Create a Self-Care Plan

First and foremost, if you want to realistically find a way to relax and unwind during a hectic school day you will need to create a self-care plan. This must entail figuring out when you have free moments throughout your day or how you will incorporate any suggested methods for relaxing. Once you have identified your free time, then you can create a plan that will suit your schedule and needs to incorporate teacher wellness.

Embrace your Breaks

To truly relax and unwind during a workday you must embrace the breaks you have instead of filling those gaps with more work. For example, when you have a break in between classes, during prep time, or at lunch take a few of those minutes for self-care. Close your eyes, sit quietly, and take a few deep breaths. These short moments of stillness can do wonders for releasing tension. So, the next time you have a minute instead of checking social media, take a moment to just sit in stillness.

Eat Lunch with Colleagues

If you’re the kind of educator who likes to use their lunch period to grade papers or plan lessons, then you’re missing out on the intended purpose of this time: a moment for a break. Use this time to fuel your body for renewed energy, unwind, and engage socially with your colleagues. Research shows that social connections can improve well-being and may also help you feel less anxious. If you’re trying to avoid bringing your work home with you and you need your lunch break to accomplish your tasks, consider using only half of the time for work and the other half for yourself. This will ensure you get a break even if it’s only a partial break.

Listen to Soft or Classical Music

Soft or classical music can help reduce stress, says research. One particular study, titled ” The Effect of Music on the Human Stress Response”, found that participants who listened to classical music reported feeling less stressed when participating in stress-induced tasks. So instead of trying to “find time” to unwind throughout your school day, consider playing classical music in the background throughout the day. Not only will you feel more relaxed, but your students will too.

Practice Mindful Meditation

Research has proved that meditation is a simple and fast way to alleviate stress. Meditation doesn’t require any specialized equipment and can produce a tranquil state of mind in a matter of minutes. You may be wondering when you will find the time. All the time you need is just a few minutes. You can meditate during silent reading time, at lunch, during a special, amid group work, or in between classes. All you have to do is breathe deeply, repeat a mantra, or focus your attention on one specific object. You can adapt meditation to what you need at that very moment.

Go Outdoors

Let’s face it, the lighting in schools is not pleasant and those fluorescent bulbs can hurt your eyes or give you a headache. Add the noise and chaos of the students and staff and you are bound to get stressed. What you need is to get outside and get some sunlight. Sunlight has been proven to increase happiness. The natural light can make you feel more alert, improve your mood, help you sleep, and lower your stress levels. If you get a chance throughout the day, take your class on a walk, or plan your lesson outdoors. If that isn’t an option, then try and eat your lunch outside. The fresh air and change of scenery can provide you with a much-needed break since the majority of your day is spent indoors.

Release Physical Tension

Exercise releases endorphins which can make you feel good, it can also decrease tension and help to stabilize your mood. In some cases, research has shown that it can also be as effective as taking an antidepressant. Just five minutes of moderate exercise can stimulate anti-anxiety effects. Next time you give your students an active brain break, join them. A few minutes of dancing, stretching, or any moderate activity can help you and your students release tension. Taking the time to implement a few of these techniques can help you de-stress at work and overcome any challenges that may come your way.

Many of these methods to unwind during school hours only take a few minutes and can be an immediate release of tension. Try to practice your self-care routine before things start to become overwhelming. You can do this by setting a five-minute timer each day. The New York State Office of Mental Health says that by setting aside just five minutes each day to breathe and unwind, you can give your body and mind a much-needed break it deserves.

Educators never stop learning; check out our available graduate degree programs  to hone your skills and promote lifelong learning and academic excellence.

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Why Teachers Need Regular Self-Care

Educator stress levels have skyrocketed since the start of the pandemic and have not yet made a recovery. That is why it is critical for teachers to find a way to incorporate regular self-care (I know, it seems like just another thing to put on your plate). But without this designated time in a teacher’s schedule to destress, ground themselves, and do things they love to do, teacher burnout is only going to continue.

