As you are thinking about all the changes and improvements you can make for your teaching in a January reset, it’s also important to think about what you need to do to take care of yourself. You can’t be good for anyone else unless you are taking care of yourself first.
Here are 14 ideas for you to consider:
1 – leave work earlier two days a week and do something that you enjoy. Take a bath, and put on comfy clothes or your pajamas. Browse in a bookstore. Go shopping. Watch something on Netflix or Disney Plus. Get together with a friend. Whatever you feel like doing for yourself, do it!
2 – plan at least one night a week where you go to bed earlier and get some extra sleep. Winter seems to be a good time to do this!
3 – stay hydrated! Somehow that is harder for me to remember to do in the winter. Using a water bottle like a Swell bottle or a Hydroflask helps me to get my 8-10 cups of water every day.
4 – think about trying a new workout, either at home or at a gym. If you want to get into a more structured, instructor-led routine, consider trying the FASTER Way to Fat Loss plan where you will receive daily workouts for home or for the gym. Try a new class at your local fitness facilities. Take advantage of free trial offers for streaming workouts or for barre fitness studios. Just move your body for 30 minutes every day and see what a difference it makes! Whatever you decide to do, write it down in your planner and set aside time for your workout. Make it a priority.
5 – think about adding small self-care tasks into your working day. Here are 14 quick self-care tasks you can do in less than one or two minutes:
*deep breathing
*write in a journal or any notebook that is private (just write whatever comes to mind)
*meditation with Headspace app or Calm app
*stretch or do some yoga poses
*use a good smelling hand cream
*chew gum or a breath mint (the minty flavors help perk you up)
*step outside for some fresh air
*play music
*look at pictures of places or people you love
*give someone a hug
*make a quick list of plans for a future trip or for the weekend
*drink water
*make a list of a better morning ritual for yourself at school or a better lunchtime or afternoon ritual (feeling as if you are taking control of a situation that is not working for you gives you a feeling of confidence and hope)
*tidy up your desk or workspace
6 – can you add a meditation practice to your routine? I combine my meditation time with prayer time. Even if you only start with three minutes a day, the benefits are huge: reduced stress, reduced anxiety, better emotional health, increased attention span, and improved sleep.
7 – stand up more often or work on getting 10,000 steps daily. If you have a Fitbit or an Apple Watch, they will help you keep track of your increased movement. Try to find a place to work that you can use as a standing desk.
8 – add more fruit and vegetables to your daily eating plan. Try to eat one salad or raw vegetables daily. At this time of year, though, I tend to prefer warmer foods. Warmer options might include a healthy vegetable soup or roasted vegetables.
9 – speaking of soup, think about using a Crockpot or Instant Pot to make some soups for this month. Soups are filling and healthy as a lunch and dinner option.
10 – try a digital detox. Put your phone on airplane mode and out of sight for a period of time. Try for an hour
a day to start.
11 – Mondays can be really hard in the winter. One way to make your Mondays better is to change up what you do on Sundays. Do everything you can to avoid the Sunday blues. I know how tempting it is to run out the door on Friday afternoon as if you’re being chased! One of the realities of our work is that we can’t just stroll in the door on Monday morning, pour some coffee, and spend half the morning catching up on email and making a to-do list for the week.
Try to figure out the best time for you to get any school work/prep work done on Friday or Saturday instead of saving it for Sunday afternoon at 5 p.m. Some possibilities: stay a little later on Friday; Saturday morning (after sleeping in a little later); Saturday afternoon (before doing something fun or relaxing in the evening); Sunday morning or early afternoon (instead of waiting until later in the day).
12 – change up your morning routine. See my post about that HERE. It’s important to remember that you don’t have to do ALL the things you see in this post. The idea is to choose a tip that might work for you and try it out. Then choose another one to try.
13 – if you change up your morning routine, you also might want to consider changing up your evening routine. See my post HERE about some tips to try. Choose one tip and try it out. Then add on another that works for you!
14 – While there is really no such thing as “work-life balance” (since your tasks in both areas are constantly shifting), I try to do something every day using the acronym SPREAD. I wrote a post about this HERE after reading an article by Kelly Petrin on the Choice Literacy website. Kelly’s SPREAD acronym stands for these things:
S – spiritual (prayer, meditation, reading)
P – physical (exercise, water, healthy food, sleep)
R – relationships (spending time & connecting with people we love)
E – enjoy (doing some small thing that brings you joy)
A – act (attacking the to-do list and getting at least a few things done)
D – dream (making some small amount of progress on something that you love and that gives you hope for the future)
I am already back at school and already feeling behind on so many things I need to do. It’s easy to just keep plowing ahead and ignoring my own self-care needs. But I know how important it is to pay attention to my own health, both physical and mental. I am committing to keeping my self-care at the top of my January reset list. I hope you will do the same! Let me know what works for you!
Do you want more guidance with resetting your classroom? I’m creating a mini-course with more step-by-step tips. Sign up for the waiting list HERE and I will notify you when it’s ready! (Signing up does not obligate you in any way.)