. I would stay in school until 5.30pm at the latest and anything that wasn’t done by then would have to wait until the next day. It made me more focused during working hours, I started working more and chatting less in my PPA time and I was forced to prioritise. More importantly, my evenings and weekends were mine. Work has a tendency to expand to fill the time you give it, so give it less and, in my experience, the stuff that matters still gets done.

3. Mark less 

This is easy to say, and, of course, a marking policy may get in your way, but there are things you can try to lessen your marking load. Why write the same thing out in full 30 times if you can produce a list of numbered targets and just give each student a number as a target? Failing that, just write less. Over-marking can take the responsibility away from students, reduce their motivation and make them less resilient. If it’s a careless error, mark it but don’t correct it: research suggests teachers should focus on areas where students show an underlying misunderstanding.

4. Say no

Such a short word can be remarkably difficult to say. “Would you mind just running this after-school club? It won’t take much preparation.” “Could you act as a mentor? You’re so brilliant at what you do.” “Would you mind leading on this new initiative? It’ll look great on your CV.”

No, no and no. I’m not advocating being unhelpful - of course, showing goodwill is important. And there will be times in your career when you can and will say yes. But when you’re up against it, it’s fine to just do the job you’re employed to do. You’re doing the right thing by the students, by the school and by yourself if it means that you’re more likely to enjoy the job, stay at the school and not leave the profession.

5. Be counter-cultural 

It’s easy for a culture of long hours to creep into a staffroom; a martyr mentality whereby the work ethic becomes competitive. It holds that the more time you spend marking, planning or working, the better teacher you are. It’s simply not the case. It’s a truth worth stating - publicly, if you’re in leadership - that neither time spent marking, nor the length of a PowerPoint, nor leaving work late equals effectiveness.

Ryan Wilson is an English teacher and radio producer. His teaching memoir, Let That Be a Lesson, is out now published by Chatto & Windus