If you are an educator, think about how good it feels when you are on a holiday or summer break. What if you could take some of those moments and feelings you experience during your time off and sprinkle them throughout your regular schedule? How might that change your work/life happiness? Below we will discuss some self-care ideas that may help you get started on giving yourself back the time you need to be the best educator (and maybe even person) you can be.

Teacher Self-Care Ideas

The school year for teachers is full of demands, due dates, and expectations. Teachers feel controlled by alarm clocks, and their personal goals and love for hobbies may need to be set aside during the school year. Teachers must avoid this thought, invest in self-care and wellness as soon as the first day of school, and create a sustainable habit that can be carried through the entire school year.

Self-care and wellness practices can include healthy eating, exercise, meditation or positive self-talk, and much-needed sleep. Each of these factors needs time and self-discipline. Practicing and prioritizing these habits before returning to the classroom for a new school year is important. If a teacher prioritizes their own wellness, it will be easier to carve out before the school day begins or after the school day ends. Once these habits have become second nature, the teacher will easily make the necessary time to continue to feel good. Healthy self-care brings peace and positivity to a teacher’s emotions, allowing the teacher to feel good with planning, teaching, and inspiring students in the classroom.

Many teachers have grade-level partners to plan with, discuss students’ concerns, share teaching ideas, and support one another each day. A teacher’s teammates can also encourage one another to maintain personal goals or join one other in various self-care activities, developing accountability for necessary self-care.

Set and Maintain Boundaries 

This first idea may not be what you were originally thinking of “self-care.” It is an important one to start with. One exercise that you might find valuable is using when-then sentences. This can help you set and maintain boundaries. “When I finish calling William’s mom and grading the math tests, then I will leave for home,” or “When I enter the classes most recent spelling grades, then I will take a quick stretch break and say hi to my coworker.” Visual reminders of your when-then sentences can help you remember what your boundaries are, and help you not try to “push through” the endless piles of work that seem to hit teachers’ desks far too often.

Move your Body

Many of us have heard that moving helps release good endorphins that improve one’s mood. Oftentimes we think of this when it comes to going to the gym or heading out for a run. But did you know that even the littlest movement breaks can have so many positive benefits for your body? According to Daniel Lieberman, a professor in the department of human evolutionary biology at Harvard, “The more we study physical activity, the more we realize that it doesn’t really matter what you do,” Lieberman says. “You don’t have to do incredible strength training to get some benefits of physical activity.”

Have five minutes? Walk up and down that flight of stairs five times. Have 10 minutes? Walk around the block while listening to your favorite soundtrack or podcast. Feeling way too overwhelmed with the amount of student work left to be graded? What about reading through your students’ essays while pacing the classroom or commenting on their seesaws while walking around your neighborhood? Movement is movement, no matter how small.

Connection

Is it just me or does it get harder and harder to stay in touch with people as we age? One would think that with how immediate technology has made our lives, it wouldn’t be hard to send that text or leave that voicemail, but for some reason it just is. Why not make your self-care goal one that strengthens your connections? Make a goal of connecting with one friend or family member every week. Maybe that means sending a “Hello, just saying hi,” text. Or maybe it means setting aside that 30 minutes you have scheduled for your self-care walk to double dip with calling a friend. Other, simpler ideas? Leave a sticky note on your fellow educator’s desk saying, “You are doing a great job!” Making others feel good helps us to feel good too.

Meditate 

It can be very hard to quiet one’s mind after a long day at school. But sometimes this is just what one needs to leave work at work, ground themselves, and destress. Taking time to meditate can help connect yourself back to your essence, purpose, and meaning. Not sure where to start? There are hundreds of mediation apps available including Headspace, The Mindfulness App, and Calm. If meditation isn’t for you, something as simple as reading right before bed can also be another simple and extremely effective way of clearing one’s mind and getting a restful night of sleep.

After a full day of managing a classroom, teaching students, and gearing up for the next day, a teacher can benefit from a self-care activity to provide necessary fuel to do this all over again. There are many ways to put your school responsibilities aside at the end of a school day or prioritize before arriving at school.

