Empowering Teachers with Well-Being Practices for the Home Stretch w/ Edward DeShazer
May 05, 2024
Edward DeShazer
As May's unpredictable tides sweep into our classrooms, I, Edward Eshazer, invite you to a sanctuary of rejuvenation on the Teacher's Ed Podcast. Here, steeped in the wisdom of Dave Burgess' "Teach Like a Pirate," we unfurl the sails on charting a course towards self-care and vitality in education. Through the ebbs and flows of student restlessness and the crescendo of standardized testing, I share my personal 'R&R' routine—not your typical rest and relaxation, but a custom-designed recharge routine to keep the flames of passion and purpose in teaching ablaze. Discover five transformative practices to revitalize your weekends, including the serene embrace of nature that instills calm in our hearts and minds, leaving us refreshed and ready to navigate the choppy waters of the final school weeks.
As we anchor into the practices that safeguard our well-being, the second half of our journey brings a spotlight on the essential self-care routines that forge a harmonious work-life balance. I delve into the art of disconnecting, setting technology boundaries that allow for true detachment from work and genuine personal time. Hear how the rhythmic dance of physical activity, the sanctuary of sleep, and the grounding presence of mindfulness can elevate your daily existence. Join me as we empower our lives with the tools to remain present, manage anxiety, and promote productivity, ensuring that we educators can nurture not only the minds of our students but also the vitality of our own spirits.
As May's unpredictable tides sweep into our classrooms, I, Edward Eshazer, invite you to a sanctuary of rejuvenation on the Teacher's Ed Podcast. Here, steeped in the wisdom of Dave Burgess' "Teach Like a Pirate," we unfurl the sails on charting a course towards self-care and vitality in education. Through the ebbs and flows of student restlessness and the crescendo of standardized testing, I share my personal 'R&R' routine—not your typical rest and relaxation, but a custom-designed recharge routine to keep the flames of passion and purpose in teaching ablaze. Discover five transformative practices to revitalize your weekends, including the serene embrace of nature that instills calm in our hearts and minds, leaving us refreshed and ready to navigate the choppy waters of the final school weeks.
As we anchor into the practices that safeguard our well-being, the second half of our journey brings a spotlight on the essential self-care routines that forge a harmonious work-life balance. I delve into the art of disconnecting, setting technology boundaries that allow for true detachment from work and genuine personal time. Hear how the rhythmic dance of physical activity, the sanctuary of sleep, and the grounding presence of mindfulness can elevate your daily existence. Join me as we empower our lives with the tools to remain present, manage anxiety, and promote productivity, ensuring that we educators can nurture not only the minds of our students but also the vitality of our own spirits.
www.EdwardDeShazer.org
Speaker 1:
Welcome to the Teacher's Ed Podcast, a place where the best and brightest in education come to be inspired, to connect, to learn and to grow. I'm your host, edward Eshazer, and I appreciate you all for tuning back in with me on this beautiful Sunday. The topic that I want us to connect on this Sunday is recharging our batteries. It is that time of the year for educators where it feels like one of the most. In my opinion, it is the second hardest month in education and that is the month of May. Or, as all of my 90s, 80s, 90s teachers, baby teachers out there would say, it's going to be May. All right, I did that, got that out of my system, been always wanting to do that. Now I got that out of my system. But I always think May is one of the second hardest month after January, because January feels like it's five months mixed into one. But May is always tough because we're wrapping up standardized testing. The weather if you're in a state like I am in wisconsin, the weather's starting to get nicer, the kids get antsier. Uh, you're starting to get a little antsier, um, so I always think may is a tough month as we're trying to finish up the school year. So, really, what I want to talk about today is uh, how are we recharging our batteries? And there is a quote that I want to read and it's from Dave Burgess of Teach Like a Pirate I hope I pronounced his last name correctly, but it says an enthusiastic teacher can learn technique, but it's almost impossible to light a fire inside the charred burned, the charred heart of a burnt out teacher. And that quote resonates so much because there's so many times that I've spent around educators and I know for a fact they're dynamic educators and they get to this point where they are just struggling on the inside and it is showing on the outside with just how they're carrying themselves at work, the work that they're doing. So I just think it's important for this episode, as we kind of finish this final push of the school year, I want to talk about I'm going to give you some tips, but I want to talk about what I call my R&R, and some of you are familiar, if you've heard me speak, you are familiar with this. But R&R is and some of you are familiar, if you've heard me speak, you are familiar with this but R&R is not rest and relaxation, although at times we do need to rest and relax.
