Treat Yourself and Flourish
Teaching is an incredibly selfless job. You often give so much to your students that you forget to take care of yourself, especially towards the end of the year.
The responsibility that comes with the job is enough to burn out even the most organised of teachers. Once you then factor in teaching the content, marking, student wellbeing, classroom (and staffroom) politics, and tie it together with a big, red, administrative bow, it’s no wonder the teaching retention rate is steadily decreasing each year.
To combat this, it’s important that teachers make an active effort to prioritise their wellbeing, and a simple concept that I always tend to recommend to my teacher friends is the concept of ‘treat yourself.’
While it sounds superficial, treating yourself doesn’t always mean justifying an expensive purchase or allowing yourself a cookie or two from the staffroom table. I liken it to the recommendation of fitting your own oxygen mask before helping others in the unlikely event of a plane crash. Unless you take explicit steps to look after yourself, you won’t be able to properly care for others.
It isn’t indulgent or selfish to treat yourself. It is essential for sustaining your energy, creativity and wellbeing.
I don’t expect you to take my word for it, but in case you’re interested, here are six reasons why treating yourself is super important:
- Firstly, if you take my advice, you will avoid burning out. Teaching is emotionally and mentally demanding. Self-care helps to prevent exhaustion.
- Taking time for yourself models healthy behaviour to those around you, including your students, colleagues, and families.
- Rest can spark creativity, as the enjoyment of downtime can lead to fresh ideas that you can use both at home and in the classroom.
- Are you irritable, short tempered, or always on the brink of tears? Well, treating yourself will help you to maintain emotional balance. When you prioritise yourself, you reduce stress and can maintain a sense of patience and empathy.
- This is a big one: when you take the steps needed to create a healthy work-life balance, your sense of job satisfaction will increase. Small rewards will remind you why you love your work and it will keep morale high all year round.
- Finally, taking proper care of yourself can improve your physical health in many ways. Taking breaks and relaxing can lower your stress, in turn improving your overall health.
Great, so now that you understand why it’s important to treat yourself to some rest and healthy boundaries, here are some things you can implement into your day-to-day routine:
- Allocate time every day to disconnect. You can do this by dedicating moments to reading, meditation, or simply resting. Personally, I’ve gotten really into colouring while listening to an audiobook or playing an ambience video on YouTube or Netflix in the background (I’ve linked my favourites if you’re interested!)
- Take time to enjoy your hobbies. There’s nothing worse than reaching the end of the day and realising you haven’t done anything for yourself. Even just 20 minutes of your favourite hobby can make all the difference to your day.
- Pamper yourself! Think about what really recharges you and commit to doing it at least once a week. You don’t even need to leave the house! Think weekly at-home face or hair masks, painting your own nails or going to get them done. Even something as simple as taking a bath can reset your energy and make you feel ready to tackle whatever life throws your way.
- Celebrate the small wins. There’s a reason why psychologists recommend making your bed the moment you get up. It gives you a sense of achievement right from the start of your day. The same mentality should apply to the small, day-to-day wins. Did your class perform well on a difficult assignment? Great, treat yourself!
- Travel or take mini breaks. One of the perks of being a teacher is the school holidays, so use them to your advantage. After all, if teaching weren’t such a challenging job, you and your students wouldn’t need term breaks!
- Prioritise social connection. Making sure to spend time with friends and family so you can nurture your relationships beyond the classroom.
- Invest in personal growth. Is there a skill that you’ve always wanted to learn? Or perhaps there’s a passion project that you just can’t seem to get out of your head. Whatever it is, you will thank yourself for trying the moment you invest your time in it.
How many professions would require someone to write them an article that justifies treating yourself? Not many.
I hope that you found this article helpful and are motivated to treat yourself today!