Leslie Auman

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September 7, 2019

6 Self-Care Activities for Educators

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If you’ve been following me for a while, then you know that in the spring and summer of this year, I released three new journals, all of which are focused on self-care habits, gratitude, and happiness for educators of all types. This is something that I want to talk more about, which is why I’m going to publish a few blog posts about these topics so that I can share more of my thoughts about why self-care is important for educators and share ways to make it manageable and achievable while you’re working full-time in a school. In this specific blog post, I’m highlighting some of my favorite self-care activities from my Free Self-Care Challenge for Educators, so please keep reading to get more insight about why I suggest these activities for you.

1. Leave work at work when you go home for the day.

This is one of the most important self-care habits to prioritize, in my opinion. As educators, I know we all find it super hard to let go of our to-do lists and things that need to be done at the end of the day. It seems like we always have a million things on our to-do list — copies to make, emails to send to colleagues or parents, meetings to attend, and so on. However, it’s really important for our mental health and emotional well-being to leave work at school when we go home for the day. When you’re at home, your focus should be on switching your mindset to the things that you need to do at home, first of all, but also on the ways that you can calm down and relax your mind. I think we all agree that we don’t get enough time during the day to give our minds a break and to step away from the challenges and obstacles that we have in our jobs every day, so it’s really important that you do this when you’re at home. Spoiler alert: Your work will still be there waiting for you when you go back tomorrow!

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2. Step away from a conflict with students until everyone involved has calmed down.

I think this one is a big deal, and it’s probably really hard for a lot of us. We all have those experiences where we’re in the middle of a lesson, and all of the sudden, some kind of conflict breaks out between students or another kind of distraction comes up, and we have to figure out how to resolve the conflict. Sometimes, unfortunately, the conflict causes escalated feelings, and that makes it hard to deal with in the moment when you and the student(s) involved are feeling really emotional about what just happened. The best thing that you can do when these situations arise is to explain to the student(s) that you are going to let everyone — yourself included — calm down until later in the day or even until the next morning when you come back to school. Then, you can get together with the student(s) to talk about what happened and, if necessary, come up with a plan for disciplinary action. It’s much easier to figure out how a conflict should be resolved fairly when everyone is in a calmer, more rational state of mind, which is why I think that this self-care habit — and it is a self-care habit — is so important.

3. Say no when asked to do something you don’t want to do or don’t have time to do.

Oh man, if I could yell this one from the rooftops, I definitely would! Saying no is something that almost everyone needs to work on, because it’s a huge issue with pretty much every single person everywhere. There are people who are adept at saying no and maintaining their boundaries, but for the majority of us, doing these things is super hard. You’ve got to realize the importance of your own mental health, your boundaries, your sanity, and your energy. For these reasons, it is truly okay for you to say no when your principal asks you to do something that you want to do or that you don’t have time to do, when a colleague asks you to do something, and even when a student asks you to do something. No one is going to protect your time and energy if you don’t, so it’s time to step it up! You can always do the thing you were asked to do at a later time, when it’s more convenient, or the person who asked you can always find someone else who is able. It’s not a burden you need to carry.

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4. Do no work at all on the weekends.

Now, I don’t mean that you should avoid doing work every single weekend, because that’s not completely realistic for educators — sometimes it’s unavoidable. This bold statement is probably making you feel a little anxious right now, if you’re a perfectionist or if you have a to-do list that’s a mile long (which, let’s be real: you’re an educator, so of course you do). However, you really shouldn’t be doing work every weekend, if you can avoid it. Make a rule for yourself that on one or two Saturdays or Sundays every month, you won’t do any work, and you will just devote those days self-care time, fun, and relaxation. You can decide how you want to spend your time and energy on those days, but the goal here is to take a full day on the weekend, or even a full weekend (gasp!), to spend time on yourself and to give yourself a break from grading at home while you have Netflix on in the background — in other words, it’s the perfect time to engage in more self-care activities!

5. Give yourself 15 minutes to talk about work at home and then drop it.

If I had to guess, this one is probably a really hard one for a lot of educators. I know that I definitely struggled with this when I was still teaching full-time a few years ago. Just ask my husband! 😉 No matter how hard you find it, though, it’s super important to make sure that you’re letting go of things that happen at work that are upsetting you. It’s totally fine to vent your frustrations and to complain when you need to, but once you get it out of your system, stop talking about it. Allow your brain to move on to other topics of conversation, ask your spouse or your roommate or whoever you live with how their day went, and just let it go. It’s not going to do anyone any favors to keep dwelling, complaining, and venting for a long period of time. (I actually think this is one of the most important self-care activities for anyone, no matter what your profession is, because complaining and venting affects more than just you!)

