Speaking at ACTE: Why Teacher Wellbeing Depends on Taking Back Your Time

I'm excited to share that I'll be presenting at the upcoming ACTE conference on a topic that's been at the heart of my work for years: teacher wellbeing. But here's what might surprise you—this isn't going to be another session about mindfulness apps or breathing exercises (though those have their place). Instead, we're going to talk about something rarely addressed in wellbeing conversations: the structural barriers that prevent educators from actually having time for their wellbeing in the first place.

As a CTE educator here in Iowa, I've lived the reality of what happens when good intentions meet impossible time constraints. We're told to practice self-care while drowning in administrative tasks. We're encouraged to maintain work-life balance while taking home hours of grading every weekend. We're reminded to avoid burnout while the systems we work within actively fuel exhaustion. It's not that educators don't know how to take care of themselves—it's that they literally don't have the time.

That's why my ACTE presentation introduces the Five Pillars of Teacher Wellbeing framework, which positions AI efficiency alongside psychological wellbeing components. Because here's the truth: no amount of positive reframing or stress management techniques will help if you're working 60-hour weeks. Real wellbeing starts with recovering your time.

Through Working Smarter AI, I've been working with educators to reclaim an average of 10 hours per week through strategic AI automation. That's not 10 hours to pack in more work—that's 10 hours to actually live your life, to be present with your family, to pursue interests outside of education, or simply to rest without guilt. Take back your time. Take back your life. That's not just a tagline—it's a fundamental shift in how we approach educator wellbeing.

At the conference, attendees will leave with immediately actionable resources, including my "50 Ready-to-Use AI Prompts for Educators" guide and practical implementation strategies they can begin using right away. We'll address the real barriers—time scarcity, differentiation demands, administrative burden—not with platitudes, but with systems that actually work.

What sets this approach apart is that it combines my training in wellbeing topics like cognitive distortions, stress management, and self-efficacy with practical AI productivity expertise. I'm not asking educators to choose between their mental health and their job performance. I'm showing them how recovering their time makes both possible.

If you're attending ACTE, I'd love to see you there. And if you're an administrator or instructional leader thinking about how to genuinely support educator wellbeing in your district—not just with posters and pep talks, but with actual structural solutions—let's talk. Because teachers deserve more than survival mode. They deserve careers that are actually sustainable.

Looking forward to connecting with fellow educators who are ready to work smarter, not harder.

Will you be at ACTE? Join me from on December 11th from 4:00-5:00 pm.