Today we've got ten simple yet transformative strategies that can help you recharge, refocus, and thrive in and out of the classroom. Squeezing self care into your school day isn't easy but it can make a big difference.

Resources

Ellie has a blog post with more information on this topic: https://cognitivecardiomath.com/cognitive-cardio-blog/5-benefits-of-exercise-for-teachers/

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Ellie 0:20

Imagine starting your morning with a moment of tranquility, finding pockets of peace amidst the bustling school day and forging connections that lift you up. Welcome to The Teaching Toolbox Podcast. I'm Ellie and I'm here with my buddy Brittany.

Brittany 0:35

Hello.

Ellie 0:37

Today, we're chatting about 10 simple yet transformative strategies that can help you recharge, refocus and thrive in and out of the classroom.

Brittany 0:47

Many people throughout society may think that teaching is a cushy job because of the breaks, but in reality, teaching is an extremely demanding profession that requires a high level of emotional, physical, and mental energy. Here's why, teachers genuinely need self care. And we probably don't have to convince you of this, but we've got some data in here that you may not have thought about.

Brittany 1:15

So teaching has intensive daily demands. There's constant decision making. Teachers make hundreds of decisions every day, from lesson adjustments to behavioral interventions, often on the fly, this constant mental engagement can lead to decision fatigue. Teachers even make more decisions in a day than both brain surgeons and air traffic controllers.

Ellie 1:44

What?

Brittany 1:45

Ellie 1:57

Wow,

Brittany 1:58

Roughly one decision every minute, especially during class time. This level of decision making is driven by the need to constantly adapt to changing situations, manage student behaviors, adjust lesson plans, answer questions, handle unexpected issues that arise from moment to moment. In comparison, brain surgeons make high stakes, complex decisions, but they're often more deliberate and carefully considered, and so they're much fewer in number. While air traffic controllers make rapid, high pressure decisions, they typically happen in spurts or bursts and involve highly specialized focus actions. They don't reach the continuous volume of decisions that teachers face.

Ellie 2:46

That is so interesting to think about. So why do teachers lead in daily decisions? Well, teaching involves a broad range of real time decisions. The day is packed with instructional decisions, behavior management, social and emotional decisions, and logistical choices. While brain surgeons and air traffic controllers may make high stakes decisions that are crucial to safety and well being, teachers make decisions all day long that directly impact the daily experiences and learning of their students. This ongoing decision making requires a tremendous amount of mental energy, and is one reason why teachers benefit so much from practicing self care throughout their work day. And now, teachers aren't just decision makers. They are multi taskers. They manage behaviors, keep track of progress, communicate with parents, collaborate with colleagues and handle administrative tasks, all often within a single day. And teachers face physical demands as well. Standing, moving around the classroom, climbing stools, and sometimes even running after students on the playground are all part of a teacher's daily routine.

Brittany 3:56

There's also an emotional tax to being a teacher. Teachers are often caregivers, counselors, mentors, as well as educators. They build relationships, support students emotionally, and you're constantly attuned to your students needs and well being. Teachers experience secondary trauma as well as you may hear about and witness challenging situations affecting your students, such as family issues, trauma, or bullying, which can then weigh on you heavily emotionally. Teachers are also expected to maintain composure in all instances, remaining calm, patient, and positive, regardless of how stressful or emotionally taxing their day has been, or whether you feel sick or have a headache or whatever is going on with you.

Ellie 4:49

Right. We know teachers have high levels of stress and burnout, and that can also come from pressure and accountability with increasing demands to meet educational standards prepare students for standardized tests and demonstrate measurable outcomes, teachers can face significant pressure. They are responsible for ensuring that each student progresses, which can be challenging, especially with diverse learning needs and limited resources. And we know there are often extended work hours involved. It might seem like teachers get time off during the summer and holidays, but you know, we all often spend those breaks on professional development, lesson planning, grading, and classroom setup. Many teachers work well beyond contracted hours during the school year to prepare lessons, grade work, and even meet with parents.

Brittany 5:41

And there's also complex social dynamics. There's classroom management, parent and community expectations, constant adaptation and learning, curriculum changes, professional development. So while summer and holiday breaks do offer time for rest, they're not enough to offset the intensity of your work during the school year. Teachers need regular self care to keep their energy up and maintain emotional resilience and remain effective for their students.

Ellie 6:14

So before we jump into our 10 strategies, let's think about the benefits of incorporating self care during the school day and why it is essential for you. Maybe you're not thinking that you need the self care, but thinking about all of those things and those decisions and the mental fatigue you might be facing, maybe you want to start considering some self care practices and so some benefits of that would be that it gives you sustained energy and focus. We know teaching is mentally and physically demanding, and without breaks or self care, it's easy to experience that burnout. Taking some moments for self care throughout the day helps maintain your energy levels so you're less likely to feel exhausted by the end of the day. Self care helps with stress management. That school environment can be stressful with unexpected situations and a fast paced schedule. Self care helps manage stress in real time, preventing it from building up to an overwhelming level. Practicing self care helps you model for your students. Practicing self care is a way of modeling healthy habits for students. When teachers demonstrate the importance of taking breaks and managing stress, students learn valuable life skills. And then there's improved emotional resilience. Regular self care can improve emotional resilience, allowing teachers to respond calmly to challenges and handle difficult situations with greater ease, and this resilience can improve overall job satisfaction and reduce the likelihood of burnout.