(Psst! If you’d like more self-care activities to incorporate into your newly formed self-care routine, then be sure to sign up below!)

This image is acting as a button for people to click to sign up for the Free Self-Care Challenge for Educators.

6. Take a few minutes of class time to tell jokes and/or to share positive stories with your class.

This is one your students will really enjoy! Everybody needs a break from the seriousness of all the learning that happens in your classroom all day long, so show your students that you value the energy and effort that they are putting into their learning by giving them a few minutes to do something silly, like sharing jokes. Not only is it a great way to build your classroom community, but it’s also a great way to remind your students that you’re human, too, and that you value things they enjoy outside of the learning that happens in school. If you’re worried about telling jokes in the classroom, then instead of jokes, you could have your students share positive stories. This will help bring a more uplifting mindset and vibe into your classroom, and it will allow the opportunity for everybody’s spirits to be cheered up by the positivity that’s being shared. This is also a great way to promote kindness in your classroom or in your school, because you can encourage your students to share kind things that they have done for someone else or that they have witnessed happening around them.

That wraps up my most favorite self-care activities for educators, and these are all things I think that every educator should be practicing on a daily basis, if possible, because they will do so much to improve your attitude while you’re at work and to improve your overall mental health. If you have other self-care habits that you practice on a regular basis, then please share them with me in the comments on this post so that I can read them and so that other educators who read this post can see them, as well, and we can keep reading and sharing more self-care tips for educators!

Happy Teaching,

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By: Leslie Auman Hirgelt · Filed Under: Honest Educator Series, Teaching · Tagged: self-care, self-care activities, self-care for educators, teachers, teaching

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Comments

  1. Jessica Betterton says

    August 12, 2020 at 4:56 PM

    I would like to join the challenge!

    Reply
    • Leslie Auman Hirgelt says

      August 14, 2020 at 10:13 AM

      That’s wonderful, Jessica! There’s a big button between #5 and #6 in the post that you can click on to sign up for the free challenge. 🙂

      Reply

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I'm Leslie, a former middle school teacher turned Certified OBM® and Teacher-Author. I'm here to help kick-ass womxn entrepreneurs scale and to help teachers around the world save time on lesson planning. I'm glad you're here!

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© Leslie Auman, LLC 2016-Present. Photography by PAW Prints by Patti Wojtowecz. All photographs taken at Picnik Austin.
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I’m Leslie, a former middle school teacher turned Certified OBM® and Teacher-Author. I’m here to help kick-ass womxn entrepreneurs scale and to help teachers around the world save time on lesson planning. I’m glad you’re here!

