This is a super busy time for teachers. You might wonder, “when is it NOT a super busy time?”. But somehow the demands of the end of a grading period, with all the last-minute papers and tests to grade, report cards to create, prepping for parent conferences, plus the usual planning and teaching and just plain living your life and — you are ready to drop.

So what do you do? And what should you NOT do? I offer the following suggestions as a way to preach to myself, since I need these tips now more than ever after the week I have had! I hope they will help you too.

*DO use little bits of time throughout the week for prep work and grading papers. Even if you only have five minutes, get started on some School tasks you need to do. I used to be the worst about this. Instead of getting started on something, I would think that I needed some giant block of time to get it all done. The problem is that those giant blocks of time never seem to happen. Somehow, getting started on a big task, even if you have to stop after a few minutes, makes it much less daunting to come back to later on.

*DON’T spend all weekend on school stuff. The only time to make an exception to this rule is at the beginning of the year when you have lots of room prep, planning and meetings. I’ve also been guilty of this at report card time (uh, like now). But, in general, I take at least one full day “off” from doing any school work whatsoever. If you have your school email on your phone, turn it off for the weekend. If you want to use some weekend time to do some work, try to set a start and stop time so that you won’t ever feel as if you spent all your precious weekend time working on school tasks.

*DO stay hydrated. Drink half your body weight in ounces of water every single day. Consider filling a large water bottle like a Swell bottle or Hydroflask and try to drink all of it during a school day. Benefits of staying hydrated include: enhanced energy levels and brain function, prevention and treatment of headaches, relieves or prevents constipation, helps you lose or maintain your weight because it makes you feel full and it boosts your metabolism, keeps your skin healthy and supple, and it cleans your body from the inside out.

*DON’T forget to use the bathroom. While you are staying hydrated, you’ll need to use the bathroom more frequently, but that is a good thing! If you’re worried about that during the school day, think of who could watch your class while you take a break and enlist their help. Make sure you use the bathroom before school, at the beginning and/or end of your prep or planning period, at the beginning and/or end of your lunch/recess period, and at the end of the day.

*DO make a to-do list. But make it smart. Divide your list into times of day (before school, during prep/planning period, during lunch/recess, after school). Then list your tasks during the time when it’s best to complete that task. This is a great re-usable to-do list tool from Kristen at Easy Teaching Tools on TPT.

*DON’T check email before you get down to the business on your to-do list. Yes, email is important and yes, you do need to check it. But YOU get to choose the best time of day for you to check and respond to email. If you check it right at the beginning of every one of your work time blocks, you will then spend all your time just responding to email and never getting to the tasks that you planned to get done during that time.

*DO keep a running list of projects or things you would like to do in your classroom. You will hear about different ideas from other teachers, see something you would like to try on someone’s social media feed, and hear tips from teachers. Write it all down! Even if you don’t get to it any time soon, the idea is safely stored on your list for when you might want to try it out.

*DON’T be afraid to drop some tasks off that to-do list or off that running project list. Sometimes what seemed like a good idea at the time might not actually be the best idea for you or for your class. So just drop it. You really do not have to do everything!

*DO spend some amount of time exercising every single day. It doesn’t have to be an hour at the gym. It might be 15 minutes of yoga poses, a 30-minute walk, a streaming workout in the early morning or after school. Just spend time on your own physical health every single day.

*DON’T stay late at school every single day. You might plan to do that on one or even two afternoons a week. But that’s it. You deserve to have a life outside of school, even if all you do is go home and crash on the couch and watch Netflix. That is your time and you get to relax and enjoy it.

*DO consider trying intermittent fasting. It’s amazing to me how much time this eating plan saves me every single day. For one thing, I don’t have to prep all the food I used to bring to school for lunch and a few snacks. For another thing, I am much more energized when I am not digesting food. I know it can sound scary at first, but intermittent fasting is a healthy lifestyle choice. You can read more about how I got started HERE.

