Teachers in Transition – Ep 223 – The In-between Times, Drawer Rails, and The 5 Steps to Career Transition

In this episode of Teachers in Transition, host Vanessa Jackson explores how to spend the "in-between times" in a way that reflects and supports your mental health. Drawing inspiration from a memoir by the bass player of her favorite band, Vanessa shares insights on how intentional activities during downtime can either enhance or drain our well-being. 

Vanessa also shares a useful organizational hack for teachers, involving adhesive rails that help keep bins neat and accessible. This hack simplifies classroom and home organization, allowing teachers to save time and reduce clutter.

Finally, Vanessa breaks down the career transition process into five clear steps:

1. Decide – The challenging but essential decision to leave teaching.
2. Clarify – Identifying your skills, goals, and exit strategy.
3. Build – Creating the necessary tools like resumes and LinkedIn profiles.
4. Refine – Fine-tuning your application process and expanding your network.
5. Attract – Positioning yourself as an expert in your new field and creating opportunities through networking.

She encourages teachers considering a career change to listen to their inner voice, reflect on their needs, and reach out for guidance if needed

Are you ready to schedule that discovery session to see if you are ready to make the leap?  Head over to the calendar and schedule a time for you to talk one on one with Vanessa 

Follow Teachers in Transition on Facebook to stay in the know of all the latest information along with doses of inspiration. Want more?  You can join in the discussion on our podcast’s Facebook page!

Come and see! www.teachersintransition.com

The book: My Effin’ Life by Rush bassist and vocalist, Geddy Lee.  It is available in hardcover, kindle, and audible versions.  

A link to the drawer rails on Amazon.  This is not an affiliate link and I make nothing if you click on it.

And remember to send your comments, stories, and random thoughts to me at TeachersinTransitionCoaching@gmail.com!  I look forward to reading them.  Would you like to hear a specific topic on the pod?  Send those questions to me and I’ll answer them. Feel free to connect with Vanessa on LinkedIn!

The transcript of this podcast can be found on the podcasts’ homepage at Buzzsprout. 

Transcript

Are you a teacher who is feeling stressed out and overwhelmed? do you worry that you're feeling symptoms of burnout - or are you sure you've already gotten there? Have you started to dream of doing something different or a new job or perhaps pursuing an entirely different career - but you don't know what else you're qualified to do? You don't know how to start a job search and you just feel stuck. If that sounds like you, I promise you are not alone. my name is Vanessa Jackson; and I am a career transition and job search coach and I specialize in helping burnt out teachers just like you deal with the overwhelmingly stressful nature of your day-to-day job and to consider what other careers might be out there waiting for you. You might ask yourself, What tools do I need to find a new career?  Are my skills valuable outside the classroom?  How and where do I even get started?  These are all questions you deserve answers to, and I can help you find them.  I’m Vanessa Jackson. Come and join me for Teachers in Transition.  

***Hi!  And Welcome back to another episode of Teachers in Transition. I am your host, Vanessa Jackson –a career transition and job search coach specializing in educators. I am here to help you reach your goals and figure out how to navigate the journey from overwhelmed, stressed out and burnt-out teacher to a new job or career that allows you to find what you want in your life. I provide tips and suggestions to help with stress and mental health, hacks to help your day, and tips for career transition and  job-hunting  I am so happy you are here!  Welcome! Today on the pod, we are going to talk about the in-between times and how that can be a measure of our mental health, a hack to help keep things organized (bonus!  it’s a little like a sticker!), and we’ll also talk about the five steps of a career transition

The In-Between Times:
 
How are you spending your in-between time?  You know, the time between the things. That’s actually a great indicator of how stressed you are at any given moment.

I’m currently listening to a memoir by the bass player from my favorite band. I’ll link it in the show notes in case you're interested. The band is Rush, and the bass player is their legendary front man, Geddy Lee.  This book covers not just the memories of his life, but there is a significant chapter about his parents’ experience as holocaust survivors, which is a difficult but fascinating historical look.  Later in the book and after the band has been together for a fair amount of time and had achieved a measure of success, he talks about how they used to fill time backstage. This band was together for over 40 years, so as they got older and more mature, they realized they needed something more fulfilling to do. They decided to learn French. Since rock stars get different treatment than the rest of us, Berlitz, the language school, would send a teacher to wherever their gig was. After soundcheck, but before the concert, they’d get a 45-minute French lesson.

