How do you stop counting down the days and wishing your life away?

[Horcrux]

I’m only in my NQT year, I’n in a nice school with little pressures put on staff in comparison to what I’ve read about. But I still count the days down until weekends and half terms.

I feel like I’m wishing my life away and If I’m doing this now I know I will be doing it forever in teaching, which can’t be healthy.

How do I stop this?

Are you enjoying your job?

I think most people who work count down the days to the weekend to be honest, no matter what they do.

Kind of, it’s a job at the end of the day.

I'm not sure it's possible. Most people probably prefer the weekends to actual work.

My only tips would be to make sure you've a) got nice things to look forward to at the weekends and in holidays, so that you're working FOR something
b) Have some nice things at work - good pens, a nice mug, decent coffee, whatever

Leave teaching?
Sorry not very constructive, but I don't count down days any more since leaving.

Everyone does this. And think yourself lucky you have half terms etc to look forward to every 6 weeks or so.

I always think it's because it generally isn't that long until the next school holiday, so i'm often thinking '4 more Mondays' etc. I don't dislike my job. I do enjoy being off though.

The holidays often represent deadlines to complete schemes of learning too so I'm very aware of them in terms of making sure i'm on track.

I think it's just built into the nature of the job.
You monitor time so much more in teaching than in some other jobs.

There's so much to fit into a lesson, which should finish at a set time.
There's so many lessons to fit into the day that I do find the day never drags.
There's a scheme of work or topic to get covered by half term/end of term.
There's so many additional non curricular days/weeks - anti bullying week, Earth Day, healthy week, World Book Day etc etc etc, esp in primary.
Then it's crazy to realise that we are already nearly halfway through the year, and of course you look forward to the summer holidays.
And the challenge that a new year group/class brings.

Yeah, the day certainly never drags!!

Thanks, I’m glad it’s normal. I do enjoy my job but was worried that if I’m constantly waiting for the weekend then I must be doing something wrong, like my planning and organisation’s all out!

Honestly, I think you need to leave if you want to stop. Or at least look at a different avenue in teaching.
However, if you can't or don't want to, then your job needs to not be your whole life. My first head told me to book an appointment for 4pm once a month- a massage, hair cut, coffee with a friend.
Make sure you don't work past a certain time in the evening and have a day off over the weekend. Spend an evening a week at a hobby or exercise class.
I know they sound like normal things but it's amazing how quickly you stop doing them under the workload.

It's normal in most jobs to wish your life away for the weekends. That's why we get paid to do jobs/work - almost no one would bother having a job otherwise. I worked in industry before I came into teaching and it was the same there, apart from the job was so bloody boring, I was literally counting the minutes of every single day. At least in teaching, the day flies by so fast, I don't have time to dwell too much on what I'd much rather be doing (i.e. curled up on my sofa with a good book, but this does not pay the bills).