Relax

Reducing Stress in a Stressful Environment

bvinal Burnout, educator, Growth Mindset, inspiration, inspirational, Relax

Stressful. No, that is not the #OneWord22 that I chose this year, but that certainly describes the state of things right now, doesn’t it?! It seems that just about every conversation, interaction, or even just life, in general, is stressful right now. Have you experienced stress more than usual lately? Work stress. COVID stress. Travel stress. Even grocery shopping stress. Heavy sigh.

Photo by Luis Villasmil on Unsplash

Don’t let the stress take your joy away. Just breathe. Stop for a moment. Take a deep breath through your nose and slowly release it through your mouth. Did you do that just now? If not, I’ll wait. And I’ll breathe deeply, too.

Do you even realize that you are stressed? Or is it only when your shoulders are tight and you have a headache at the end of the day that you acknowledge that you’ve been holding all that stuff in your shoulders and neck? Hopefully, you just moved your shoulders and released some of the stress hiding there.

Am I good at de-stressing? Not all the time. Okay, maybe not even some of the time. I get working and forget to get up and move away from the desk, or table, or wherever I’ve landed to work at the time. I work in multiple different schools and locations, so getting up and doing some kind of gyrating, stress-relieving dance doesn’t really go over too well. Dancing in my vehicle when driving is kind of a problem, as well. Although that doesn’t always stop me!

So what is the solution? That will be different for you than it is for me, but here are a few of my strategies.

Set a basic routine and stick to it. Get up at the same time so that you don’t feel rushed in the morning. Seems simple, but a lot of us keep hitting the snooze button and then have to rush around to get ready. Me included. So I set my alarm 30 minutes earlier and give myself permission to hit the snooze button a few times. Then I set another alarm just in case I shut off the first one. No sense stressing over whether I’m going to sleep through the alarm!

My morning routine consists of doing the same basic things in any order I want to. But coffee always comes first for me. Even if I don’t drink it right then, I make it and go about my business. I use the same two travel mugs for my water. I prep my lunch a few days ahead for grab-and-go food that I don’t have to think about. Clean my glasses. Put in eyedrops. Have a protein-filled breakfast – always.

Am I a creature of habit? Well, I’m much less stressed when my habits are consistent. I put things in the same basic location(s) so I’m not running around stressing over where they are. I try to start my day at the same time when possible.

If this sounds too restrictive for you, that’s okay. Maybe this stresses you out more! Find what consistencies work for you. Try to include some time to step away from your tasks and schedule some time with You. Deep breathe. Stretch. Walk around. Dance. Listen to positive messages in music or online. Take control of what you can and let go of what you can’t.

There are some apps that you can rely on as well. While that isn’t one of my strategies at this time, I’ve used them in the past and with students and teachers alike. Here is a list of 10 calming apps that you might find helpful: https://www.creativeboom.com/resources/10-calming-apps-to-help-you-beat-stress-and-feel-more-relaxed/

No matter what your calming space or time looks like, be mindful of taking that time for yourself. We are all stressed. I’d love to hear your strategies for a calmer life, too. Just comment on this post. Oh, and follow my Mother’s advice “Make sure you drink your water and eat your vegetables”. ~B

Perseverance in Trying Times

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The world is certainly a precarious place these days. Working for a public school brings up a host of emotions every single day. Am I a valued employee? Is what I do making a difference? Even though I want better pay, isn’t the satisfaction of a job well done part of what I signed up for?

So many things have changed in education over the pandemic years. Online has more validity than before. Blended learning (a combination of face-to-face and “flipped learning” done at home) is better understood. Students overall have learned to navigate the digital world. But is all of that enough?

Tired. Overworked. Afraid. Anxious. Worried. Angry. Did I mention tired?!?

Man with hands on head
Photo by ahmad gunnaivi on Unsplash

Caring about students and teachers doesn’t pay the bills. With rising costs of everything and no pay raises, one can’t help but wonder if this is worth it. Could I do something else? Should I take that higher paying job and step into the unknown?

Maybe. But then again, students don’t have that choice. Students in a public school come to the building with a need for support, trust, and skills. We signed up for that. I signed up for that.

Getting weary from “fighting the good fight” is normal. The external pressures in a pandemic aren’t normal. But they’re real. The negative comments, the taking of sides based on a belief, and the constant barrage of new rules can take a toll on adults. But it affects kids in a more profound way. They are looking to us to lead the way. They want reassurance that we will rise above the petty, divisive cultural mayhem that has ensued. They need us to have level heads.

Does it get to me? You bet. Do I sometimes want to quit my job and move far away and live off the land? Yes. (But only if I can take my tech with me!) Do I literally cry out with frustration at the state of things? Sadly, yes.

