Most of us have good intentions about looking after our own well-being. We also have a pretty clear idea about what we SHOULD be doing. We SHOULD do the most important things FIRST! We SHOULD get some exercise, even when we are busy! We SHOULD stop and eat a healthy lunch! We SHOULD drink more…
Setting goals that aren’t SMART
Rare is the person who hasn’t heard about SMART goals – most of us have learnt the theory and many of us have probably experienced some success with them! To revise, the acronym stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely. The intent of using the acronym is to help you focus your efforts and…
Sleep is as Important to Your Health as Diet and Exercise
Sleep is something we all do; in fact, we spend around a third of our lives in this strange, unconscious state. A lack of sleep impacts on our physical and mental health. Too little sleep can devastate your body, brain and microbiome (gut bacteria), dramatically increasing your risk of developing a range of chronic conditions….
How Well Do You Currently Manage Your Stress Level?
It’s not a very comfortable thought, but true nonetheless; staff who work in schools are at very high risk of burnout. All of us are. We don’t have to be new teachers or have a difficult schedule or even teach the worst-behaved students in the school. This makes sense if you consider how we spend…
Engaged Or Compliant?
It’s not surprising that one of the most consistent findings in educational research is that the more time students spend engaged during instruction, the more they learn. It also won’t surprise staff who work in schools that the more engaged students are, the less stressful it is. Instead of trying to ‘manage’ students to comply,…
Directions For Recalculating From the GPS Girl
What does it mean to Recalculate? When we are in the car and we hear the voice in the GPS say “Recalculating” we know we have taken a wrong turn. The satellites work their magic and in a few quick turns we are headed toward our destination. In fact, by the time we even hear the…
Data isn’t just a four letter word
Like it or not, data cannot be dismissed as “just another four letter word”. Now, more than ever, gathering, synthesising, analysing and reporting on data is an intrinsic part of working in education. Therefore it is both essential and wise to invest time in developing strategies and systems to not only cope, but thrive, in…
Writing E-mail That Saves Time (part 2)
Last week we identified key strategies in reducing the stress created by email messages. Key strategies included using FYI in the subject line if the email is purely for information only and Response Required by DD/MM if a response is required by a certain deadline. Adding and adhering to these protocols is also important. …
Writing E-mail That Saves Time (part 1)
E-mail is one of the oldest Internet technologies but it still causes a lot of stress and annoyance among users. Part of this is undoubtedly because of the volume of e-mail we all deal with, but a large part is also because it’s so easy to write e-mail that’s confusing, easily misunderstood or even (unintentionally)…
Disconnecting Is Vital
It can be difficult to disconnect from our work in schools. We often think about the challenges we face and worry about particular students, even when we are on holidays. Technological “improvements” have made us more connected than ever and this can have a negative effect on our well-being. The ability to disconnect is more…
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