This is the season of the year when teachers are prone to burnout and exhaustion. You may have already had spring break and are now on the marathon weeks until the end of the school year. Or maybe you’re anticipating spring break soon. Either way — this is a time of year when teachers are exhausted and stressed. If we have other stresses in our lives (family medical issues, other issues with family members, financial worries), it only compounds the sense of exhaustion. All of this can lead to anxiety or depression. Time for a reset! And it’s time to make self-care a priority.

Two of the biggest myths about self-care are these:

1 – I don’t have time

2 – it’s not that important given all the other things on my plate.

Neither of these myths is true. Here’s why.

1 – You DO have time. Self-care doesn’t mean going to a luxury spa or luxury vacation (although both of those would be nice right about now). For you, it might mean listening to music you love. For someone else, it might mean spending some time doing a favorite craft or participating in some other kind of hobby or sport. “Stacking” a self-care habit with other habits that you currently have is a quick and easy way to make self-care a natural part of your life.

2 – It IS important. You can not be effective for anyone else and you cannot do your best at anything else if you are not taking care of yourself. Period. The best analogy I have heard about this is the one about how you have to put your own oxygen mask on before helping someone else with theirs. You have to be healthy yourself (in mind, body and spirit) before you can meet anyone else’s needs.

The bottom line is: self-care is critically important to living your best happy, healthy life. It also helps you tol be the best happy, healthy teacher/wife/mom/partner/friend you can be for all of the important people in your life.

Tips for success in starting a self-care routine:

*Identify some easy self-care tasks that sound good to you

*Start small — no more than one to three tasks per day.

*Track your self-care (use a paper habit tracker or an app like this Productive – Habit Tracker.

*”Stack” your self-care tasks with other things that are already habits or routines for you.

*Schedule it. Write it down on your planner, just as you would write down a meeting or a doctor’s appointment. It’s just as important.

*Keep in mind that small changes lead to big results. Doing something small, simple and do-able every day leads to better habits and a better life.

*Remember that you are trying to take better care of yourself and be kind to yourself, NOT “fix” yourself. This isn’t some kind of overhaul.

See my post HERE about quick tips for starting a self-care routine. But if you’re interested in a FREE, simple five-day self-care challenge to help start your practice, sign up <HERE!>
You will receive a daily email with self-care suggestions, along with encouragement and support!

Let’s face it — we should be working on staying in shape all year long. But somehow during the winter, some of us get a little – ummm – slack on the healthy eating and workout routines. Are you thinking about how to get in shape for summer? Here’s how to start now!

While there are tons of weight loss and workout routines out there, I have found only one that includes all the elements that we know are effective for long-term weight loss. It’s called the FASTer Way to Fat Loss, created by Amanda Tress. This plan combines several effective elements, such as the following:

~intermittent fasting

~carb cycling

~pairing your workouts with the carb cycling days

~daily coaching & accountability in a private Facebook group

~encouragement & inspiration in that private Facebook group

~easy-to-follow meal plans and recipes

~awesome workouts with all the guidelines and directions

~workouts that can be done at home and workouts that can be done in a gym facility, so there are options for everyone

I first tried Amanda’s plan in April of 2017. I didn’t have a lot of weight to lose, but I wanted to follow a better meal plan and try some new workouts. I came for the meal plans and workouts but found that I benefited even more from learning about intermittent fasting and carb cycling. The other part of Amanda’s program that I really loved was the daily coaching tips in the Facebook group with your own personal coach. They keep the groups small so that you can get to know other women who are doing the same program right along with you, and so that you can ask any questions of the coach. I found that the support from other women and access to the coach were invaluable.

Since then, I have participated in the FASTer Way VIP program, which is for women who have completed at least one round of Amanda’s program. When you’re in VIP, you have more access to Amanda herself! VIP membership is for women who understand the basics of the FASTer Way plan, but who want to learn more about the science behind each component of the program. In addition, they have guest coaches each month who teach the community about other health-related topics that affect fat loss, energy levels and quality of life.

I still follow all of the great things I learned from Amanda’s program. I sometimes alternate the workouts with other workouts from Beachbody, just to shake things up a bit.

If you’re interested in learning more about FASTer Way to Weight Loss, click HERE to check it out! The next round starts on June 3. If you join, let me know so I can cheer you on!

Are you intrigued by the thought of having a self-care routine but have no idea how to get started? Or are you concerned that having a self-care routine will take time away from your loved ones? Read on for some tips on how to start self-care today!

7 tips to get started:

1 – First, schedule time to do something for yourself every single day. It doesn’t have to be a long period of time, but you do need to schedule it or it will not happen. When to take this time for yourself varies from person to person. Early morning, before other family members get up, works for some. If you are a stay-at-home mom or a work-from-home mom, your time might be scheduled when the kids leave for school or after preschool drop-off. If you have young children who still nap, that time might be best for you. If you do not have children, your me-time might be when you first come home from work. Scheduling for the evening or before bedtime might work for you. The key thing is to find a time and schedule it. If that time frame continually gets interrupted, choose a different time block and try that. But make sure that your time gets added to your busy schedule, every single day. No excuses!

