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…
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…
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…
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…
Drive Your Mind With Your Body
Getting things done is easy when you feel like getting it done. But what about when you are lacking energy, focus and you just don’t feel like it? Sometimes we can find ourselves not thinking very clearly, being anxious or generally feeling overwhelmed but our work demands that we perform. At times we want to…
Making the Most of the Holidays – Part 2
It’s imperative that you make the most of a holiday break away from work so you return to school feeling rested, recharged and ready to take on the new challenges. In part 2 we look at 8 more strategies. 8. Consider investing in a cleaner and/or a gardener – Whilst budgets are tight, you work…
Making the Most of the Holidays – Part 1
As the holidays approach, it’s imperative that you make the most of the time away from work so you return to school feeling like you have actually had a holiday and are ready to take on the challenges of a new term. Rest up – As staff who work in schools, we are constantly on…
Finish Strong
The final term of the school year is a crazy time in schools. End of year reporting, class allocations, timetabling, budgets and planning for next year swamp us at a time when our energies are low and many of us feel we are running on empty. By the end of the year we are more…
If You Can’t Change It …Don’t worry about it!
The final term of the school year is inevitably busy. As well as the teaching, learning, assessing and reporting on this year, you’ll also have the planning, budgeting and preparing for next year as well. I never cease to be amazed at the staff who appear to be surprised when the demands of final term…