Speaker 1:
But when I say R&R, I mean my recharge routine. What do I mean by that? One of the questions that I often ask educators is do you charge your cell phone at night? Every single person, almost every single person, charges their cell phone every single night. So when they wake up their battery is on full. But do we charge ourselves Like? Some of us are more worried if our cell phone is going to die than if we are.
Speaker 1:
I think it is critical with how educators recharge their battery nightly, daily, and really the weekends is the critical point where I think a lot of educators may miss the mark on how they recharge. And I'm saying this as someone who is speaking from experience, because I remember the days of Monday coming and I couldn't look. I couldn't wait until Friday came. I mean, shoot, let's be honest. I couldn't wait till Thursday came. Um, because then really from Thursday night, friday night, saturday night, sunday, during the day I was having drinks, going out, staying up later, doing all the things that really hindered my ability as an educator. So I like to just really talk to educators about how are we recharging our batteries, because it is important that over the weekend and I'm not saying educators shouldn't go out. I'm not saying you shouldn't have drinks. I'm not saying you shouldn't stay up later. I'm not saying any of that. What I am saying is that if you don't intentionally recharge your battery, you are going to accidentally burn out. Burnout does not happen because someone wakes up and like, oh, I want to burn out today. No, burnout happens because we are not intentional with how we recharge our battery on a daily, nightly basis. So one of the things that I like to do is I like, especially in a state like Wisconsin where seasonal depression is real Like when you go all winter and it's been snowy, you haven't seen the sun then all of a sudden you see the sun. It hits a little differently than someone that you know, maybe in Arizona or Vegas or Texas or Florida, where you see the sun nonstop, like my Midwest educators will really feel this and understand how real seasonal depression is. Because when you go through that November, december, january, february and then March, you get that first day where it's like 50 degrees and some sun Folks are out here in shorts, t-shirts and they don't know how to act because we have not seen sun. So I am just so big on my weekends.
Speaker 1:
I want to find time to get myself into nature, and some of these tips let me give you. Let me do this. I'm going to give you five tips that I want to give you that can help you, because someone's listening. They're like, well, don't just tell us what we need, tell us that we need to do it, tell us how we can do it. So I'm going to give you five tips. Some of these I do very well, some I don't do well, I'm a work in progress, just like everyone else. But the first tip I'm going to give you is to connect with nature.
Speaker 1:
Connecting with nature is absolutely critical. Spend some time outdoors, whether you're taking a hike, whether you're walking your driveway, walking your neighborhood, going to the park, doing some gardening Nature. There is no doubt that nature has a soothing effect on our mind, our body and our soul. There's so many benefits of sunlight, of the calming presence of green space, like actually sometimes feeling the grass on your feet, and there's research that indicates that spending just 20 minutes in nature can significantly lower the stress hormone levels in your body, and that was published by a psychological group. And I mean it's so critical that we take time to get out of the house. That would lead me into the next one on our weekends, and I'm not the best about not looking at my phone, and mindlessly. You know you do the mindlessly scrolling Twitter or X or whatever you call it these days and looking on Instagram, and you know I am just as guilty of that as anyone else. But I am going to encourage you to be able to unplug from technology and sorry for the interruption.
Speaker 1:
I want to take a moment to recognize the sponsor of the Teacher's Ed podcast Be Well Teacher Box, a gift box to help teachers intentionally focus on their wellness. By using code Teacher's Ed, you can save $7 on your box. Teacher's Ed all one word wwwbewellteachercom. The box has over $100 in gifts and it's going on for $52 by using Code Teacher's Ed. There's two books, there's a candle, some shower steamers, some lotion and a bag of coffee. Get your box today BeWellTeacherBoxcom. Code TEACHERS at all one word. Now back to the episode.
