Are you a Type A or Type B teacher? Rethinking effort, expectations, and balance

How much effort is enough—for you and your students?

In this article + podcast episode, I’m weaving together three listener questions about navigating effort, expectations, and balance. We’ll explore how to recognize whether you lean more toward Type A (overextending) or Type B (holding back) tendencies, and how to make small, mindful adjustments so you’re not burning out—or stagnating.

You’ll hear practical advice for:

• Reworking your expectations of yourself during seasons of low energy, burnout, or chronic illness.

• Knowing when to give yourself permission to do less, and when to gently push yourself to do more.

• Supporting students who either overextend or under-extend themselves without trying to individualize every message for every learner.

I’ll also offer a simple framework you and your students can use to calibrate effort in healthier, more sustainable ways.

Listen to episode 334 below,
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Type A vs. Type B tendencies

So today, we’re going to think it through, starting with identifying if you are a Type A or Type B teacher. And we’ll look at how to adjust your expectations, especially during seasons when your energy is lower than it used to be. We’ll also consider how those tendencies show up in your students and how to help your students know when to push and when to pull back.

Let’s start by defining what I mean by Type A and Type B tendencies.

Type A teachers are wired to do as much as possible, often overextending. You feel guilty if you don’t grade every paper perfectly, or you’re constantly thinking about “what more you could do” for your students. You push yourself, even when you’re exhausted.

Type B teachers naturally take a slower, steadier approach. You might prioritize mental health or boundaries—sometimes perfectly—but sometimes you hold back too much, or feel like you’re not doing enough to stretch your students.

My yoga teacher, Merlin, often says, if you tend to do too much, challenge yourself to do 5% less in this posture. If you tend to do too little, challenge yourself to do 5% more. I’ve found this to be a useful framework in a lot of other concepts.

It’s really about knowing yourself: noticing your natural tendencies, your habits, your limits, and where you might be overextending or holding back. When you’re able to recognize those patterns, you can make intentional adjustments—not huge, radical shifts, just small nudges.

Those five percent changes are enough to create balance without overwhelming yourself. Over time, these small, mindful adjustments add up, and you start seeing big differences in your energy, focus, and results.

In other words, knowing yourself is the first step to sustainable growth—both on the yoga mat, and in teaching, and in life.

When your energy levels and physical capabilities change

I want to pause here to address a listener question that was sent in, because it’s related to this idea of paying attention. What happens when your energy levels and physical capabilities change? The listener wrote:

“I’d love to see something about reworking our expectations of ourselves in tough seasons. I was diagnosed with a chronic illness a year ago, and am having a hard time internally adjusting my expectations. I’ve changed positions and believe what I can offer is worthwhile, but it’s hard knowing if I had more energy, I could give more. I’m looking for more examples of those navigating teaching with chronic illness, and aside from those pushing themselves along with toxic positivity, there isn’t much out there.”

If this sounds like you, I want to point you to Episode 124, which is called “4 Ways Teachers with Chronic Pain or Illness Can Maximize Productivity” because that gives specific tips for making use of your limited energy or capacity. Episode 124 is a good listen for anyone in that situation.

4 ways teachers with chronic pain or illness can maximize their productivity

I also want to point you to episode 300, called “Teaching through hormonal changes: Post-partum, perimenopause, and beyond.” I interviewed Dr. Jen Gunter, and she had really helpful tips for responding to shifts in your energy levels due to hormonal fluctuations.

Teaching through hormonal changes: postpartum, perimenopause, and beyond

But here today, let’s stay with this topic of reworking expectations of ourselves. Teaching requires an enormous amount of cognitive capacity and emotional labor, and that hits especially hard for teachers navigating chronic illness, burnout, or seasons of low energy.

Here’s the truth: teaching with less energy doesn’t mean you’re failing. Your value isn’t measured by how much you can physically do. It’s measured by the impact you have when you show up thoughtfully and consistently—even if that looks very different from what you used to do.

