School is back in session and we need to talk about something that’s as important as your morning coffee: self-care! We know you’re out there every day, shaping young minds, wiping noses, and pouring into the future leaders of Tennessee. But let’s face it, even superheroes need a break sometimes. So, we’ve put together some self-care ideas to help you stay focused and avoid burnout this school year. After all, we can’t have you trading in your lesson plans for a one-way ticket to a deserted island this Fall Break. This month, TAKE ACTION and bring self-care into your daily routine.
Here are a few fun ways to get started.
- The “Silent Disco” Technique:
Put on your headphones during your lunch break and have a solo dance party in the craft closet. It’s like recess for grown-ups, minus the scraped knees! While this may just seem like a fun idea, Psychcentral shared a study that revealed that music therapy can play a significant role in preventing burnout. A 6-week study completed by operating room surgeons suggested that just 30 minutes of music each day can decrease stress levels and lead to less emotional exhaustion. https://psychcentral.com/stress/the-power-of-music-to-reduce-stress - Teacher “Time-out”:
During lunch, rest time, or planning time find a quiet corner, sit cross-legged, and take deep breaths for 5 minutes. Bonus points if you can do it without a small human asking you what you’re doing every 30 seconds. 2024 Harvard Medical School research highlights that deep breathing exercises can elicit the relaxation response, which lowers the stress response and fights the adverse effects of chronic stress. https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/relaxation-techniques-breath-control-helps-quell-errant-stress-response - The “Gratitude Graffiti”:
Keep a small notebook where you jot down one good thing that happened each day. It’s like creating your own feel-good yearbook! While this may seems like more work, who has time for that?, a study by Emmons and McCullough (2003) published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, showed that participants who wrote in a gratitude journal weekly for 10 weeks or daily for two weeks experienced more gratitude, positive moods, and optimism about the future compared to control groups.
Now, we know what you’re thinking – “Sure, these sound great, but when am I supposed to find time for all this?” Well, according to our scholarly friends, making time for self-care isn’t just nice, it’s necessary. As Dr. Christina Maslach, a renowned researcher on occupational burnout, put it: “The prevention of burnout is not just an individual responsibility but a social and organizational one as well” (Maslach & Leiter, 2016). In other words, taking care of yourself isn’t selfish – it’s part of being a great educator! You’re doing important work, and we want you to stick around (without turning into a zombie). Keep being awesome.
