{"id":1238,"date":"2021-12-31T01:26:49","date_gmt":"2021-12-31T07:26:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.typing.com\/?p=1238"},"modified":"2022-08-29T11:23:11","modified_gmt":"2022-08-29T17:23:11","slug":"5-simple-self-care-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.typing.com\/5-simple-self-care-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"Head into the New Year with 5 Simple Self-Care Tips"},"content":{"rendered":"

Whatever you do, do not enjoy your winter break. Don\u2019t relax, don\u2019t catch up on sleep, don\u2019t enjoy extra time with your family, and certainly don\u2019t eat so many delicious foods that you slip into a warm and cozy food coma.\u00a0<\/span>The only acceptable way to spend your upcoming winter break from school is to spend every waking moment reading, thinking, planning, and creating activities for your return to school in January. Because you\u2019re a teacher, after all, which means that your personal life and level of sanity don\u2019t actually matter. Remember, giving every ounce of your energy away to students was something you committed to long ago. And you surely can\u2019t break that commitment now.\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Or, can you?<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

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Now that you\u2019ve gotten all of those ridiculous ideas out of the way, it\u2019s time to give yourself permission to rest, relax, and recharge over the upcoming winter break because you absolutely deserve it\u2014and, let\u2019s face it\u2014you desperately need it!<\/span><\/p>\n

Teacher stressors<\/span><\/a> are a very real thing, and teacher needs are plenty\u2014especially this time of year. But after four long months in the classroom, the demands of your job forced you to set aside all of those healthy <\/span>self-care<\/span><\/a> habits you adopted over the summer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Revisiting Self-Care Midway Through the Year<\/span><\/h1>\n

At this point in the year, you\u2019ve completely<\/span> forgotten how to take care of yourself<\/span><\/a> mentally and physically. Now is the perfect time to revisit self-care goals you set for yourself as the school year first rolled around.<\/span><\/p>\n

But take heed: you don\u2019t have to wait until <\/span>National Self-Care Day<\/span><\/a> in April for teacher self-care to become a priority in your life once again. There are plenty of ways to practice self-care over the winter break without committing too much of your precious free time or taking a big hit to your budget.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This list of self-care activities will show you just how easy it is to get back into the self-care swing of things.\u00a0<\/span>Because as you know, taking care of yourself is the key to learning how to be a better teacher in the first place. In other words, stop draining yourself now so that you actually have something left to give to your students when school resumes in January.<\/span><\/p>\n

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These 5 self-care ideas will help you get started:<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Create a Self-Care Action Plan<\/b><\/b><\/h2>\n

There\u2019s plenty of self-care inspiration on the internet\u2014but not all of them will work well for you as an individual. As a matter of fact, the best self-care tip for one person may just be the worst self-care tip for you because we all have unique wants and needs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Creating a self-care action plan helps you make self-care a priority, discover what types of self-care you enjoy the most, and keeps you accountable to yourself so that you don\u2019t put off taking care of yourself.\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

2. Take Care of Your Body\u00a0<\/b><\/b><\/h2>\n

Without a healthy body, you\u2019ll never feel your best. That\u2019s why taking care of your body must become a part of your daily routine and not just be left for your list of self-care Sunday ideas.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Examples of self-care activities abound when it comes to taking care of your body. But, the most important ones you should focus on now revolve around enjoying the holidays and eating well, staying hydrated, getting active, making quality sleep a priority, and seeing your doctor regularly.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Focus on Your Mind<\/b><\/b><\/h2>\n

Teacher mental health is crucial, and yet it\u2019s one of the most often ignored self-care topics. So increase the overall self-care statistics of all teachers by choosing to make your mental health a priority over winter break and beyond.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mental self-care ideas that you should consider include doing puzzles, reading books, unplugging from social media, clearing out your digital clutter, and watching documentaries. Basically, anything that keeps your brain sharp and helps you focus on what truly matters will provide enormous benefits to your mental health.<\/span><\/p>\n

4. Tend to Your Emotions<\/b><\/h2>\n

Don\u2019t forget to tend your emotions while you\u2019re focusing on self-caring strategies over winter break. Your emotions are a huge part of you, and they greatly impact how you see the world around you.<\/span><\/p>\n

Emotional self-care ideas include gathering some self-care journal ideas that interest you, reading self-care quotes for teachers that inspire you, practicing gratitude, and speaking with a professional mental health provider about your feelings whenever necessary.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

5. Quality Time<\/b><\/b><\/h2>\n

Another one of the self-care examples you should really prioritize is to spend <\/span>quality time<\/span><\/a> by yourself and with those who you love most. As humans, we crave both quiet time alone and social interactions from time to time.\u00a0<\/span>Quality time simply means giving your undivided attention and really enjoying the moment you\u2019re in. And this can be done alone or with others so long as you\u2019re intentional about it\u2014it can even be done with your pets!<\/span><\/p>\n

And once you\u2019re an expert on self-care for educators, you don\u2019t have to stop there. Think about how important <\/span>self-care for students<\/span><\/a> is as well.\u00a0<\/span>Wouldn\u2019t it be great if you returned to school in January so refreshed that you were able to teach your students how to take better care of themselves during the school year?<\/span><\/p>\n

You could even create short self-care lesson plans for your classroom that focus on things like:<\/span><\/p>\n

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