For introverted teachers, taking time to recharge throughout the day is essential, not optional.
Teaching is, by its very nature, an exercise in extroversion.
I have taught math for nearly 10 years, a subject that is often stereotyped as the least favorite among students and adults alike. I am not just a teacher but an entertainer: full of energy as I engage, maintain order, develop relationships, and try to instill in my students a desire to learn the material I am so passionate about. And all of this is exhausting for an introvert like me.
Over the years, I’ve developed strategies to help myself recharge throughout the day. Here are my top three. Even if you’re not an introverted teacher but find yourself in another kind of “extroverted” job, these tips might help you, too.
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How Introverted Teachers Can Recharge Their Energy
1. Protect your lunch break.
Most teachers only get a 30-minute lunch break (though many will agree it’s closer to 20 minutes by the time the last student leaves your room and you’ve fought your way to the microwave in the staff lounge).
During my first year of teaching, I invited students to stay in my classroom during lunch. These were students who, like me, found the cafeteria overwhelming and uninviting. I thought I was being kind, but instead, I was left feeling even more exhausted, never getting the 30-minute break I so desperately needed.
In the following years, I spent most of my lunch breaks working. I no longer allowed students to stay in my room, but I used that time to grade papers or prep for the next class. I thought I was being efficient, but despite the solitude, I was still left feeling overextended and burnt out.
(Speaking of solitude, here’s the science behind why introverts need alone time.)
It wasn’t until around my fourth year of teaching that I learned the value of truly protecting my lunch break. Over the years, I’ve alternated between eating with colleagues and spending that time alone. On days when I’m feeling particularly overwhelmed, I sit by myself in my empty classroom and savor the peace. Other days, I enjoy the adult interaction after hours spent with children. But protecting those 30 minutes — no students, no work — has been the single biggest factor in maintaining my mental stamina throughout the day.
2. Create a calming environment.
In this era of student-led learning, teachers are adopting all kinds of techniques to encourage collaboration: stations, gallery walks, scavenger hunts, group tasks, partner talks — the list goes on. In my classroom, for instance, students are up at whiteboards nearly every day.
While these strategies do encourage collaboration, they also significantly increase the noise level in the classroom. This can make me feel more scattered and can also affect the students’ ability to focus. So, how can you control the volume and environment?
One option is to use an app that monitors sound levels. While I don’t use this option often, I know several teachers who swear by it. The website Classroom Screen has one embedded in it (along with many other amazing features!). The sensitivity of the app can usually be adjusted to set an appropriate volume level for a given activity, and keeping it on display can help students regulate their own noise levels.
Playing music is another way to reduce the overall noise. Yes, it might seem counterintuitive to add sound to reduce sound, but that’s exactly what you’re doing. Playing quiet music (ideally instrumental) will naturally cause students to speak at a volume that allows them to still hear the music. If you don’t have a speaker system in your classroom, a small Bluetooth speaker will work just fine. I’ve used the music built into ClassDojo, the sounds of Lofi Girl, and music from a meditation app (you can try something like Insight Timer).
Finally, consider turning off or dimming the lights. Overhead fluorescent lighting is not only harsh but can also make your classroom feel louder. Some bloggers suggest hanging fabric below the lights to soften them, but this has been against the fire code in every school I’ve taught at. Instead, use natural lighting if you can or invest in some inexpensive lamps. I like floor lamps and clamp lamps (perched above a bookshelf or cabinet); they provide enough light to work by, but not so much that it’s overpowering.
3. Start class with something calm, like “Meditation Mondays.”
Whether or not you use warm-ups, your classroom almost certainly begins with the need for classroom management (redirecting students to the task at hand), calling on students (cold call? volunteer?), and diving into content (bell-to-bell!). Some days, it’s nice to have a break from all of that, even if only for a few minutes.
Enter Meditation Mondays and Film Fridays. These “warm-ups” offer at least five minutes of peace at the start of each class, where everyone is quiet, and you can take a moment to recharge your own energy. As a bonus, the students love them too.
“Meditation Mondays” began when I learned about how deep breathing can help alleviate anxiety. When you’re anxious, your breathing is short and rapid; when you’re calm, it’s deep and slow. But even when anxious, you can trick your brain into calming down by taking deep breaths.
Mondays in my classroom often start with an anecdote about how I’ve used deep breathing to manage my own high-functioning anxiety. Examples include getting stuck in traffic, sitting in the dentist’s chair, and dropping a full glass of milk on the floor. Then, I turn off the lights, play meditation music, set a timer, and we all sit quietly for 3–7 minutes (starting the year at three minutes and gradually building up).
Students can sit with their eyes open or closed and are welcome to put their heads down. I usually sit at the front of the room, eyes closed, both to model meditation and to reassure students that I’m not watching them. While they’re not required to meditate, they must remain completely quiet, and phones are not allowed. Although there are sometimes a few restless students, this routine is generally well-loved, and students regularly ask for it. For many, it’s the only peaceful moment in their day.
As for “Film Fridays,” here’s how they began. Because I teach math, I often hear students ask, “When am I going to use this in real life?” I also teach at a highly diverse school, and historically, the mathematicians students learn about are predominantly white men.
Film Fridays started as a feature during Black History Month, where I played videos featuring Black mathematicians or scientists at the start of class. It gradually evolved to include people of color, women, and international individuals and organizations. I also look for examples of fields where math is used in ways students might not be aware of. The videos are all under 10 minutes long and provide me with the same sense of calming quiet as Meditation Mondays.
Is social anxiety holding you back?
Although social anxiety is not the same thing as introversion, many introverts experience this painful and isolating condition. The truth is you can beat social anxiety, and our partner Natasha Daniels can show you how. This means more relaxed conversations, more enjoyable work/school days, and more social invitations that you don’t immediately decline (unless you want to, of course!). Click here to check out her online class for kids and adults, How to Crush Social Anxiety.
Taking Time to Recharge Throughout the Day Is Essential, Not Optional
Schools can be loud, overstimulating places to work, especially for an introvert. While it’s okay to have some off days as a teacher, for the most part, you need to be consistently “on” for your students — and that can be exhausting.
Some days, waiting until the end of the day to recharge can feel impossible. By embedding moments of calm and quiet throughout your day, you can give yourself the break you need to take a deep breath, recenter, and enthusiastically teach. 
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