This self care challenge for teachers helps you put yourself first – making you happier and more effective in the classroom and in life outside school.
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Being part of a caring profession is an interesting thing.
The assumption seems to be that you should be willing to sacrifice your own energy, well being, time, even money (!) in order to care for your students – with often minimal benefit to yourself.
It’s a bit like being a parent if you think about it!
This assumption is the thing I think teachers have to fight against the hardest. Buying into it lets us be manipulated by a system that doesn’t always have OUR best interests at heart.
And that system is what creates stress and burn out and leads to poor function.
And if we’re not functioning, then no one is functioning.
This is why I believe in boundaries, systems and processes that keep the job as much as possible what it is: a job.
As well as that, I believe that looking after yourself physically, mentally and emotionally through acts of self care are extremely important – especially when external pressures are making life more challenging.
This self care challenge for teachers is designed to act as a reset but more importantly, to be a way of refocusing on YOU. There’s an activity for you to do every day for a month and most activities can be completed in 15 minutes or less.
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Like that saying I love – even on airplanes they tell you to put on your own oxygen mask first right?
Because of this, the 30 day self care challenge for teachers starts off with cutting things back.
Then we move into nourishing ourselves.
Finally we step into creating some new routines that are good for our self care in the long term.
Teacher self care challenge
Day 1: Find an accountability partner to do this challenge with you and decide what time to check in with each other each day
Day 2: That one task you’ve been dreading? Get it done now
Day 3: Leave your bag at school / don’t open your laptop at home. This is so important when it comes to switching off from the job and on to the family
Day 4: Say no to a request
Day 5: Decide what times you will check email during the day and stick to this
Day 6: Stop not going to the bathroom! If you need to go, you need to go.
Day 7: Take all work related apps off your phone
Day 8: Aim to go for MVP (minimum viable product) rather than perfection when planning next week’s lessons
Day 9: Don’t work at all this weekend and commit to only working on day a weekend maximum moving forward
Day 10: Create a method that works for you of tracking your to-dos and separating the want to dos from the need to dos
Day 11: Take a lunch break. Whether it is in your classroom with the door shut, to give the introverts time to recharge, or with a favorite colleague in the teachers’ lounge, take the time to enjoy your food and have some real time out
Day 12: Clean and declutter your school desk
Day 13: Go for a 15 minute brisk walk at lunch time. Make sure you have some appropriate shoes to facilitate this
Day 14: Organized a shared lunch with a group of other teachers
Day 15: Write a thank you email to a colleague
Day 16: Buy some stationery that is just for you
Day 17: Think of your most difficult student and one positive quality they have. The next chance you have, drop it into the conversation with them
Day 18: Buy that book you’ve been wanting to read for a while and start reading for 10-15 minutes every night before you go to sleep
Day 19: Book an upcoming show, concert, sports game, movie or meal out. Schedule it for at least a week from today, preferably at least two so you have plenty of time to look forward to it
Day 20: Make a batch of cookies for your colleagues
Day 21: Start a “win” email folder where you put emails from others expressing their appreciation for you and the work you do
Day 22: Assess your pressure points during the school day and brainstorm 10 ways you could alleviate these. Then put one into practice
Day 23: Create a teacher self care box
Day 24: Purchase a water bottle marked with times to increase your fluid intake
Day 25: Plan a two week rotating lunch menu that meets your nutritional needs and can be made ahead (ideally something you can do on a Sunday that will last most of the week)
Day 26: Set a bedtime alarm and make a commitment to stick to it for the remainder of the challenge
Day 27: Most of us have little niggles that come from staring at a screen, crouching down, marking and so on. Find an appropriate stretching exercise for you to do during the day
Day 28: Find a 5 minute meditation or mindfulness exercise you can practice at school
Day 29: Start a gratitude journal. At the end of the school day, after you have packed up, take 5 minutes to write down three things you are grateful for that happened that day
Day 30: Make a decision to move it with regular exercise. Whether its running, weights, sessions at the gym and / or yoga, you’re aiming for 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise a week or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic exercise a week and strength training all muscle groups two times a week (source).
You made it!
This 30 day self care challenge for teachers is designed to help you stop doing things that don’t serve you, then focus on topping up your tank, before implementing sustainable practices aimed at increasing your overall quality of life.
I hope you enjoy it!
Let me know what other self care ideas for teachers you use in the comments.
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