Self-Preservation & How To Honour Our Limits At Work with Bianca McLeish
What if working harder isn’t the answer?
For many big-hearted educators, dedication is worn as a badge of honour. Staying late, saying yes, and going the extra mile often feel like part of the job description. But what happens when constant self-sacrifice leaves us running on empty?
In this episode of, Meg Durham sits down with experienced educator and school leader Bianca McLeish to explore a powerful and necessary shift from self-sacrifice to self-preservation. Drawing on insights from her book Teacher Wellbeing Transformed: Break Free from Survival Mode Before Burnout, Bianca shares practical strategies and personal reflections to help educators sustain their energy, protect their wellbeing, and continue to care deeply without depleting themselves.
This is a conversation about sustainability, boundaries, and redefining what it means to be a dedicated professional in today’s schools.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why self-sacrifice has become the default in education
The difference between self-sacrifice and self-preservation, and why it matters
How understanding your nervous system can transform your wellbeing
How to work within your capacity without compromising your impact
And much more…
Who is Bianca McLeish?
Bianca McLeish is an experienced educator, school leader, and wellbeing advocate who is passionate about supporting teachers to thrive both personally and professionally. With a deep understanding of the emotional demands of school life, Bianca empowers educators to move beyond survival mode and adopt sustainable ways of working.
She is the author of Teacher Wellbeing Transformed: Break Free from Survival Mode Before Burnout, a practical and insightful guide that helps educators understand their nervous systems, recognise early signs of depletion, and implement meaningful strategies to protect their wellbeing.
Bianca’s work is grounded in compassion, lived experience, and evidence-informed practice, making her a trusted voice in teacher wellbeing.
Why does this conversation matter?
In schools, the work is never truly done. There is always another lesson to refine, another student to support, another responsibility to carry. For big-hearted educators, this reality can subtly normalise self-sacrifice. We tell ourselves that working harder will lighten the load, but often it simply expands to fill the space we give it.
Without clear boundaries, even the most dedicated professionals can find themselves stretched thin, drifting toward exhaustion, resentment, or subtle disengagement. This conversation gently challenges that pattern and reframes wellbeing as essential, not optional. Self-preservation is not about caring less. It is about protecting the conditions that allow us to keep caring.
You can quote us on that…
“Self-preservation is about intentional actions that protect ourselves.”
- Bianca McLeish
“If your nervous system is dysregulated, sleep will be physiologically unattainable.”
- Bianca McLeish
“It’s okay to say, ‘My plate is full. I can’t take that on right now.’”
- Bianca McLeish
Contact
Bianca McLeish Website | LinkedIn | Instagram
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Your Questions Answered:
What is self-preservation in teaching?
Self-preservation in teaching is the deliberate practice of protecting your energy, emotional wellbeing, and professional boundaries so you can sustain your effectiveness over the long term. In a profession where the workload is open-ended and the emotional demands are high, self-preservation means recognising that your capacity is finite, even when the needs around you are not. It involves making intentional decisions about how much you take on, how you manage stress, and when you create clear stopping points in your day.
In practical terms, self-preservation in education might look like setting realistic boundaries around after-hours communication, recognising early signs of teacher stress, regulating your nervous system during high-pressure moments, or saying no to additional responsibilities when your plate is full. It is not about disengaging from students or lowering professional standards. It is about working sustainably so you can continue to teach, lead, and care deeply without gradually eroding your own wellbeing.
What is the difference between self-care and self-preservation?
Self-care typically refers to restorative activities that help you recover from stress, such as exercise, sleep, time with family, hobbies, or relaxation practices. While self-care is important for teacher wellbeing and stress management, it often happens after depletion has already occurred. It is recovery-focused.
Self-preservation, on the other hand, is proactive and preventative. It involves ongoing choices that protect your wellbeing before burnout takes hold. In teaching, this includes workload management, boundary setting, emotional regulation, and understanding how your nervous system responds to chronic stress. Where self-care helps refill the cup, self-preservation helps prevent the cup from cracking in the first place. Both matter, but self-preservation is what makes sustainable teaching possible.
Why is teacher burnout so common?
Teacher burnout is common because educators work in environments where the job is never fully done. There is always more planning, more marking, more student support, and more administrative responsibility. Combined with increasing behavioural complexity, accountability pressures, and limited resources, this creates sustained emotional and cognitive load. Without clear boundaries or structural support, even highly committed teachers can become chronically overstretched.
Burnout in education is not a sign of weakness. It is often a predictable response to prolonged stress, excessive workload, and ongoing emotional labour. When self-sacrifice becomes the cultural norm in schools, teachers may ignore early warning signs such as fatigue, irritability, sleep disruption, or reduced enthusiasm. Over time, this can lead to exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced professional efficacy. Understanding burnout as a systemic and physiological issue, rather than a personal failure, is critical for meaningful prevention.
How can educators avoid burnout?
Preventing teacher burnout requires both individual and systemic strategies. At an individual level, educators can practise self-preservation by setting boundaries around workload, noticing early signs of stress, seeking collegial or professional support, and learning practical nervous system regulation techniques. Small, consistent adjustments to how you manage energy during the school day can significantly reduce long-term depletion.
At a broader level, schools play a critical role in burnout prevention by fostering cultures that value staff wellbeing, realistic expectations, and psychological safety. Sustainable teaching practices, open conversations about workload, and leadership that models healthy boundaries all contribute to long-term staff retention and resilience. Burnout prevention is not about doing less work, but about doing the work differently, in ways that protect teacher capacity and wellbeing.
Why is teacher wellbeing important for schools?
Teacher wellbeing directly influences classroom climate, student engagement, and learning outcomes. Research consistently shows that when educators experience high levels of stress or emotional exhaustion, their ability to regulate behaviour, respond calmly, and build strong student relationships is reduced. Regulated teachers are better able to co-regulate students, creating safer and more effective learning environments.
Beyond the classroom, teacher wellbeing impacts staff retention, collaboration, and whole-school culture. When educators feel supported and energised, they are more likely to remain in the profession, contribute positively to school improvement, and sustain high-quality teaching over time. Prioritising teacher wellbeing is not optional. It is a strategic investment in student success and the long-term health of school communities.
