I have written a lot about the ups and downs of teaching with VIPKID with always the conclusion that the upside outweighs the downside of the platform. As I lay here on my couch at 4:50 in the afternoon taking my 3rd nap of the day I cannot shake the constant jetlag feeling which I feel almost every day.
With the recent time change (of October 25th) in Mérida, Mexico, my teaching hours have shifted. I used to start classes before the birds sing at 4 am, and would usually teach until 8 am. This gave me a jump start on my day. As long as I was able to get to bed early, it would give me enough restful hours to meet my sleep quota. Now with the time change, I have shifted to a 3 am start time, which without a shower or too much prep, makes my waking hour 2:45 am.
That time gap gives me the exact amount of time to feed our cats and the stray kitten outside, make a cup of tea, and put on clothes. I have timed this out to finish exactly 20 seconds before classes start. (Update: Things have shifted back to my normal 4am start time as of the time of this post, thank God).
Working these hours is fine for right now, and I really cannot complain about having a stable job through a pandemic where job security is up in the air. However, I cannot shake this tired jetlag feeling. Spending my day drinking multiple cups of tea, and passing in and out of consciousness, while also trying to continue writing, be social, and build other sources of income has been challenging, to say the least.
The question is now what to do to break the cycle? I do not have enough international influence to change daylight savings, so I am experimenting with different coping methods in hopes of balancing out my life and keeping a more active day.
Acting skills: Wear your VIPKID teacher mask
If you teach with VIPKID you know this feeling all too well. No matter how tired you are or whatever is going on in your life, when the counter starts ticking down 3, 2, 1 – your eyes widen, you smile big and become possessed by the spirit of the VIPKID teacher. You know the drill: greeting your student with the “Hello Song,” over animating all of your actions and putting on a puppet show to grab their attention. It doesn’t matter if just seconds ago you were closing your eyes trying to get 3 more minutes of sleep in your office chair. You are suddenly laughing, smiling, and singing for 25 minutes straight, but as soon you click the end class button you go right back to sweet slumber in your chair.
Teaching when traveling can be even more tricky, with real jet lag from flying and traversing multiple time zones affecting your overall energy levels. I have taught on 1 hour of sleep, in the emergency room of a hospital while my wife was getting an IV changed when she had dengue fever in Bali last year. I have also taught through having food poisoning and had to have a garbage can next to my desk with my finger on the mute button when I needed to purge off camera. Throughout all of this I kept the energy of a VIPKID teacher going. The kids will pull you through any darkness you are feeling most of the time, but it’s not always easy.
Building Healthy Habits Versus Not-So-Healthy Habits
Exercise right after your last class
So far, this has been my best solution for shaking off that jet lag feeling. I usually run directly after my last class, which gets my blood pumping first of all. The second great benefit is that it forces me to take a shower, refreshing me for a second start to the day. If you need guidance there are many running apps or fitness apps that have short to medium workouts which are great for home fitness or while you are on the road.
Blackout shades
The ability to control your environment is key for catching up on sleep during the day. I love blackout shades for this reason. They are easy to install and all of a sudden at 2 pm it is as dark as midnight. Along with the blackout shades using a noise generator can help you quickly fall asleep and block out the noise during the daytime hours.
Turn off your electronic devices
Blue light from screens has been known to keep you awake and stimulates your brain. It is essential for a restful sleep to turn off all of your devices when you are laying down, whether it is for a short 5 hour night’s sleep or a midday nap. Along with the blue light of the screens, the addictive nature of social media and the internet will continue to keep you awake. I am guilty of checking my Facebook before I put on my pants and get out of bed, but it has no place in your life if you are in desperate need of sleep.
Meditation
Calming sounds or guided mediation can bring you back to earth after you take off your VIPKID teacher mask. I personally need a lot to bring me down from my teaching high and meditation has been a great source for returning to my center to have a restful, peaceful day. When it comes to meditation, I usually do a lot better if I join a group challenge as quiet meditation does not come naturally to me. One of my favorite challenges is by the renowned meditation expert Deepak Chopra. Simply look up Deepak Chopra 21 day abundance meditation challenge to join a group on Facebook and start this same challenge with the daily downloadable meditations.
Caffeine
Whether you wake up at 2:45 or 3:45 am, it goes without saying that caffeine is essential. I try to make sure that I use a medium amount of caffeine to get me jumpstarted for the day , but I try and drop the amount toward the end of a teaching stretch so that I can get some more rest after.
Drinking coffee or tea has been part of my morning routine long before I was a teacher with VIPKID. My go to was Starbucks when I used to have to drive to work. Now that I work from home I have found myself drinking black tea which is a lot easier on my stomach and allows me to get back to sleep if needed after class.
Nootropics
This has been a new experiment lately because of the ever-popular Joe Rogan podcast. Joe Rogan is affiliated with a company called Onnit who makes a nootropic called AlphaBrain. When I am in my half-sleep / half-awake state of consciousness, I have found that taking half a dose (one pill) will keep me awake and productive until my mid-afternoon nap.
I am not an affiliate of Onnit and do not have a long history with AlphaBrain, however, I have found a lot of benefit in using it to help shake my Jetlag feeling.
The real question: Is teaching VIPKID worth it?
For me, the answer is “Yes.” The benefits consistently outweigh the negative aspects of working odd hours (which are the waking hours of Chinese children). You get to work from home or anywhere that has wifi and electricity, for a decent living wage, plus you get to make your own hours.
The teaching skills that you gain from VIPKID will also give you the ability to teach on any of the online teaching platforms. I can also see these skills transferring into any kind of educational or training pursuit I may do in the future. Lastly, while teaching with VIPKID, you will get a free lesson in authentic bits of the Chinese language from your students.
I expand on the pros and cons of teaching with VIPKID in much more detail in this article.
How You Too Can Become A VIPKID Teacher
If you are interested in creating your own experiences with VIPKID or are looking for a great way to make money on the road from anywhere in the world, please feel free to contact me about how to get started.
Or if you are a self-starter and just want to support us on our journey, please click this link for my referral code to get started in your teaching career with VIPKID. This greatly helps us and is no additional cost to you!
I hope you liked my story. I would love to hear your thoughts and your own stories with teaching online in the comments below. As always, happy teaching and traveling!
