Teachers aren’t all that great about taking care of themselves.
We don’t sleep enough, we don’t always eat right, we get to work early and leave late, we skimp on exercise, we skip doctors’ appointments, we don’t spend enough time doing things that are strictly for us. We think busy is normal, we spend more time working on stuff for school, and we don’t really ever “disconnect” from our work.
These are all generalizations, of course, but our schedules and our habits can tend to work against us unless we make ourselves a priority.
When teachers hear the term “self-care”, they can tend to think it means spa days, long, leisurely bubble baths, spending two hours a day in the gym. Then they think, “Nope. No time or money for all that” and they just give up.
But here’s what the term self-care really means: it simply means to take care of yourself in a healthy way. It means taking care of yourself physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. It means paying attention to what you need, what makes you happy while feeling connected to the activities and the people you love.
Here are some of the problems that can happen when you don’t prioritize self-care: frequent illnesses, exhaustion, anxiety, depression, weight gain, high blood pressure, heart palpitations, burn out.
When we neglect self-care, it’s usually because we’re stressed, overworked, we have too much to do in a very limited period of time, or we have unusually demanding family obligations (a child or elderly parent is ill, a spouse is hospitalized or injured, etc.).
There are times in any career where you may have more deadlines (back to school crunch and report cards come to mind) and there may be times when we need to prioritize a family member’s needs. But we can still make self-care a priority and take care of our own needs so that we can do a better job in our work and take care of our family members’ needs.
Here are a few simple self-care strategies to implement right away:
*Drink more water. Make it your goal to drink half your bodyweight in ounces of water every day. Get a water bottle like a Swell bottle or Hydroflask which can help you remember to keep yourself hydrated all day.
*Eat more healthy protein. Make a protein shakes with quality protein powder, eggs, turkey, lean beef, chicken — whatever fits your preferred eating plan.
*Eat more fruit and vegetables. Aim for 8 – 10 servings per day. Since a serving of fruit and vegetables is only ½ cup, you can easily meet this goal with a large salad, roasted vegetables, or adding spinach and fruit to your protein shake.
*Get more sleep. Aim for 6 – 8 hours per night. When that is not possible (or if you are not sleeping through the night), consider taking a 30-minute nap during the day.
*Get outside. Take deep breaths, take a walk, sit in the sunshine.
*Get more exercise. This doesn’t have to mean an expensive gym membership. There are tons of free videos on YouTube and streaming options online. Going for a walk or a jog is free! Start with ten minutes and work up from there.
*Stretch. This little book, Office Yoga, has lots of great options you can do at work or at home!
*Buy yourself an inexpensive bouquet of flowers or a single bloom. If you have a Trader Joe’s in your area, they are a great source of inexpensive flowers.
*Keep pictures of your loved ones, your pets, and/or your favorite places as screensavers on your phone and computer.
*Listen to your favorite music on Spotify, YouTube, Pandora, or Amazon Music.
*Read something just for fun.
*Call a friend or family member and make plans to do something fun.
*Develop a morning routine that works for you. Read my post about that HERE.
*Develop an evening routine that works for you. Read my post about that HERE.
Keep trying different self-care tips until you find what works for you. Self-care looks different for everyone and there is no one right way. The point is to give yourself permission to put yourself first. You can’t be any good for anyone else unless you take care of yourself first.