So if for any reason you’re feeling like you need to pull back, or that you’re expecting yourself to be Type A, give yourself permission to reprioritize. Take a hard look at your tasks and ask: What really moves the needle for my students?

Focus on the high-impact tasks that genuinely support learning and growth, and let go of the rest. This doesn’t mean doing less for the sake of doing less—it means choosing to put your energy where it matters most.

Advice for Type A teachers

Type A folks need to set boundaries. Your energy is finite, so schedule it around the work that truly matters. Protect that time like it’s sacred. That might mean blocking off planning periods for deep work, saying no to additional committees or projects, or creating space to recharge. Boundaries aren’t selfish—they’re what allow you to show up fully for your students.

Type A folks also need to redefine “good enough.” Perfection is a trap, especially when energy is limited. Good enough doesn’t mean careless or lazy—it means steady, meaningful effort that supports your students’ growth. Sometimes “good enough” looks like a lesson that’s polished but not perfect, grading that’s thoughtful but not exhaustive, or a classroom environment that’s loving and structured, even if it’s not exactly the way you’d want it if you had an unlimited amount of time, energy, and resources.

Remember, even small shifts—five percent adjustments—can create more sustainable work habits, reduce stress, and model healthy effort for your students.

3 sneaky ways perfectionism is holding you back (even if you think you’re not a perfectionist)

Advice for Type B teachers

So what about Type B teachers? I am one of you. My tendency is to do the least amount possible. I am not competitive, I have an internal locus of control, and really don’t care much about keeping up with other people. I tend toward conserving energy and not doing anything that’s not required unless I really enjoy it.

In my yoga class, that encouragement from Merlin to challenge yourself 5% more? That’s for me, because I have no qualms about resting and not pushing myself. I’ll lower those knees in plank in a heartbeat.

And I say this with no judgment toward myself. Because I know there are folks in my classes who are exhausted but force themselves into the most advanced poses even when their bodies are begging them to come out of the pose, and their challenge is to do 5% less, to ease up, to stop trying to push themselves to do their absolute best, and accept what their best is in that moment. Neither Type A nor Type B is better: this is about awareness and knowing what you personally need.

So if you’re a Type B like me, you probably need to push yourself in small, intentional ways. Look for areas where you can stretch just a little—five percent more effort in planning, teaching, or engaging students. This is consciously nudging yourself out of your comfort zone in manageable, meaningful increments.

Try adding one new interactive activity to a lesson, or committing to giving yourself one more challenging task. And reflect on the impact. Take time to notice the difference your small pushes make. When you challenge yourself—even just a little—you often notice improvements in the results and how you feel. Use those positive outcomes to push yourself a bit more.

For Type B teachers, the focus is on avoiding stagnation, finding that sweet spot between comfort and challenge, and discovering the satisfaction that comes from steady, intentional growth.

 

 

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Teaching students when to push themselves and when to ease up

Now, this being an educator podcast, of course, when we learn something new, our natural inclination is to teach it to others, right? And I’m sure some of you are thinking, “I have a student who reallllllly needs to hear this.” You might be thinking of a perfectionist student who gets upset about making really human mistakes, or a student who seems perfectly satisfied with giving D-level effort to every assignment.

Here’s how one listener described the problem:

“How do we help students understand and navigate the balance of mental health + pushing themselves academically? The ones who don’t need to push themselves do, and are super stressed out. The ones who never push themselves seem to use mental health as a reason not to do any work…? How do we help teens see themselves honestly and realistically? How do we send the right messages to each type of kid, while not individualising everything for everyone… I’m lost!”

You all know I hate this pressure for teachers to figure out every kid’s individual backstory, family situation, trauma, personality type, learning style, interests, preferences, and so on, and then customize every aspect of every lesson under the umbrella of “personalized learning” or “differentiation.” This is ideal, but unrealistic.

