Winter break offers a well-deserved time to enjoy the holidays, relax, and spend time with people you love. Unless it really makes you happy, try to take a break from all school-related activities and recharge.
Teaching during a pandemic makes our job even more difficult than it already is, and no one is offering us more paid time off.
Now, more than ever, it’s important for you to rest and recharge with the activities that make YOU feel good.
With that in mind, here’s a random list of 22 tips for winter break:
1 – unplug from devices for at least part of the day.
2 – remove school email from your phone. (It’s a good idea to do this every weekend, by the way.)
3 – try a new workout routine that you’ve been wanting to try, or just take a long walk. Do this by yourself or with someone else – whatever makes you happiest. If you’re looking for new workouts to try, Beachbody on Demand is a great place to start.
4 – start or write in a pretty journal.
5 – reconnect with a friend that you haven’t seen or talked to in a while.
6 – get outside as much as possible.
7 – download some new podcasts that entertain or inspire you.
8 – enjoy some homemade hot cocoa or some other warm drink.
9 – bake some cookies. Save some for yourself and give some away (or not – you do you). Here’s my current favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe!
10 – clean or organize an area that you would like to use in a different way in the new year (a drawer, a closet, maybe an entire room!). Shop for any storage or organization tools you might need.
11 – start a gratitude journal.
12 – organize the photos on your phone or computer. This photo printer is on my Amazon wish list because sometimes I just like having pictures posted where I can see them frequently without searching for them on my phone. I also love adding pictures to my gratitude journal.
13 – write letters or thank you notes to people in your life who have been supportive of you.
14 – light a candle (or a fire) and just gaze at the flame. This candle has always been one of my favorites, but these candles with essential oils are nice too.
15 – try some new recipes! I love finding new recipes online, but sometimes I just want a cookbook to browse. My new favorites are Half Baked Harvest Super Simple and The Pioneer Woman Cooks – Super Easy. (Easy and simple are clearly important to me.)
16 – begin making a summer 2022 list of things you would like to do over your summer break. This fun journal gives you some good ideas!
17 – make a list of all your “wins” in 2021. What are the things you did well or that you accomplished this past year? They don’t have to be super huge wins – just wins that matter to you. It’s fun to go back through your journal or planner or calendar from the past year to help remind you of some of your wins.
18 – go on a “field trip” to someplace in your town or nearby that you have always wanted to visit. It could be a museum, a historic site, a bakery, a store, whatever!
19 – make a list of books you want to read, places you want to go, other fun things you want to do in 2022. (And no, I didn’t intend to make that rhyme!)
20 – get your hair done, get a manicure, pedicure, massage – any kind of spa-ish self-care treatment you might not usually have time to do.
21 – watch the last sunset of 2021 and the first sunrise of 2022
22 – set up your personal planner for 2022.
If you’re seeing this post AFTER winter break – never fear! All of these ideas are good for implementing into your life at any time of year. Take care of yourself and enjoy your break!