What struck me was how they intentionally filled their time with something that enriched their lives. And that got me thinking: how do I spend my in-between time? Because how we fill those gaps in our day really reveals a lot about our emotional state.  If you have no time at all and there is no time in-between, that’s a sure sign that you’re on the express train to Burnoutville. 

As a teacher, I’m a lifelong learner. I love learning new things, constantly absorbing information, reading anything I can get my hands on. I genuinely want to know everything about everything, even though I know that’s impossible (it hasn’t stopped me from trying). But when I notice I’m too stressed, too overwhelmed, or just too sad, all of that stops. I find myself mindlessly scrolling, whether it’s on social media or just bouncing between apps, even though a part of me is screaming, “Turn this off! You have other things to do!” But I just can’t seem to pull myself away.  Mosly I am hiding from other things that I ought to be doing. 

So, I ask you: How are you spending your in-between time? Do you even have any? Are you just trying to recharge enough energy to get through the next day? Are you doom-scrolling? Or are you engaging in an activity that feeds your soul in some way?  We talked about art last week as a way to feed your soul.  That is an absolutely valid way to spend your in-between time. I talked about how I liked making quilts – often I’d give them away because the process of making the quilt itself was the therapy – giving it away was a bonus. 

This could be anything—listening to music, gardening, cooking, or even cleaning (not in a judgmental way, but in the sense that decluttering a space can bring you some inner peace).  Here’s an exercise to try:  

Either write it down, or tell your phone to make a voice memo.  Write down things you like to do. Then go back and look at that list (you might have to ask WORD to transcribe it first). Are you doing any of those things?  Do you still engage in those pursuits of happiness? If not, why not?  Yes, teachers work more than just about anyone, but there are still moments in our day when we’re not working—or sometimes when we’re hiding from work! Use that time to do something that brings you joy and/or calm – but realize that it's probably not doom scrolling

If you’re unsure where to start, here are a few ideas:

• Coloring has been shown to reduce stress.
• Try learning a bit of a language on something like Duolingo – I’ve been working on Spanish which I find helpful, but they teach a lot of things. You could learn Klingon!
• Puzzles
• I mentioned painting before, but you could also try drawing or crafting or crocheting or knitting.
• Sit in nature—just being surrounded by it can help reset your mind.
• Take a walk or read a book. Or take a walk while you listen to a book!
• And don’t underestimate the power of a good shower. It can wash away not just the grime, but also the mental and emotional buildup of the day.
• Also don’t underestimate the restorative powers of a 20-30 minute nap on a weekend or going to bed just a few minutes early.  I really feel like I am getting away with something if I go to bed just fifteen minutes early. 

And now it's time for our hack. Our hack is designed to make your life easier in some way so that you have more time and/or brain space for YOU.  And today I have a hack for maintaining neatness in your organization system. Most teachers are pretty organized. We have files and systems and bins for everything. We have them at home, we have them in the car, and we have them in our classroom!  In fact, I have always found this amazing feeling which was a combination of accomplishment and peace when I was able to look out at my well-organized classroom – before anyone else messed with it for the day.  Who am I kidding – before anybody else came in for the school ear.  I’d have my bins perfectly arranged, and in a short span of time it looks like my shelves were attacked by wildebeests in a stampede.  I have run across this wonderful product where you can easily put rails – like for a drawer – on any bin.  This way it stays in one spot, and it slides out and RIGHT back into place.  These rails have adhesive backs, so you can just stick them right on your bin. That you already have.  And it doesn't matter what size your bin is because you just stick the rails on the bottom. I have found them especially useful for the bins I have on my bottom shelf by my desk – either my feet or my dogs were always shoving them over making them difficult to access.  I have a link to these in the show notes. I do not get any kind of affiliate pennies or anything from this, it's just something that I thought was really useful and helpful, so I hope that it is useful for you too. Let me know if you try this and how it works for you! Happy organizing, y’all!
 
 
 

And moving on to our segment on career transition and job hunting.  Today, we’re going to break down the career transition process into five clear steps.

Step 1 is Decide: Make the decision that it's time to transition out of teaching. It's one of the hardest steps, but it's crucial.

Step 2 is Clarify: This is where you explore who you are outside of teaching. What can you do? What do you want to do? You're preparing an exit strategy and identifying the direction you want to go.

Step 3 is Build: This stage is about creating your resume, cover letter templates, optimizing your LinkedIn profile, and starting to build your professional network. These are the foundations you need to position yourself in a new career.

Step 4 is Refine: Here, you refine your job application process by leveraging tools like AI to apply to job more efficiently. You’re also extending your network into fields of interest and developing any new skills you may need.

