Teaching is a tough profession! As educators, we do our best to play various roles and to handle multiple responsibilities, such as planning and implementing lessons, communicating with parents, colleagues, staff, and administrators, and being lifelong learners by staying up to date on current educational trends. It's easy to see why teachers are so stressed!
It is so important that we manage our stress. When stress is not managed properly, our lives both inside and outside of school suffer. Our health, both mentally and physically. Teachers who are stressed take more days off of school. Also, teachers who are stressed may be overburdened with work, thus taking a toll on personal relationships outside of school. When teachers' stress levels are high, they not give relationships outside of work the attention they want or moods may be poor. When relationships sour, teachers may retreat back to their school work, thus creating an unhealthy cycle. Finally, students' may be effected by teacher stress level. Students' attitudes are affected by teachers' energy and attitudes. Teachers who are stressed out and unhappy will yield students who are stressed out and unhappy.
So what can we do?
Meeting Your Basic Needs: Excersise, Nutrition, and Sleep
Exercise
* Take a daily 20 minute walk. You can even break it up into two 10-minute intervals or four 5-minute intervals
* Be consistent with a schedule. Once you create a routine, exercising will become second nature.
* Exercise with a group. Being with others is incredibly motivating!
* Find an exercise activity you find pleasurable! When finding an activity you enjoy, the more likely you are to stick with it!
Nutrition
* Eat breakfast! As much as we are pressed for time, it's essential that we eat a breakfast. Nothing feeds the brain like a hearty breakfast! If time is an issue, consider having some of these items at school:
- Peanut butter and fruit
- Yogurt and granola
- Cottage cheese
* Eat Lunch! With so much going on throughout the day, we sometimes skip lunch. But it's as important to have your lunch as it is your breakfast! Here are a few tips to get your lunches in:
- Prepare an extra serving at dinner for your lunch the following day
- Check out ready-made lunches
- Check out the cafeteria food
* Eat HEALTHY snacks throughout the day! With so many treats in the lounge, it's easy to get sucked in and eat unhealthy snacks. Consider keeping these in your classroom as a healthier alternative:
- Fresh fruit
- Dried fruit
- Cut-up veggies and dressing
- Trail mix
- Cheese and crackers
Sleep
It's essential that we get enough sleep to be at our best at school! Here are some tips to make sure we get enough sleep at night:
* Read a good book
* Meditate
* Take a hot shower
* Disconnect from all electronics
Positive Engagement
It is so important to have fun. As a result, spirits are high, we enjoy life, we are more pleasant to be around, we are happier, we are healthier, and we have more positive energy to give!
Here are some tips to improve positive engagement:
* Keep the good and make it the focus! Look for the most engaging parts of your lessons.
* Integrate your own interests and passions into your lessons. Make sure to blend into your lessons, not replace!
* Use students' interests and passions in your lessons. Students will be much more engage if they are interested in the topic!
* Enjoy your students!
- Take time to observe and watch them while they work and find time to enjoy their interactions
- Give students your FULL attention. Enjoy what students are telling you and enjoy that they want to share their thoughts with you!
- Be playful! This includes cracking jokes, telling funny stories, etc. Having a sense of humor helps to lighten any situation!
* Enjoy your colleagues!
- Join positive colleagues on committee work
- Plan lunch dates
- Work together (Plan, grade, etc.)
- Be playful!
Managing Time and Energy
With so much on our plates, it's hard to manage everything in our personal and professional lives.
Here are a few tips to help make things less stressful:
* Carve Out Time for Nonnegotiables
- Consider writing a list of things you in both your personal and professional lives. Then decide which of these on the list are truly nonnegotiable.
* Figure Out What to Eliminate
* Work More Efficiently
- Capitalize on your optimal time of day
- Balance Assignments
- Look for a mismatch between your time and your goals
- Minimize interruptions, such as answering emails immediately.
Learn to Say No!
Saying no can be challenging, especially with the fear of hurting someone's feelings or disappointing the person who is asking. However, in order to truly help others, it's important that we take care of ourselves first. By taking on too much, we will be more tired and more stressed out.
