I am struggling to get going after the summer. I am tired and can’t seem to do my work effectively. Marking is piling up and I am struggling to keep control of some of my lessons.

Perhaps you are trying to do too much outside of college. Too many trips to the pub and late nights, carrying on from your holidays. Refocusing your energies towards teaching is certainly not easy. I don’t pretend to have an answer that will work for you, but I start to gradually refocus towards the end of each holiday. I might start by simply thinking about how I am going to deal with a difficult student or jot down a few notes on amending a lesson that wasn’t so successful. That way, on the first day back it is not such a shock.