Stop Wearing “I Work 24/7” Like a Gold Medal
The Virtual Vibe: Success and Sanity for the Online Teacher
September 29, 2025
Somewhere along the way, “always on” became a badge of honor in education, especially when you work from home. We have started bragging about answering emails at midnight like it is some Olympic event. Newsflash: there is no medal ceremony for sending that 11:59 p.m. reply.
I learned this the hard way.
I have spent years as the mom who works online, proudly declaring that remote work gave me the freedom to attend school functions, field trips, plays, and award ceremonies. And it did. But for every daytime win, there were countless nights I missed bath time, family dinners, and movie marathons because I was glued to my screen, stressing over everything I did not get done during my actual eight-hour workday.
Working from home is a trap disguised as flexibility. There is always “just one more thing” to grade, one more email to fire off, one more tiny task that could be finished if you just stay on a little longer. It is a slippery slope from “I will log back in for a minute” to “Did everyone else go to bed two hours ago?”
My wake-up call came in pieces. There was the infamous soccer practice where I was so locked in on grading that I never saw the ball coming until it nailed me square in the forehead. While I rubbed my skull and pretended I meant to do that, my son’s team was celebrating his goal and I completely missed it.
But the real life-changer came later, at the dinner table. My four-year-old asked if I could please eat dinner with Daddy and his brother just one night. One night. Because I had missed so many. That was the gut check moment that made me realize: work would always be there, but my kids’ childhoods would not.
Here is the thing:
Life does not care about your unread emails.
Your kids will not remember that you hit “reply all” before bedtime.
But they will remember the dinners, the cheers from the sidelines, the goofy family movie nights.
If I could go back, I would tell my younger self to shut the laptop, walk away, and let the to-do list rot for a night. There will always be more to do. There will never be another chance to watch your kid score that goal or ask you to sit at the dinner table.
So how do you push back against the 24/7 grind? Three things helped me and still do:
Learn from colleagues. Do not reinvent the wheel. Ask others about tools, shortcuts, or workflows that save time and actually use them.
Stick to a schedule. Winging it makes it too easy to slide into “just one more thing” mode. Create start and stop times and honor them like you would any other appointment.
Wave the white flag when you need to. If you have put practices in place but the workload keeps ballooning, it is not weakness to ask for help. It is called self-advocacy and it is what keeps you from burning out.
Set the boundary. Model the boundary.
Not only for yourself, but for your colleagues, your students, and your own kids. Working 24/7 is not noble. It is just exhausting. And no one is handing out trophies for burnout.
Pause, Ponder & Progress
If your kids, partner, or closest friends described your work habits, would they use words like “balanced” or “always on”?
What story are you telling your colleagues or students about success when you answer emails at midnight or skip meals to finish grading?
Imagine your future self looking back. What everyday moments would they beg you to stop trading for “just one more thing”?
About the Author
With over 20 years in education - most of them spent in the virtual trenches - Desire’ Mosser has done more than survive online teaching; she’s helped others thrive in it! As the author of SOS: Strategies for Online Survival, she dishes out practical tools, honest lessons, and just the right amount of humor to keep educators going.
Former Pasco eSchool Teacher of the Year and Florida Virtual Schools Mentor of the Year, she continues to champion excellence in virtual learning today. She currently serves as Vice President of B.O.L.D. (Blended Online Learning Discovery of Florida). Her passion? Coaching educators to find their stride, build meaningful connections with students and families, and master the art of scheduling for sanity—preferably with a strong cup of coffee in hand. For more real talk, useful tips, and the occasional caffeine-fueled confession, connect with her on LinkedIn.
