8 Steps To Increase Self-Care and Reduce Burnout
Personal Self-Care Tips
What’s working?
Make a "What's Working" self-care list. This list should contain ONLY the parts of your life that are going well and uplifting you. The list might include simple ideas like this: Sunday yoga, date nights, walking the dog, water bottle at work, positive phone calls home, my Headspace app, Beyonce alarm clock ringer, phone calls with Mom, reading before bed... When life feels overwhelming and it seems that nothing is going right, sometimes it helps to pause and recognize all the things that are serving you, filling your cup, and use it to turn attitude into gratitude.
2. Talk it out
Asking for help is an act of resilience. This might involve opening up to an administrator or friend to talk about sources of stress. Perhaps seeking out a therapist is the right path for you. Ask your insurance representative if EAP credits are offered or what mental health coverage you have. What is better than a personalized session to offer you proven strategies tailored to your needs? Game changer!
3. Put pen to paper
Journaling to write about life’s challenges is a technique regularly recommended by therapists. New to journaling? Start simple. Make a list of your stressors. Put them in order from greatest to least. Code the stressors based on your level of control over the stressor: T=total control, S=some control, N=no control. Focus your attention on what you labeled “T” since those are the aspects you have the power to adjust. Consider what small changes you can make to address these stressors. For example, should you create a behavior chart for your child? Do you need to create a better lesson plan template that will work more efficiently for you? Would creating agendas for meetings with your grade level team help you stay on task? Is it time to bring in the school counselor, social worker, or administrator to help you strategize a plan for that difficult parent or connection-seeking (as opposed to attention-seeking) student? As you tackle your list, remember: to-do lists don’t have to be finished in a day! Progress over perfection.
4. Mindful Moments
Mindfulness is about more than breathing (although intentional breathing has some pretty incredible benefits). Mindfulness is about bringing awareness to the present moment and can be as simple as pausing before walking out the door to do a quick check of everything you need so you don't have to run back into the house to grab your wallet that is lying on the counter. Ready for the next level? Try yoga or meditation. Apps such as Down Dog and Headspace have options for all experience levels.
Professional Self-care Tips
5. Resiliency Networks
Find resiliency partners, peers who are reliable and relatable. Check in with your colleagues' mental health and use that as an opportunity to talk about your shared stressors and bright spots. These check-ins can help build relationships among co-workers, an important component of a healthy work environment. Schedule times to socialize with people who truly understand your specific stressors by grabbing dinner or going on a walk together. Knowing you are in it together can build resiliency.
6. Set boundaries
Protect your personal time by setting boundaries with work. For example, are you giving yourself permission to take up to 24 hours to reply to emails? Consider what you need to shift in order to be fully present with family when you get home by having a certain time you stop checking your email. Maybe turn off email notifications on your phone to avoid the 10 pm message from a needy parent, causing you to lose sleep. A year from now, even a week from now, that email won't matter, but the impact of spending time with your family or honoring healthy sleeping habits will last a lifetime.
7. Healthy habits
Prioritize healthy habits at work. Pack a healthy lunch each night. Bring a large water bottle to fill each morning. Make it a goal to finish it by the end of the day. How can you build exercise into your routine? Perhaps convince your co-workers to have a walking meeting once a week. Prepare to be impressed with how cheerful, productive, and creative you will be while meeting on the move.
8. Get organized
What organization systems can you set up that will save you time in the long run? Redesigning time-wasting methods, whether in our physical space or routines, can bring peace of mind through some simple steps. Recruit students to help you empty the junk cabinet, toss the useless, and neatly place the rest. Do you need to invest some time into setting up a data binder to track your students' progress? Setting up a tab per student to log data, track parent communication, house conference notes, and even store work samples can save a ton of time in the long run. It might also save time to design a rubric, station rotation flip chart, or digital choice board template that can be reused for each unit. Not feeling motivated? Check out The Home Edit or Tyding Up on Netflix to “spark” inspiration.
Remember, taking care of yourself is a way of taking care of others. Those who practice self-care are able to lead, interact with, and nurture others with more energy and patience.
Back to “The EdConnector” blog home
This post is part of the series, “May-tired Already” dedicated to providing educators practical strategies to re-energize and refresh for the long year ahead. To see all parts of the series, go here.