But hope always exists. The smile on a child’s face when they realize you care about them. The gratitude of the overworked teacher when you move alongside them and lift the burden. The realization that we are all in this together regardless of how we approach it. Those things make it worthwhile.

Find your moment. Find your smile. Never give up on the possibilities of those around you. And take time to reflect on what really matters to you. Continue to persevere.

I know I sound idealistic. Yet I can’t help but think that we can make every day better if we only choose it. Choose kindness over pettiness. Choose hope over despair. Choose the common good over selfishness. Choose to live each day with purpose.

Tired? Yup. Financially burdened? Yup. Blessed beyond belief? You bet. It’s all in your perception of what truly matters. You matter. ~ B

Developing Your Personal Best

bvinal educator, inspirational, Relax, Vinal Musings

What is your personal best? Is it cranking out social media posts at all times of the day and night? Is it picking up clothes that someone in your family has left (again) on the floor? Is it finding the perfect app to do the perfect thing?

Whatever your personal best is, let me suggest one thing: balance.

Balance is how you live a full life, work, love and play. It’s finding what’s right for YOU, not for what someone else thinks is right for you. It’s finding joy in working hard, or finding joy in relaxing well. It looks different for each person.

My personal best used to be working multiple jobs (that hasn’t changed!) and sleeping very little. I divided my time between students, a full-time teaching job, church musician jobs, DIY projects at home, and my family. Needless to say, something or someone always got short changed.

So how do you decide? How do you fit it all in?

Maybe I’m not the one to answer this. I’m more busy than most. I love my work. I love my family. I love my home. I don’t get enough sleep. I don’t always have enough left over to be fully present. I don’t have enough money – who does?!? But the reason I think that I have something to offer is that I’ve done it wrong a lot. I’ve failed at it a lot.

You might be thinking, “Okay. So how do I fix it?”

Really evaluate your life. Separate your “work” self from your “home” self. Find a spot in your living space that you can remove yourself to when you need to get something done for work. Try not to do work in your “home” space. Physical separation from what is perceived as work will help gain your balance.

If you can afford to have separate computers or devices for work and for personal use, that is even better. Set your personal one up so that your work email isn’t even accessible on it. Keep your cloud drives separate. Put a game or two on that home device.

Today’s societal pace is every increasing. The demands on your time feel as if you will never, ever get it all done. And maybe you won’t. But by balancing your world, you will slowly find a peace that allows you to do less than 200% so that you can maintain 100% of your life. Slow down. Smell the roses. Don’t feel guilty for spending time doing nothing. And remind me to take my own advice.

#balance #relax #teacherguilt

The Nature of Summer

bvinal Educational articles, Educational Technology, online teaching, Professional Development, Relax, Vinal Musings , , , ,

Every day of summer vacation includes some professional time. I’m not one to take the summer off. Even if I could truly take the summer off, I’m sure I’d fill my time with professional development or a project of some kind. I’m not good at vacating!

While summer gives me time to regroup and change up my routine, it also allows me time to reflect on what’s truly important in my career as well as my home life. What parts of your work life spill over into your home life? If you’re an educator, then probably a lot.

beach during sunset
Photo by b. on Pexels.com

Educational professionals lead a different kind of life. There is a constant need to reinvent oneself as technology changes, curriculum changes, schools change and demands change. It can cross into your personal life in such a way that you never truly feel like you are away from your job.

So how do you balance it? Every person does it differently, but I find that I have to still teach all summer. Maybe you teach at a summer camp. Maybe you give professional development sessions to other teachers. Maybe you teach your own kids. Or maybe you teach yourself new things. I try to combine as much of that as I can but on a less demanding schedule than the traditional school year.

I teach teachers online for the New England Institute for Teacher Education. Two of my established technology classes are running concurrently right now. The summer is the only time to run two at the same time while working full-time! This adventure is full of new things every time I do it. These teachers find new angles that I hadn’t even thought of! I get a “2-fer” – I get to teach and I get to learn at the same time. Now that’s a great summer!

The nature of my summer might look a lot different than yours. Yes, sometimes I long to go take a really long walk on a beach somewhere, but my family has other demands that just don’t allow for much of that. It’s all good, though. I’m able to help them out and still get to do something I love: educate and learn.

How about you? What’s your “Nature of Summer”?

 

Need A Break? Try These Cool Tricks!

bvinal Google, Relax

1.Do a Barrel Roll Type “Do a Barrel Roll” into Google Search and the page will do a 360 degree spin. And the same thing happens if you search for “Z or R twice”. 2.Can’t decide? Google to the rescue…… Try “Flip a coin” Need more option, how about “Roll a die”? 3. Atari Breakout […]

via 8 Cool Google Tricks You Must Try!! — Inexorable Spark