Speaker 1:
It doesn't necessarily have to be or you have to just put your phone away and stay away from your phone, but what we need to do is really draw some healthy boundaries, especially when it comes to your Google Classroom or your work email or all those things from work, those communications, your Slack, your class dojo, whatever that may be. I would encourage you to really draw some healthy boundaries with that. Maybe from 3 o'clock on Friday you won't look at it and you said you know what, on Saturdays, from noon to 1 pm, I'll just double check to make sure I didn't miss anything. Then I won't look at it again until I get back to work on Monday. We have to not just set healthy boundaries with those things, but we have to stand on those healthy boundaries. I always say it's very easy for people to set boundaries. It's hard for us to stand on them after we set them.
Speaker 1:
So I'm going to encourage you all to set boundaries with your work, with technology, when it comes to work. I'm not saying don't go on social media. What I'm saying is maybe one hour a weekend is the only time you will check your email. Shoot, don't check it at all if you're able to. But maybe you're like you know what. One hour a week, just so you don't have that anxiety of wondering. You know you open up your email and there's 40 missed emails. I totally or not miss, but 40 unread emails. I totally understand that anxiety, but maybe it's just one hour a weekend. I'll check my emails and then I can go back to focusing on my family, my friends, myself, your pet, whatever else you like to do outside of work. The next one connecting with nature. So we did connecting with nature, drawing boundaries with technology and then engaging in physical activity. Now it does not.
Speaker 1:
You don't have to go and join a basketball league, you don't have to train for a half marathon, you don't have to do all those things, but just getting some physical activity One of the things I have been doing and I've done very well for the last month and a half. I have been doing and I've done very well for the last month and a half. I try to promise myself that every day I will get at least 30 minutes of walking in, and typically, when I used to be a morning workout person, I've struggled to do that lately, but I find time. The best time for me is right when I get home from work. I get home, I wind down, I'm not looking at my phone, I'm just outside walking. That is the best time that works for me.
Speaker 1:
Maybe for you it's before work, maybe for you it's on your lunch break, but I would encourage you to find a simple 30-minute-a-day workout that you can do. Maybe you have a gym membership, maybe you don't. Maybe you like yoga, maybe you have a Peloton bike, maybe you don't, maybe you like yoga, maybe you have a Peloton bike, maybe you swim. Whatever it is, I just want to make sure that we are getting movement. And I know there's someone listening, because I have been guilty of this where we say, well, I get home from work and I'm just exhausted, that I can't move. What I can guarantee you is that, even on those days that you are exhausted, if you just get out and take a 30 minute walk, that you will feel better. Ultimately, this will, when your body goes through a lot of those movements, it will then oftentimes allow you to sleep better at night, which is the next part.
Speaker 1:
We got to prioritize our sleep. I am so critical my phone I believe at. Well, my phone is really on, do not disturb all day, but my phone goes into like a sleep mode. I've set it at 830. We're at 830. Calls aren't coming through, texts aren't coming through, emails aren't coming through, and about 830, I start to wind down every night. Now I'm not saying go to sleep at 830. Some days I do go to sleep at 830. Some days I go to sleep at 9.30. Some days I'm staying up till 10. But I am big on that hour before bed of making sure that I am giving my body time to wind down, whether it's laying in bed, whether it's relaxing, whether it's putting something on TV that I just can mindlessly watch. But I am so big on prioritizing my sleep.
Speaker 1:
I have learned that my sleep is critical to my leadership. It's critical to how I feel on the days that I don't sleep well. It affects me big time and I don't have to tell you guys we've told our students this like the CDC wants you to get seven to nine hours of sleep. The CDC wants you to get seven to nine hours of sleep. Getting sleep every night is critical. Lack of sleep can lead to stress management issues. It can impair some of your cognitive function. Like, let me be honest, so I have not had a drink in almost a year and there have been a few times where I really struggled to get sleep and I almost felt like I was hungover just from the lack of sleep.
Speaker 1:
Getting sleep is so critical. We need to create whatever your bedtime routine is, you need to create a healthy bedtime routine that can allow you to get to sleep at night. Hear me, because someone is watching this and they are the 11 pm emailer. Stop, close your computer, put it away, get in bed. Whatever emails you are sending after 9 pm after really after, let's be honest after 4 pm, 5 pm, the latest whatever emails you're sending can wait till the next day. Now there are times where there may be some emergencies in our schools. Send the emails then. Other than that, whatever you are sending can wait till the next day.
