For Teachers: Having a Year Plan for Personal Wellness is as Important as Your Teaching Year Plan

Hey Alberta teachers - happy August 1st! We're at the halfway point of summer, which means it's (probably) only a few more weeks until you're getting things ready for September (hopefully you aren’t back at it already!). Before you get to year planning and into the details of setting up your classroom, I want to challenge you to consider this: make yourself a personal wellness plan for the year before you start to plan for curriculum.

What is a wellness year plan? Great question! It's something that can help you to stay on top of managing stress so that you can respond proactively to challenges and ward off burnout. Having a detailed plan of ways to take care of yourself during stress (both daily and over time) is just as important as having a well-crafted year plan. You’re probably a meticulous, detailed planner when it comes to the ins-and-outs of teaching kids. It’s important to direct that same level of care and attention to knowing what will support YOU before you head back into the new school year.

What might a wellness plan look like? First, identify the activities or things you've been doing this summer that make you feel rested, rejuvenated, and more connected to yourself. If you need ideas, the best evidence-backed strategies for completing your stress cycle are:
🌻exercise (especially cardio)
🌻sleep
🌻positive social connection
🌻physical affection
🌻crying
🌻belly laughter
🌻creative expression.

Note which things you have been doing this summer that make you feel good. These are same things you're going to want to build into your daily weekly schedule - I like to call these my “non-negotiables”. These are the things you’re going to return to again and again when you notice that you’re feeling the stress (both in your mind and your body) and you need proactive ways to manage it. Get really granular - take time making a big list or menu of things that you know you love to do that are guaranteed to make you feel better/regulated/connected. Maybe it’s an exercise class or walking your dog. Maybe it’s coffee with your friends. Maybe it’s watching a movie with your kids, painting, playing an instrument, or going for a hike. It doesn’t matter what it is as long as it works for you. Write these things down and post them somewhere that you’ll see them regularly to remind you to engage in them as often as possible. Stress relief is not a luxury - it has to be part of your daily plan. You have to take care of yourself first, and you need to do it well if you want to have enough energy and resources to support the other people in your life, including your students.

Next, map out known time/energy consuming dates that you know are coming. September is an exhausting month (so are December and June). Report cards, IPPs, parent meetings, extra curriculars - these are all things that will tax your nervous system. Identifying the known dates or time periods can help you to plan for extra care around those times. Maybe that means meal planning in advance, delegating household tasks to family members or even scheduling more sleep and rest when you know you'll be in survival mode. Being aware of what's coming and planning with your nervous system in mind can help you maintain the energy you need to get through those seasons - and avoid burnout.

Finally, share your plan with someone else - a partner, colleague, or friend. Getting support from others to help us maintain our work-life balance and prioritize our human needs (not just productivity goals) is an important way to stay connected to ourselves.

Need help making a wellness plan, or need to learn more about stress, burnout, and how to take care of it? Book a session with me. This is my favourite work to do, and I’d love to support you! https://york-psychology.janeapp.com/#staff_member/1

Rest and Rejuvenation: How Play Can Help You Recharge

As we move through the holiday season, with many folks getting some much needed time off, it’s important to think about how we can use this time to get the most out of our break. How can rest and rejuvenation help? I’m so glad you asked.

I recently shared a post (by @RevDaniel) where he discussed some sage advice he received before taking a leave of absence: there is a difference between rest and rejuvenation. The analogy he used was the difference between unplugging and charging: unplugging simply means you’re not draining your battery; rejuvenation is something different. Both are important, but they are not the same.

Rest and rejuvenation are not the same

Rest is something we tend to be more familiar with: we know it involves slowing down and taking a pause or unplugging from some of the more strenuous, everyday demands we are faced with. Trisha Hersey of @thenapministry puts it this way: Rest is anything that slows you down enough to allow your body and mind to connect in the deepest way. Maybe that means a nap, or a taking a walk in nature. Or it could mean spending time on the couch, listening to your favourite music, or turning off all your devices so that you aren’t on call or connected for a while.

So what is rejuvenation, and how is it different from rest?

Simply, the Oxford definition of rejuvenation is “the action or process of giving new energy or vigor to something”. One of the best ways to engage in rejuvenation is through play. We can think about play as something that is purposeless, all-consuming, and fun; something we do for the sake of enjoyment with no other goal. We often think that play is for kids, but it’s actually just as important for adults – play helps us to flourish. The act of engaging in play is what rejuvenates and helps to recharge our batteries, and get our joy and energy back. (There’s also a growing body of research for how and why play is a biological imperative for humans, associated with things from higher intelligence, to social skills development, to problem solving – check out Dr. Stuart Brown’s work on play for more information).

Ways to rejuvenate

So what might rejuvenation through play look like for you? Think about the things you get lost in doing – the activities you perhaps loved when you were younger and could spend time doing for hours. Think about the things that bring you joy, that you do for no other reason than that they are fun. It can be hard to think about doing things that aren’t “productive”, but this is exactly the type of activities our brains and bodies need to feel recharged again.

Play activities could look like:

·         Playing a sport

·         Playing an instrument – solo or with others

·         Having a games night with friends or family

·         Creating art of any kind: painting, crafting, knitting, collage

·         Anything that makes you belly laugh – going to a comedy or improv show, or watching your favourite funny movies or TV series

·         Cooking or baking

·         Getting outdoors in nature

·         Building something out of Lego

·         Swimming

The key to rejuvenation is finding ways to engage in play that is meaningful for you. Think about something that’s fun, that allows you to get into a flow state where you can lose track of time. Rest can help you to pause and catch your breath; play will get your batteries recharged again.

What kind of play activities will help you rejuvenate this season?

If this post resonates with you, but you need some support to figure out what rest, rejuvenation and play look like for you, connect with me! These are goals I can support you with. Click here to book a session or email me at laurel@yorkpsychology.org.