Why Term 3 Is the Hardest Term of the Year
...And How to Protect Your Energy
I have always believed that Term 3 is the hardest stretch of the school year.
It’s not necessarily because it’s the busiest on paper, or because the calendar is packed with more events than usual. It’s because Term 3 is where the collective tiredness finally catches up with us.
By the time July and August roll around, the fresh excitement of a new school year has long faded into distant memory. The mid-year winter break never feels quite long enough to truly reset. The winter bugs are doing the rounds, student restlessness is peaking, and teachers everywhere are running on empty.
Yet, day after day, teachers keep showing up. They step into their classrooms and give everything they have to ensure their students succeed.
Because that is what teachers do.
The Hidden Load of Explicit Teaching
The thing about teaching is that it’s never just physically tiring. If it were just a matter of being on your feet all day, a good night’s sleep might fix it. But high-impact teaching is deeply mental, cognitive, and emotional work.
When you are delivering explicit, intentional lessons, every single session requires an immense amount of energy. In any given sixty-minute block, you aren’t just talking—you are managing a high-frequency loop of action and response.
You are constantly scanning the room, tracking eyes to ensure active participation, and maintaining tight behavioural boundaries. You are delivering precise instructional steps, checking for understanding (CFU) every few minutes, and monitoring student work to gauge real-time data. You are adjusting your lessons as you go based on that feedback from the mini whiteboards, providing immediate corrective support, and managing the working memory load of thirty different children at once.
You are making hundreds of tiny, rapid-fire decisions that nobody outside the room ever notices. That intense, hyper-aware connection is exactly what makes our impact so incredibly rewarding.
It’s also exactly why our cognitive load is so completely drained by the final bell.
The ‘Later’ Trap
I think one of the biggest mistakes we make in education is believing we have to wait until the holidays to look after ourselves.
We fall into the trap of bargaining with our own well-being. I’ll rest later. I’ll slow down over the weekend. I’ll make time for myself during the holidays.
But “later” doesn’t magically appear during a busy school term. The workload doesn’t pause just because we are tired.
Over the years, I’ve realised that waiting for a two-week break to rescue you isn’t a sustainable strategy. Instead, it’s the tiny, intentional boundaries you create throughout the week that make the biggest difference to your longevity.
It looks like taking your actual lunch break instead of working straight through it. It looks like stepping outside into the fresh air for just five minutes, soaking in the sun, drinking enough water while you teach, going for a short walk after the final bell, or putting your phone away a little earlier at night.
None of these things will magically reduce a heavy workload. They won’t shorten your marking pile or eliminate data entry. But they do help you protect the personal energy you need to keep showing up without completely burning out.
The Power of Small Routines
Over the years, I’ve realised that teaching through a demanding term isn’t about waiting for the holidays to rescue you. It’s about building small, daily boundaries that protect your energy before you completely run out of it.
One of the best pieces of advice I ever received came from a Head of Curriculum I worked with. He told me to leave my laptop charger at school.
His thinking was simple: if you bring your laptop home, you only have whatever battery life is left. Once it dies, you’re done for the evening. No plugging it in at the kitchen bench. No telling yourself you’ll “just finish one more rubric.” The decision is made for you. It’s a powerful boundary that forces you to work smarter not harder and reminds you that you’ve done enough for one day.
Another non-negotiable routine for me is moving my body for twenty minutes every single day. I’m not chasing a fitness goal; I’ve simply learnt that movement clears the heavy cognitive load that builds up after hours of intense teaching and problem-solving.
Alongside those boundaries, I’ve also come to appreciate a few small, physical rituals—like a quick spritz of a hydrating facial mist during the afternoon slump, hydrogel eye patches on tired mornings, or a nourishing lip mask before bed.
None of these things solve the systemic workload challenges of teaching. But together, they create quiet, intentional moments that remind you to look after yourself, too.
Because I genuinely believe we teach better when we remember that we are people first, and teachers second.
That’s exactly why I wanted to put together something practical for teachers heading into what I believe is the toughest term of the year.
A Little Something for Your Term 3 Toolbox
If you’re feeling a little flat heading into this term and want to bring a few of these comforting moments into your own school week, I’ve put together the Teacher Term 3 Essentials Pack featuring three products I regularly reach for during busy weeks.
Inside the kit, you’ll find:
🤍 Hydrating Facial Mist: Helps combat the dry, stripping effects of classroom heaters and air conditioning, giving you an instant shot of moisture and a quick afternoon refresh between lessons.
🤍 Eye-V Hydrogel Eye Patches: Helps visibly reduce puffiness and brightens dark circles, offering immediate relief for those tired reporting mornings when the alarm goes off far too early.
🤍 Moisture-Lock Lip Mask: Helps deeply hydrate, repair, and soothe severely chapped, dry lips after a long day of constant talking, instructing, and projecting your voice.
To help, I’ve put this all together for you in one spot so that you can easily grab a kit for your desk drawer or bathroom vanity, and so that you can pocket the savings while looking after your wellbeing this term.
I’ve also been able to secure a small discount, so if you’ve been thinking about refreshing your own routine, you’ll save 6% off the standard retail price.
If you’d like to check it out, you can find the Teacher Term 3 Essentials Pack here
Note: To access the discounted Preferred Customer pricing, you’ll be prompted to create a quick account. SmartShop is enabled by default, but you can edit or cancel future deliveries at any time, so you’re never locked in.
Mindfulness practice, too. 10-20 minutes every morning.