Brittany 7:49

There's also better health and well being. The cumulative effect of daily stress can impact both physical and mental health. By integrating self care into the school day teachers can help reduce the risk of stress related health issues, improve their mood and enhance overall well being. And there's enhanced patience and positivity that comes with it. Self care helps replenish your emotional reserves, which are essential for maintaining patience, empathy, and a positive attitude. This in turn leads to better interactions with students and colleagues, fostering a more supportive classroom environment. And then there's increased job satisfaction. By taking time for self care, teachers are more likely to feel fulfilled and motivated in their roles. This increased satisfaction can make teaching more enjoyable and sustainable over the long run. So prioritizing self care during the school day ultimately leads to healthier teachers, more positive classrooms, and a more balanced professional and personal life.

Ellie 9:01

Okay, so here are some wonderful ways that you can get some self care in throughout the school day. Try to start the day with some mindfulness. Take five minutes at the beginning of the day to just breathe deeply and set a positive intention and just let your mind be quiet. Part of your morning practice could be to journal for a few minutes as well. Make that a mindful practice. Write your positive intention or affirmation for the day. Now, if you're somebody who tends to run late and be like, I just got to the classroom and I don't have any time to do this, maybe try to wake up, like, 10 minutes early and try to get just a couple extra minutes there to give yourself that moment or two for a short, mindful practice like that.

Brittany 9:46

During lunch, when you're done eating, get out from that gossipy lunch room and take a walk around the building or the campus. A little bit of walking, or even just stretching in your classroom can help boost your mood and fight fatigue

During your planning time. Maybe turn off the lights, turn on a lamp, and play some soothing music. Maybe just close your eyes and focus on a few good thoughts for just a minute or two before you jump back into the work of your planning time.

Take micro breaks for breathing. Take just a few minutes between lessons or transitions to do some deep breathing exercises or mindfulness. Even a short pause can help reset and reduce stress, and if you have to even do it during the middle of a lesson and have all the kids do it too.

Yes, because that's where you're modeling for the students.

Yep,

Stay hydrated and snack mindfully. Keep a water bottle at your desk and drink throughout the day as much as you can. I was like, the farthest from the bathroom in my classroom, and so it'd be like, I have to run down the hall. So stay as hydrated as you can. Having healthy snacks like nuts or fruit can give you an energy boost without crashing. I would recommend that you don't do what I often did, which was drink Diet Coke all day and keep a bag of candy in my drawer, because that leads to great temptation when you're feeling the stress, you're like, Oh, I'm just gonna have a piece candy here, and then here, and then here. Those sugar spikes and crashes can end up making you feel irritated and sluggish.

Yes, been there, done that as well.

The candy is for the kids, that's why it's

always

but yeah, they don't seem to get it.

Use your planning time for relaxation. Instead of squeezing in extra work during every planning period, allocate part of it for relaxation, whether that's just closing your eyes for a few minutes, stretching, listening to calming music, or spend time chatting with a colleague. Those connections are a form of self care. If possible, take a colleague on a walk around the building to get a little fresh air or plan and grade papers outside, for a change. Getting some fresh air has numerous benefits, like improving your mental health and mood, improving your physical health and immune system, and apparently, it can even help with digestion.

Yeah, I read that, and I was really surprised to see that - never thought about it. Set a boundaries ritual. Designate a small activity to symbolize closing out your workday, like packing your bag, calmly turning off classroom lights, or writing a small note of gratitude for the day's successes. This is another time you can even use that journaling. Add some end of the day writing and include a win or something that you're grateful for. So it could be, you know, the book end of your day journal in the morning, journal in the afternoon.

Include some positive post it notes. So keep a stash of encouraging quotes or personal notes that maybe you or your family have written you that lift your spirits. When you feel overwhelmed, glance at them for a quick emotional reset. I also used to have just a corner of the space behind my desk with some family pictures and stuff that I would just look at if I was having a rough time or whatever. That just kind of lifted me back up, gave me that emotional burst that I needed to keep going throughout the day.

I used to have a - the desk, like blotter thing. I don't, I don't remember what that's called, the big green,

yeah like a desk pad?

Desk pad, right, yeah. So one year I took and paste it or glued a whole bunch of pictures onto there, like goal related pictures, family pictures, whatever, and they had it laminated, and that was my desk pad on my desk for years and years.

Yeah.

I like that. Another thing you can do is limit your after school meetings, block out certain days for yourself after school that could be time to decompress, run a quick errand, take another walk, or just rest for a little bit, because resting is something that we need.

It's kind of sounds the opposite of self care, but it actually really helped me with self care. Every Tuesday, I would actually stay late for four hours, and I knew that my husband had the kids and was doing dinner and the animals and all of that, and I could just focus on school for an extra four hours and get caught up on things and get done and and knowing that I had that Tuesday night every week just made my week less stressful.

Yeah, yeah, because you know that there's going to be a time that you're going to be able to take care of things and it's not going to be hanging over your head for all these different days, that's great.

And then lastly, if you're having a headache or a hard day, have something you can do to deal with it, and a teammate who will check on you. I suffer from migraines quite a lot, and I actually had a couch in my classroom as a reward for students. And so if I was having a bad headache or something, I would take a rescue medication, which actually puts you to sleep most of the time. And so I would take that during a planning period and lay down on the couch, and then I had a teammate that I would notify, and they would make sure that I was awake and ready to go by the next time that the class period started again.

Okay, yeah, good, good to have teammates that can help you with that.

Yes, but don't suffer through headaches and stuff you know, deal with them and have somebody who will support you.

So all of these small practices can build resilience and help teachers maintain energy throughout your day. So try a little self care.

Hopefully you heard a few ideas that help you incorporate more self care, and add some tools to your self care teaching toolbox. Personally, my favorites are the moments of mindfulness, journaling, and moving in some way - walking, stretching, etc.

What practices are you going to incorporate into your day? Let us know on IG or Facebook. We'll talk to you soon.

Bye.