Step 5 is Attract: This is about positioning yourself as an expert in your new field - a subject matter expert, also called a SME. You engage on LinkedIn, write articles, and connect with people in the roles you want. By building meaningful professional relationships, you create opportunities.

Now, these five steps don’t happen in isolation. Networking is key throughout the process, and having a strong resume and LinkedIn page will be essential for your success. In the Refine stage, you should also be practicing mock interviews, as interview performance can make or break the search. Some of us can navigate this on our own, but many people benefit from one-on-one coaching to stay on track and provide accountability .

Today, I want to focus on that first step: Decide.

What factors lead to the decision to leave teaching? There are plenty of reasons we discuss regularly—class sizes are too large, there’s not enough time to plan, and the pay is not aligned with the amount of work we do. Many of us also deal with outdated technology and lack the resources we need. I’ve joked before that my school laptop was powered by a geriatric hamster—it could take 30 minutes to boot up in the morning. That slow, frustrating tech was just one example of the system's failure to support us the way we needed.

Lack of autonomy is another big issue. Some teachers are handed scripted lessons with no room for creativity, and the pressure to teach to standardized tests is constant. The world isn’t a standardized test, and as teachers, we know that. Over time, this eats away at our mental health.

Then, there's the toll of dealing with unsupportive administrative processes and angry parents. We have no time to care for our own health. Sometimes we come in an hour/hour and a half early in the mornings, and sometimes we stay an hour or two late in the evenings. Or we attend school events that stretch late into the night. and attending school events that stretch into the night. When do we have time for the gym, doctor appointments, or anything else that’s important for self-care? How many times have you been proud just to find the time to get your hair washed?

In truth, no one became a teacher expecting to get rich. But teaching used to feel like a stable career where you could help people, particularly kids, and make a positive impact on society. We were willing to trade six-figure salaries for the knowledge that we were making a difference. But that hasn’t been the case for at least the last ten years—and the last five, the decline has accelerated exponentially.

When I made the decision to leave teaching, it wasn't just about the pension or defined benefits. I saw a system that didn't value what I brought to the table and wasn’t providing room for growth. I fact I clearly remember that we had a state side vote on an issue to allow out retired teachers their first cost-of-living increase in ten years – fifteen for some of them!  And we weren’t voting to give them additional tax payer money,  we were voting to give them access to money they had already put in!   Very dehumanizing.   

Sometimes bad leadership is why we leave. 

Leaving teaching wasn’t easy. I loved my students, and I used to say I always taught the best kids on campus. But more and more, students face fewer consequences and accountability. There are very few systems in place to address that, either locally or across society as a whole.

When I left teaching, I was constantly amazed – like for the entire first year - at how my new employer treated me like a human. I didn’t have to spend my own money to do my job, and I even received stipends to offset costs like my cell phone bill. I wasn’t spending my weekends preparing for the next week, and he weekend felt longer.  And when the workday ended, I closed my laptop and walked away. I didn’t think about work once I left. I had a life outside of my job—something that I hadn’t even realized I wanted until I had it.

In those quiet moments—maybe on your drive to school, or sitting outside listening to the wind—ask yourself what it is you truly want. And if what you want isn’t possible in your current role, then it may be time to start considering a career transition.

If you’re thinking about transitioning out of teaching, you don’t have to do it alone. I help teachers translate their skills and make that escape when it’s time to move on. I’d love to have that conversation with you. 

If you find this podcast helpful or enjoyable, please share it with others! Sharing a podcast is the BEST way to help it grow!!   I am trying to help as many teachers as I can to find the work they love where they are valued and can do the things they find meaningful. If you aren’t ready to talk but you might want to sign up for the newsletter, you can do that by registering at Teachers in Transition dot com.  I am currently sending out a monthly newsletter, and I am hoping to get this to twice a month. 
 
 Remember – a career transition outside of teaching generally takes longer than the three months that we’re used to INSIDE of world of education.  If you want to be out of the classroom for the next school year, this is the perfect time to start working on your strategy and your exit plan.  

That’s the podcast for today! If you liked this podcast, tell a friend, and don’t forget to rate and review wherever you listen to your podcasts. Tune in weekly to Teachers in Transition where we discuss Job Search strategies as well as stress management techniques.  And I want to hear from you!  Please reach out and leave me a message at Teacher in transition coaching at gmail dot com.  You can also leave a voicemail or text at 512-640-9099. 

I’ll see you here again next week and remember – YOU are amazing!