Speaker 1:
The last tip I want to encourage us to practice mindfulness, and I say mindfulness and meditation, but really just being mindful and just being present in the state of mind. And you know if you're feeling anxiety or you're feeling tired or you're feeling overwhelmed. I would encourage you just to kind of sit in those feelings and just acknowledge that you're feeling how you're feeling, because so often as people we're guilty of having these issues having anxiety, having sadness, and we feel like we just got to kind of push through them and get to the next feeling, because something's wrong with us if we're feeling sad, something's we're broken if we're feeling depressed, we're damaged, if we're feeling anxiety, and that's just not true. That just means you're human, like all of us have those feelings, and I would just encourage you to really practice mindfulness and just really become one with yourself. Think about how you're feeling, acknowledging how you're feeling and sometimes just sitting in how you're feeling and letting it linger until you naturally move into whatever the next feeling you may be feeling is.
Speaker 1:
But these are five tips I think are absolutely critical, because what ends up happening is we don't take care of ourselves. We're too busy as a mom, doing everything for our kids. As a dad, doing everything for our family. As a brother, doing everything for everyone else. As a sister, you're always helping your sister out with her kids and doing all these things. Teachers are just this selfless human being that we spend so much time doing everything else for others that at times we forget things to. We forget to do things for ourselves.
Speaker 1:
So what? I would encourage you your r and r. What is your recharge routine? I gave you five tips connect with nature, disconnect from technology with work, engage in physical activity, making sure that we're getting and have a good sleep routine, and practice mindfulness. Those are five tips that you can start doing today. Maybe I would even say pick them all, do them all. Pick one, get good at one, then go to a second one, get good at two, go to the third. Sometimes we can't eat the whole pizza with one bite, so I would encourage you to just find one of those that you can do well and, for the next week, focus on that. Maybe this next week we just focus on our sleep routine, like if I had to pick one, I would think, focusing on that.
Speaker 1:
First, do you have a good routine at night or are you just all over the place every night? I would be willing to bet that you are not sleeping all night. I track my sleep every night so I can see what trends. I'm a data person, which a lot of educators are, but I try to see what trends. What happens when I do X, y and Z? I don't get good sleep. Let me stop doing X, y and Z so I can get good sleep. Those are your five tips.
Speaker 1:
I want to encourage you all to get a recharge routine and something that can help you on the weekends especially. Don't spend your whole weekend out drinking and doing all that. That is what I will say. I'm not saying don't go out and have fun. What I'm saying is don't make it a habit that every weekend, all you do is spend it drinking, because come Monday you're going to feel worse and it's not fair to you to walk back into work on zero. It's not fair to you, it's not fair to your students, it's not fair to your coworkers, it's not fair to your family to be going through the week feeling like zero. It's not fair to your kids, if you have them. Your spouse, your boyfriend, your girlfriend, your friends, whoever is in your life. It is not fair for you to be running around on fumes every single day. You deserve better, but some of us, we just have to be more intentional with how we are spending our time. What are we doing to recharge ourselves? What in our life is poking holes in us? That's draining. You know, every once in a while your phone gets really hot and you've got some app running on and it's just draining your battery. Like there are apps and people in your life that are draining your battery nonstop. It's time that you up, swipe them, you get them out of the way so you can feel good about yourself and stop letting these people drain your battery. That's what we got.
Speaker 1:
I appreciate you all for tuning in. If you have not, please like, please subscribe, please leave a review. We'll be back next Sunday with another exciting guest. I appreciate you all for tuning in. Share this with a friend, share this with another teacher in your building and make sure you tune in. And again, I got to make sure. I thank our sponsor, be Well Teacher Box. By using code TEACHERZ, you will save $7 off your box. They're $59. Using code TEACHERZ will make them $52, over $100 of value on the box. It's a great gift when we're talking about self-care. It is a great gift to help people focus and help educators focus on self-care. The box that's out right now has shower steamers that can help you unwind at night, can help you wake up in the morning. There's coffee, there's two books, there's a T-shirt, there's lotion. Get your box today. I want to thank our sponsor, be Well Teacher Box. Bewellteachercom. Use code TEACHERS at all one word Save $7. And I'll see you all next Sunday.