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What are you doing to take care of yourself after coming back from a break and recovery period?

Shauna Aningo

This is not a New Year’s resolution. This is about survival. Thriving, even!

I’ll be real: I hit burnout hard this semester. It got me thinking: How can I be kinder to myself? How can I create tools to support and keep me in a good space to thrive? Perhaps a dopamine menu—a little list of joys that recharge my teacher soul?

Here are some ideas I’m toying with:

  • A "mini wins" journal: Celebrate the small stuff (like getting through a meeting without zoning out).
  • 5-minute dopamine hits: Tea break? A walk outside? Scroll YouTube guilt-free?
  • Actually using my prep period or lunch for ME once in a while. Revolutionary, right?
  • Setting boundaries: Just because an email comes at 8 PM doesn’t mean it needs an 8:05 reply.

What’s on your dopamine menu? How do YOU keep burnout at bay and refill your cup?

Let’s make self-care a habit, not a resolution we will forget.

Here are some additional ideas: www.edutopia.org/.../7-self-care-strategies-teachers

Parents

  •  ,

    What great ideas!

    I love your post, but I have to wince at the reality of the title: Teachers no longer just get a winter break, but need a "recovery" as well! Too true for many other fields of work as well.

    You are right, that self-care is a must!

  • in reply to Donnetta Elsasser

    I believe it's the reality of decision fatigue and the constant drive to improve and do better. That's why I truly appreciate resources like the OER Project and the support of such a wonderful community. However, no matter how we frame it, if you're in a helping profession—like teaching—self-care is absolutely essential.

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  • in reply to Donnetta Elsasser

    I believe it's the reality of decision fatigue and the constant drive to improve and do better. That's why I truly appreciate resources like the OER Project and the support of such a wonderful community. However, no matter how we frame it, if you're in a helping profession—like teaching—self-care is absolutely essential.

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