• Brisk walk outside or on a treadmill
• Listen to instrumental music
• Sit quietly and meditate
• Play with a pet
• Participate in a yoga class
• Read
• Create: needlepoint, embroidery, paint
• Go out to dinner with friends
• Sit outside on a beautiful day
• Listen to podcasts
• Go for a run or bike ride
• Go to bed early
• Exercise
• Talk to a good friend
• Watch television

All of these self-care options can only be effective if selected by the person and completed naturally and with little effort. Self-care should not be a demand but an enjoyable activity that allows the teacher to relax.

Teaching is a challenging profession that is not the same every day. It is important for teachers to incorporate self-care every school year to maintain the demands of the enormous responsibility for teaching young minds every day. Without self-care, a teacher risks early career burnout and contemplation of a different career. Self-care routines provide an ability to build a healthy work/life balance for teachers. When teachers feel relaxed, supported, and appreciated through regular self-care choices and other school-related support, teachers become more dedicated to their teaching journey along with developing an interest in making the career lifelong.

Educators never stop learning; check out our available graduate degree programs  to hone your skills and promote lifelong learning and academic excellence.

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Self-care is such a simple yet complex topic. It is when you take care of your emotional, mental, and physical health. As an educator, self-care is often overlooked, as many of us put our needs to the side and put the needs of our students, parents, and administration first. During this time of online learning and “remote working”, it has been imperative to make self-care part of the routine, as staying healthy in all facets of life increases your ability to effectively “teach” the students and meet all of their needs from afar.

Physical Care

Working remotely is not a concept we, as educators, could have imagined in our wildest dreams, but here we are. Staying physically healthy during this time of remote working can present a challenge. As a teacher, you are generally up and at work early while being physically active. Personally, I know my Apple Watch lets me know I take at least 7,000 steps during the school day. My new office is my couch with multiple devices, many lists, a bottomless cup of coffee, and far less movement. Feelings of exhaustion can overtake you while sitting for long periods of time while staring at a screen. Through this experience and talking with many friends who work from home regularly, I have learned a few different things about staying physically healthy.

On the nice days, get outside and enjoy the weather! I have taken a major step back to appreciate all the simple things in life so much more. Take a hike, go for a run, or do a virtual workout. There are so many gyms and companies offering free or very affordable at-home workouts. The first two weeks of remote working was difficult for me, but as I got into a better routine of being active, I felt physically and mentally better.

Sleeping is also important to feeling physically healthy. This has been a challenge for so many. There will be days where you can’t sleep at all or sleep too much! Don’t feel bad taking a nap, going to bed at 7:00 pm, or going to bed at midnight! Staying active mentally and physically can help you to sleep better, so just taking care of yourself can help to keep your sleep more “normal”.

It is easy to let your diet slide during a time such as this. Going food shopping can be somewhat of a nightmare, but trying to make sure you are still eating relatively close to your normal diet will make you feel physically (and mentally) better. In addition to this, do not beat yourself up if you have a day (or two) where you just want to eat ice cream for dinner! Grab that ice cream, grab a spoon, and eat it right out of the container!

Mental Care

Staying mentally healthy is of utmost importance. Remote working presents many unique scenarios that can be draining. Students are facing so many different situations and coping in many different ways. It is easy to internalize what students are dealing with which can make you feel sadness or anxiety. Being mindful of your thoughts and feelings is important. Talking to colleagues, family, and friends can be helpful. Thankfully, there are options such as FaceTime and Google Meets where you can have a “face-to-face” interaction while talking. Being able to voice your worries and receive advice can be uplifting. If you see an outside therapist, many are offering phone/virtual sessions, so keeping your regularly scheduled appointments can be critical to staying healthy mentally.

Staying mentally active is important, and you can do this by continuing to challenge yourself. There are many webinars available where discussion points surround distance learning and our current situation. There are many different pieces of advice you can learn from webinars which you can implement into your instruction or daily routine to ease the pressure, lessen anxiety, and just make you “feel better”.

Trying to enjoy your hobbies is important to your mental health. It is easy to get immersed in work and forget to disconnect. I have found making time for the things I love has made me feel so much better. I have been making the time to workout, hike with my dog, shoot some hoops, and learn the guitar. Creating that time for myself each day has helped my mental health to thrive.