My solution, as many of you know from hearing me beat this drum so many times, is to teach kids how to understand themselves, communicate about what they need, and advocate for themselves, rather than depend on adults to cater everything to them. That’s the whole point of my Finding Flow curriculum resources.

So, talk to your students about Type A and Type B tendencies. Teach them what Type A and Type B looks like, and ask them to self-identify.

For older kids, this could be a 3-question quiz—nothing you grade, just a tool for reflection and maybe discussion:

1. When you get an assignment, do you tend to over-prepare and double-check everything, or do you often do the bare minimum just to get it done?
2. When you make a mistake, how do you react: do you get stressed and feel like you failed, or do you shrug it off and move on without much reflection?
3. How do you feel about pushing yourself: do you feel like you should always give 110%, or do you prefer to take things at your own pace and avoid extra effort?

For younger kids, the quiz might sound like this:

1. When you get a new assignment:
   A) I check it a lot and try to make it perfect.
   B) I do enough to finish it and move on.
2. When you make a mistake:
   A) I get upset and worry I did it wrong.
   B) I shrug it off and keep going.
3. When you try something new or hard:
   A) I feel like I have to try my hardest all the time.
   B) I like to go at my own pace and only do what feels easy.

Then, teach students how to understand their results:

• If you relate mostly to the first options → You might be a Type A learner. You like to do your best and sometimes push yourself a lot. Remember: it’s okay to take a break and focus on what really matters.
• If you relate mostly to the second options → You might be a Type B learner. You like to take it easy and go at your own pace. Remember: it’s okay to challenge yourself a little more to see what you can do!

Once kids understand if they’re the type who likes to push themselves and needs to pull back, or the type that holds back and needs to push themselves, you can use that as a cue in your instruction. For example:

“During this test, I need your best work. Type As, please don’t get stuck making it perfect. Make sure you’re not overthinking it. You’ve prepared, now do your best. Type Bs, this is a moment where you want to push yourself. You can ease up afterward because we’re going to play a laid-back game, but right now give 100% even when it’s hard, because this is important for Type Bs in this moment.”

You probably know already who’s Type A and who’s Type B in your classroom, but your students likely don’t understand this about themselves yet. Give them that vocabulary. Model for them: if you’re a Type A, reference that and talk about how you deal with the extra pressure you put on yourself. If you’re a Type B, talk about how you have to motivate yourself to push through when things are hard.

You can also give flexible options and build reflection into assignments. For example, when assigning a project, let students choose the depth, length, or approach. Prompt them with questions like: “How much do you want to push yourself on this? What’s a realistic goal for you?”

This encourages students to calibrate effort for themselves instead of constantly measuring themselves against peers or looking to you for reassurance. Over time, they develop self-awareness and learn how to manage their own effort in a healthy, sustainable way.

What could be possible if you aimed for B+ work?

Summary

So let’s summarize what we covered today, because there were a lot of seemingly disparate ideas I want to connect the dots on:

1. Recognize your Type A or Type B tendencies, and if you need to challenge yourself more instead of letting yourself off the hook, or give yourself more grace by listening to your body and being responsive to your own needs.
2. Use small adjustments, maybe just 5%, to shift toward balance: give less effort when you tend to overextend, give more effort when you tend to hold back.
3. Adjust your expectations for yourself, especially in seasons of low energy or chronic illness. Your worth is not measured by how much you can do—it’s measured by the thoughtfulness, care, and impact you bring to your work. (My Fewer, Things Better book can help.)
4. Help students reflect on their own effort realistically so they understand what they personally need in order to be successful. Model and teach kids how to coach themselves through increasing a challenge or letting themselves hang back a bit.

Your impact as a teacher is not about doing more—it’s about doing what matters most, thoughtfully, intentionally, and sustainably. Pay attention to your own patterns, make small, mindful adjustments, and give your students the tools to understand themselves too.

Let me know in the comments–Are you a Type A or Type B teacher? What would you like to challenge yourself to do 5% more or less of?