Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Back to School: Restarting Your Engines

Time is so weird.

Yes, I realize the profoundness (and somewhat silliness) of this statement.

So it's now 2016.  Now January. Now post-New Years, post-Christmas, post-winter break.  AND, we're back to school. How the heck did all of that happen?  Oh yeah, time. It's constant, continual, and a run-away train.

We are now 3 days in to being back to school. It's always a little rough of an adjustment after being off a week or two--especially given all of the late nights antics, festivities, and fun. We've been blessed to have 2 weeks off, which has been so great and so ripe for the time away. Time to get ready for the holidays then celebrate with friends & family. Time to travel to visit family far away. Time to sleep, time to get caught up, time to step away.

As a person on the constant go, "stepping away" is actually something I'm not always quite comfortable with--and typically not very good at. There's never enough "time" for all of that (she says facetiously)!

Of course, after a whole bundle of days of watching yummy movies on the Hallmark Channel, surfing the Internet, reading actual books, playing card games with the kids, sleeping, and visiting with friends and family, you see that it's in the "stepping away" that it is there that you find the cure.  It feels backwards, but that's where the rejuvenation comes from.  That's the exact thing you need.

Here are 3 good articles that prove my point:

It's Official, Teachers Must Relax Over Christmas to Avoid Burnout

Christmas Break Seen as Vital to Teachers' Well-Being

 Dear Teachers, It’s Time to Reset

Teachers out there:  Depending on how your break went, you may or may NOT have gotten that "time to reset," that well-deserved break.  Same goes for doctors, engineers, and anyone else out there in the working world.  I think these articles above can speak to you--regardless of your profession.  

Teachers are a rare bird, in that our work definitely comes home: whether that's grading papers, creating lesson plans, answer emails, or waking up at 3 am trying to wrestle with how best to be there for "Johnny" or "Suzy."  I like the fact that these articles talked about how even a few days can make a difference.  Martin Luther King Day is coming ahead, so if you missed out over break, maybe that's your chance.  Or maybe you need to set aside a weekend of no work. Or maybe a snow day is around the bend (despite the very non-winter-like Christmas we just had out in the East & Midwest).

Or maybe you need a well-placed mental health day.  Even a few hours can truly go far.

Check out the image below if you need a few ideas on how best to give yourself a break, even when we are all now "back in business!" Take a break and be good to yourself! 



Posted by Vicki at 4:30 AM
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