The pressure is building for teachers and students from all over. This is December, nerves are just about shot, and patience is running on fumes. Teachers are starting to contemplate running for the hills and students, well, they’re just being students. As an educator, I am always keeping one ear to the ground, to see if I am doing right by myself. I decided years ago, that I deserve to be a top priority throughout the school year and during the holidays. That said, I came across a list of things to do to practice self-care. Positively Present lists most of these things in their December Self-Care infographic.
- Prepare for a Fresh Start: Use the break to reinvent yourself for the new year. Plan to do things differently. Plan to work smarter not harder.
- Hang Up Old Regrets: Don’t let decisions that have already been made do you in. We don’t often know what to do/make the wrong decisions-that is ok. It is part of life.
- Find Comfort in Tradition: Those old traditions that brought you joy, dust them off and begin practicing them again. Hopefully, they are good traditions.
- Trust Yourself: Trust the person (you) who has gotten you this far. If you want others to trust you, trust yourself.
- Rejoice in Your Progress: Take a bow. Reading this today counts as progress because you are finding ways to evolve. GO YOU!!
- Send Love: Love is the greatest gift. Be a beacon of LOVE!
- Help Those in Need: You don’t have to get your good deeds documented. Keep your eyes and ears open, because someone may need your help.
- Appreciate Your Home: I know my home is my safe space. When I come home from work, I get comfy and admire my space. Your home represents you. You should be proud of the place you call home.
- Accept Your Imperfections: Hey, the truth is…we aren’t perfect. I don’t mind being imperfect. It is a very stressful job trying to be perfect.
- Listen to Old Favorites: Those old favorites help me reminisce about the good times in my life. It also makes me grateful for those experiences when I hear an “old favorite.”
- Seek Out New Growth: I am ever-changing. I don’t want to get stuck being the same person all my life. I work on improving myself, for me.
- Treat Yourself: I’m a believer in treating myself. I don’t work this hard to not get anything out of it that I want. When you notice how you handled a situation better than you had in the past, or you made it through a difficult day/time, reward yourself.
Tanisha Ricks is an elementary media specialist in Portsmouth Public Schools and an eMediaVA Ambassador.