I write this slap bang in the middle of conference season: my first as Teacher Support Network’s Chief Executive. It’s wonderful to be able to meet up with the great and good from education, politics and the media and bend their ear about the wellbeing of teachers. My colleagues and I have the chance to build better links with unions and other stakeholders in education and ensure our message on the importance of the wellbeing of teachers is better understood by decision makers and influencers. Nevertheless, the sheer pace of my life that has resulted from trying to combine conferences, meeting politicians and simultaneously playing a guiding role in our charity’s day-to-day work has made me reflect on the very problems that our charity exists to combat in schools. More than ever I can understand both the difficulties and importance of helping teachers to maintain a healthy work-life balance in order to protect wellbeing and improve their effectiveness in the classroom.

As you may have read in my previous columns, my break over the summer had enabled me to construct rigorous plans about the renewed sense of organisation with which I would approach my job upon my return in September. I had visions of the most effective of schedules ensuring that every element of my work was accomplished with consummate ease and in record time. Each new diary entry would be written in the most deliberate and elegant of calligraphy; each stylishly inscribed appointment representing an über-productive Potsdam in the winning fight for teacher wellbeing. Through setting aside generous proportions of my week to all manner of recreational activity, I would easily maintain the perfect equilibrium between my professional and personal lives. Each week I would I catch some truly phenomenal performance with friends in the West End. Every weekend I’d stride to the summit of Ben Nevis and back in time for lunch, followed by my title judo fight that evening. I’d spend Sundays engaged in a full schedule of emotionally rewarding volunteer work, share a roast dinner with my extended family and always have time in the evening to review the papers before heading to bed for a good eight hours sleep.

But as ever, in the paraphrased words of Robert Burns, the best laid plans o’ Chief Execs gang aft agley. The successes of the new term have ensured a greater volume of work. New relationships formed at conferences mean new projects are now being enthusiastically undertaken. The realities of work – where you day can sometimes be defined entirely by an unforeseen event requiring immediate attention – have truly kicked in.

I’m sure many teachers will be able to relate to this experience. Hopefully you too took the chance over summer to prepare emotionally for the new term and implement your own effective methods of maintaining a positive work-life balance. Nevertheless, the pressures of working in schools can quickly become seemingly insurmountable, despite any preparations that you may have made. It’s easy to let the difference between your intentions for the term – rigorous time management, generous periods of time allocated to personal interests and a stressless approach to the tasks of the day – and the difficult realities of unexpected events, difficult pupils and problems with colleagues, itself become a source of anguish.

It’s important that this anguish doesn’t cause you to abandon your efforts. The ‘perfect’ work-life balance may be virtually unobtainable for those who work in the classroom, but it’s vital to maintain your efforts to manage your time effectively, set aside time for friends, family or relaxing alone, and take care of your wellbeing as much as you can. We can help, with our advisors ready on the phone and over the web whenever you need to get in touch, but remember your school has a responsibility to help with these areas of your life – so talk to your manager or head if things are becoming difficult or you feel like your workload has become insurmountable. Ben Nevis might have to wait, but remember the better your work-life balance, the better you will feel and the more effectively you can work.