2 – Develop a morning routine of habits and rituals that you enjoy and that start your day off right. Some ideas: play music, drink water, spend a few moments in silence or meditate, do some form of exercise, read something that inspires you for the day, set goals, write in a journal, use good-smelling products for your shower and hair. See my post for more ideas here.

3 – Develop an evening routine of habits and rituals that you enjoy, that help bring a peaceful closure to your day and that set the stage for healthy sleep. Some ideas: do some gentle exercise (like taking a walk or doing some yoga poses), get some fresh air, meditate, write a letter to or call someone you love, drink some hot tea, plan the next day, think about your goals and what you might do to work on those tomorrow, read something relaxing, take a bath or shower. See my post for more ideas here.

4 – Speaking of sleep, do whatever you can do to get 7 to 8 hours of sleep every night. If that is not possible, try to schedule a brief nap time for yourself in the afternoons. Sleep is so important but is the first thing we sacrifice when we have so many demands on our time.

5 – Unplug, at least from social media and work email. Have a set time of the day when you do not check social media and you don’t even read work emails.

6 – Develop a gratitude ritual. This could be part of your morning or evening routine. I like to use the 5-Minute Journal. Just take 30 seconds to think about or to list 5 things for which you are grateful. I do this both morning and evening. It helps keep you focused on all the good in your life, it develops a positive mindset, and it relieves stress!

7 – Reward yourself every day, but think about using positive rewards. While it’s fine to treat yourself to a favorite food or adult beverage from time to time, try not to make that a daily reward. Think of other rewards that make you happy: a bubble bath, time to curl up and read whatever you want to read, spending time outside, walking your dog, calling a good friend or favorite family member, buying some fresh flowers.

Self-care is so necessary for us to be our best selves for the other people in our lives. Try some of these tips today and add on when you feel ready to try something new!

For more ideas, see my Pinterest board of self-care tips!

One of my favorite children’s books is Judith Viorst’s Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Bad days — we all have them. These are the days when it seems like so many small things are going wrong and it all adds up to what seems like an overall bad day. But it is really? Here are some ways to reset your own bad day and make it an overall good day after all.

1 – grab a journal or notebook or just some random piece of paper and write down everything that is on your mind. You don’t even have to keep this paper — tear it out and throw it away if you want to. The idea here is to get it out of your head, onto the paper and let it go. Rant, complain, make a list of every irritating thing that is happening — whatever comes to mind.

2 – adopt the motto “it could always be worse.” For every bad thing that happened today, think of something that would be worse. Give thanks that it isn’t worse! For example: if your dog pooped on the floor — be thankful for your dog’s unconditional love while you’re cleaning up the mess. If your child spilled the milk — be thankful that you have your child and your home and table and towels or paper towels to wipe up the milk. If you snapped at someone, be thankful for having that person in your life and apologize.

3 – going along with the idea of gratitude, think of one good thing in your life or one thing that is going well. Try to do this for every bad thing you can think of. You will be amazed at all the small, simple good things for which you can be grateful.

4 – get outside and take some deep breaths. Bonus points for taking a walk outside.

5 – if it’s raining, still try to stand some place where you can stay dry and just watch the rain!

6 – read a few pages of a book that is inspiring and uplifting to you. Here are some ideas:
Girl, Wash Your Face,
Girl, Stop Apologizing,
The 5 Second Rule,
G’Morning, G’Night!: Little Pep Talks for Me and You
Becoming
You Are a Badass
If you prefer to listen, try listening to any of these books on Audible!

7 – take a different route home from work or drive through a different part of town. Look for things that you think are pretty or that make you happy.

8 – turn off the news. Sometimes news shows, especially cable news, just makes you feel even worse! You can let it go for a day. Watch a funny show or movie instead, if you want to relax with TV.

9 – consider your use of social media. As you know by now, posts on social media are someone’s highlight reel. (Not always, but very often.) So if scrolling through social media and looking at pictures or posts of people who are smarter/prettier/better organized/more successful/a better mom, etc. etc. etc. brings you down, STOP. Either don’t scroll through or hide the accounts of or unfollow those that just make you feel worse. You can always follow them again later if you really want to. But understand that seeing someone else’s “best day ever” post is not going to help you improve your own day.

10 – do some healthy things for yourself. Drink water, eat something healthy (probably vegetables or fruit) that fit your eating plan, get some exercise (a few yoga poses and/or a brief walk counts), and go to bed early. Try to NOT add to your stress by eating or drinking things that will ultimately just make you feel worse.

11 – call or text someone who always makes you feel better. Sometimes just talking it out with someone who loves you or being reminded that they believe in you is all you need.

12 – do something you enjoy but that is not part of your routine. Buying prepared food from Whole Foods or Fresh Market instead of cooking dinner yourself. Eating outside instead of at your dinner table. Taking a bubble bath instead of a shower. Buying a small gift for yourself.

A bad day can be turned around! Try one of these tips next time you’re having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day and let me know how it goes!