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New book suggestions for teachers looking to add d New book suggestions for teachers looking to add diversity to their middle school and high school classroom libraries! 📚
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I read them originally in Kindle version, borrowed from my local public library, but I liked them so much that I decided to buy them for myself as an early birthday gift (my birthday is in about a week 😝). There's a third book, A Crown So Cursed, due out in mid-April! 📅
I did my civic duty! 🗳️🇺🇲 PLEASE VOTE! I did my civic duty! 🗳️🇺🇲 PLEASE VOTE!
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I requested an absentee ballot because COVID is still very much a threat, and I'm an immunocompromised person. I researched candidates, issues, and the school bond issue on this ballot and made my selections. ☑️ Despite 45's fear-mongering about mail-in voting, I trust this election system that's been around for over 150 years. 📬 I'll be tracking my ballot on the Ohio Secretary of State website, and in the meantime, I'm going to make some donations to important campaigns! ✊🏻💵
Here's what I'm currently reading: The Nightingale Here's what I'm currently reading: The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. What are you reading right now? 📚
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World War 2 fiction is one of my favorite genres. Some of my most favorite books are in this genre. 💜 It's taken me a bit to feel like I'm really getting into the plot, but last night I finally felt like it was getting really good. I'm roughly halfway through! If you've read this, what did you think? But no spoilers, please! 🙏🏻
It allllllllmost passed me by, but today is my fif It allllllllmost passed me by, but today is my fifth business anniversary! 🥳💖 Or business birthday, whichever. 😂
. . . . .
Exactly five years ago today, I "launched" my business as a virtual assistant and signed my very first client, completely unexpectedly. I had no idea what I was doing, really -- and sometimes I still feel that way. 🙃
. . . . .
These past five years have taught me a LOT. I've tried and failed and tried and failed. I've felt really successful, and I've felt pretty unsuccessful. I've lived "paycheck to paycheck." I've been watching the newest season of @queereye with Husband, and the episode with Rahanna, the entrepreneurial dog groomer, made me feel so seen and comforted as Bobby and Tan talked to Rahanna about how hard the first few years of business are. Because they are. No one is an overnight success. I'm officially five years in, and I'm only just now starting to feel like I'm finally on a path to my business being profitable. 
. . . . .
I'm so, SO excited and thankful to celebrate (LOL by working) today knowing I signed my first OBM-level client a few days ago! 🥳 I've also had the opportunity and pleasure of having discovery calls with a couple of other womxn business owners about my OBM services. How fitting that I'm starting off this new chapter of my business with the very recent success of "launching" myself as an OBM! 🙌🏻
. . . . .
Cheers to you if you're still grinding on the roller coaster of entrepreneurship. I'm starting to see that it does all eventually pay off, and it does eventually get easier. 🙏🏻
It's finally here: OBM certification week! Back in It's finally here: OBM certification week! Back in March, I enrolled in the Certified OBM training program, created by @tinaforsyth8 and taught by @sarahnoked. After three months in the training program -- working through all of the modules and watching all of the session videos, attending the biweekly live calls or watching the recordings if I had to miss, watching/reading any supplemental materials that would help for this week, learning from sample projects, and talking with my accountability partner... We're here, at certification week. I'm nervous, but I'm ready to give it my best effort! 💪🏻👊🏻 Good luck to my fellow examinees, also on the path to becoming certified Online Business Managers! 🤗 #CertifiedOBM #OnlineBusinessManager
Yesterday, I shared about the Following Directions Yesterday, I shared about the Following Directions Test for middle school grades that's included in the #Fireworks2020 dollar💲deal event...so today I'll share about the People BINGO resource! 🤩
. . . . .
This is an editable activity that makes for a fun and engaging icebreaker activity on the first day of school -- or on the first day of a new semester with a new class of students. You can customize the BINGO board to have details that best fit your population of students and what you know about them, but there's also a ready-to-print PDF version! ✅
. . . . .
In light of the mandates, I do still think this is an activity best used in the classroom -- I have yet to think of an effective way to adapt it digitally, aside from doing it together as a whole group and asking students to introduce themselves and sharing something on the BINGO board that applies to them. But if you do have to go back in the classroom, I recommend having your students stay 6+ feet apart as recommended, introduce themselves to each other, and exchange a detail on the board that applies to them. They can write their classmates' names in the squares themselves, rather than trading papers to have each other sign.
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This resource is normally $3 marked down to just $1 today, so be sure to go to the link in my bio to grab it at such a great discount! Happy 4th of July! 🎆🎇❤️🤍💙
It's the first day of the $1 deal sale!!! 🥳 Thi It's the first day of the $1 deal sale!!! 🥳 This Following Directions Test for middle school (grades 6-8) is one of the resources I've marked to down JUST $1 for today and tomorrow! It's normally a value of $3.75. 🙌🏻 Head to my bio to find the link! #Fireworks2020
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I created this resource in my first year of teaching (several years ago now!) based on my memory of a similar kind of test given to our class in 4th grade. Back then, the test was part of my teacher's classroom management system, but I created my version to be used at the beginning of the year (or beginning of the semester...or during test prep!).
. . . . .
This resource included two "trick" versions of the test, where there are silly instructions given in numbers 1-10, but the REAL instructions are at the very bottom of the page, for eagle-eyed students. 😉 There's also a legitimate version of it, no tricks. 🤗 And just this week I added a digital version of all three tests, so each one now has a fillable PDF version, and the instructions have been updated to suit a distance learning environment! 🖥️
⚠️ We have work to do! ⚠️ To my fellow whi ⚠️ We have work to do! ⚠️ To my fellow white people (and to non-Black POC), please give these white people a follow and start learning from them. Yes, we can and should learn from the Black community (and I will also make a post with Black people we can and should support), but the onus of educating us should not rest solely on their shoulders. We need to educate ourselves and each other, because they've been fighting this fight for a very, very long time, and they deserve a respite, at the very minimum. ❤️
. . . . .
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@thechampagnediet 
@jazzythings 
@mikeydteach 
@melyssa_griffin 
@drazs_class 
@jameswedmore

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