Social Care

Social care is also important during this time! You must get creative with this as we cannot socialize the way we normally do. One of the best ways I have remained connected with others is through video chats. Just talking with a group of friends, sharing a few laughs, and talking about how you feel can make you feel so much more positive. Group chats via text message and sharing memes or funny videos can also help you to stay social.

Take a drive and visit family through a glass door or window. Visit a drive through flower farm, grab some flowers, and leave them on friends/family doorstep. Maybe leave a sweet treat on someone’s doorstep with a positive note. When you see someone’s post on social media crying out for help, take a minute to write a response and support them. Taking the time to spread love and positivity during this pandemic can have an impact on others greater than you will know.

Through all of this remote working, remember one thing: whatever you are feeling, you are not alone. It is easy to feel so alone and isolated in your mind when you are not living your normal day-to-day life, but I promise, someone else feels just as you do. As Kevin Heath stated, “Wherever there is a human in need, there is an opportunity for kindness and to make a difference.” Try to keep a positive mindset during this time and pay it forward to others. The opportunity for physical, mental, and social growth right now is there, sometimes we all just need a little help in seeing that.

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Take a Break

One of the number one rules of spring break is to take a break from work! Do not spend your break catching up on your work. As the years go on and you gain more experience in a career of teaching, you realize it is not about the hours you put in, but the way you use your time. Creating balance is extremely important. It may be impossible to do absolutely no work over the break, but limit it to a certain day and stick to it. It is important for you to decompress and separate from work over the break, and spending too much time will not give your brain the break that it needs.

Sleep In

Sleep in! I am not saying that you need to roll out of bed at noon every day, but do not set your alarm for the normal 5:00 a.m. every morning. Set it for a later time or not at all. We all know as the days and weeks go on, it can get harder and harder to wake up in the morning, as our days are exhausting. Recharge your batteries over the break and snag some extra sleep when you can!

Connect with Non-Teachers

Spend time with your non-teacher friends. If you are anything like me, you spend the majority of your school year with your teacher friends, and your other friends fall by the wayside! Use this time to reconnect with your friends you don’t always have the time or energy to have an adventure with. Take a day trip, go to lunch, or have a game night. Whatever it is, take advantage of your time and catch up with your other buddies.

Emails can Wait

Do not answer e-mails! They will be waiting for you when you get back to work. With technology today, if there are any types of emergencies, an alternate way to get in touch with you will be found. One of the best choices I have recently made was removing my school email from my personal phone. I do not check emails after a certain time, and I just check and respond when I get to work in the morning. You are not a machine, and this is part of creating a balance and boundaries for yourself. 

Take a Trip

Take a trip! If you are anything like me, it is hard to separate yourself from work. Plan a little getaway if you can and go explore. Life is all about the experiences you have and the memories you make. Whether it be an island getaway, exploring a foreign country, or simply taking a drive and hiking, spend some time with family or friends in a new place if you can.

Spring Cleaning

Something I love to do on breaks is clean out my closets and organize. I love going through and organizing my closets and drawers and donating any clothes, shoes, etc. that I really do not utilize anymore. It feels nice cleaning with the windows open and listening to all my favorite music. There is not always time to clean and organize the way you want to when school is in session, so taking full advantage of breaks is a great idea!

On your spring break you should simply do what makes you happy, especially those things you do not have time to do when you are working every day. Take your favorite class at the gym at 9 a.m. instead of before or after work. Go to lunch on a Tuesday afternoon. Take your kids to an amusement park. Take your dog for an extra-long hike or walk. Make that dinner you found on Pinterest and have been wanting to try. Whatever it is that makes you happy, do that!

Breaks are important because they help revitalize you. Sometimes when you keep going and going, you tend to not realize how incredibly drained you are. Although schoolwork and your students are obviously important, you need to take care of yourself. Being the best version of you includes being happy not just at work, but in all facets of your life. When you feel rested and recharged, it spills over into your teaching in the classroom.

As Louisa May Alcott stated, “Have regular hours for work and play; useful and pleasant, and prove that you understand the worth of time by employing it well.” A well-balanced, well-rounded teacher produces students of the same nature!

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