*DON’T wait to schedule all of your medical and dental appointments for summer. Schedule them around your school schedule or take a day off and fit in several appointments on one day.

*DO listen to music that inspires you or pumps you up. Do this on the way to and from school and during the school day, at appropriate times.

*DON’T forget to take deep breaths throughout the day. Set a reminder on your computer or your phone. Leave a sticky note on your laptop screen or your clipboard. Take ten long, slow, deep breaths. Make your exhale longer than your inhale.

*DO eat more protein and complex carbs (vegetables & fruit) than simple carbs. Keep a stash of protein bars, almonds, baby carrots and apples at school. And remember the all-important teacher snack: popcorn!

*DON’T forget to focus on all the good you DID do today, even if it was not your best day. List three good things you did or three positive moments from your day, every day. You can actually write these down or just reflect on them as you are driving home.

*DO smile more! It relieves stress, improves your mood, boosts your immune system, lowers blood pressure, and releases positive endorphins in your body.

*Don’t forget to be grateful. Similar to finding the good you do every day, think of three to five things for which you can be grateful. Use a gratitude journal to jot these down, find a cute notebook, use Rachel Hollis’s START TODAY JOURNAL, or use an app like the 5-Minute Journal.

*DO have a short, positive interaction with someone you do not usually interact with during your day. It might be a student in another class, a teacher you do not ordinarily see, or another staff member. Building a positive community makes you feel good.

*DON’T stay connected to technology all day long. Disconnect for some period of time every day. No email, texting, social media, or phone.

*DO take a mental health day from time to time. Mental health is just as valuable as physical health and counts as taking a “sick day.” Plan for it in advance. Find quality lesson plans on Teachers Pay Teachers or plan for engaging activities your students can do that will be a productive use of learning time.

*DON’T grade everything your students produce. Some things are valuable just for the practice and don’t need you to even look at it. Other things are worthy of a checkmark system (check plus if they went over and above, check if they completed it and it is mostly correct, check minus if they did not complete the work or they need more instruction). Walk around with a checklist on a clipboard during student work/practice time and record those checkmarks. Make a note of who you will pull for further instruction. Use one or two math practice problems as your “exit ticket” to see who understands and who needs help.

*DO say no. You can’t do everything and be everything other people want you to be. Turn down volunteer opportunities or anything that does not make you happy. Try saying, “Thank you for thinking of me, but I can’t add one more commitment at this time” or try saying, “My family needs me right now and I can’t add one more outside commitment.” Who can argue with either one of these statements?

*DON’T stay up too late. Just go to bed. The work will be there in the morning and everything will look more manageable and do-able after a good night’s sleep.

*DO stretch and stand up and walk around as much as possible during the school day. Don’t just save physical exercise for something you do outside of school.

*DON’T forget your hobbies and other things you just plain enjoy doing. Even if you can’t devote the time you would like to devote to your hobby, spend a few minutes every day or a longer block of time every week doing what you enjoy.

*DO leave work at work as often as you can. Aim for one day a week and build up from there. This may mean that you try to use your time as effectively as possible while you are at school, but it also might mean that you think seriously about what really needs to get done and what can wait. When you do take work home, try to only take tasks that you truly enjoy doing. For me, that means reading an education book or article that gives me ideas, doing some planning, researching something online. It does NOT mean grading papers.

*DON’T forget to get sunshine and fresh air. Get outside as often as possible. This might mean recess duty or just walking outside for a few minutes. It also might mean leaving school early enough to enjoy some time outside. With the change from daylight savings time, it’s more important than ever to get some sunshine every day.

*DO listen to podcasts or books on Audible. Sometimes it’s good to just take in someone else’s words and thoughts by listening to other voices.

*DON’T forget to show love and appreciation and gratitude. This might mean prayer, writing in a gratitude journal, writing letters or notes to people you love, sending a text, making a phone call, leaving a note for someone. Sharing your love and appreciation and gratitude with others makes you feel good and brings all that positivity back to you.

I hope you can try some of these ideas today! Let me know what you try and what works for you!

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