Better Together: How To Encourage Self-Care At Your School
Have you ever tried to start eating healthier, only for your spouse to bring home a plate of cookies from work? What about trying to cut down on tech time when a fun new phone game comes out that all your friends are begging you to play?
Both of those things have happened to me and made it difficult for me to stay focused on my goals. I mean, who actually has the willpower to eat carrots when a stack of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies is on the table?
The truth is, when the people around you aren’t on board with your goals, it can be a lot more difficult to reach them.
The same is true for your self-care goals. If you have decided to start taking self-care seriously, it’s best not to go it alone.
We’ve all been there. You know that it’s best for you to take time to eat lunch each day, but when everyone around you just keeps working as they shove down a granola bar, it can be hard to stick to your goals. It’s tempting to join them in the granola goodness because you really do have a lot to do, and you don’t want to be the only one not working.
On the other hand, when your administration and colleagues are all prioritizing self-care, it will be easier for you to stick to the self-care practices you have set.
Whether you’re trying to drink more water, keep work at work, or make time for a new hobby, these tips for promoting self-care, school-wide, will help you and your colleagues work together and support each other.
Why Self-Care?
You’ve heard the phrase “you can’t pour from an empty cup.” And you know what? It’s true.
If I went to my cupboard right now and took out my favorite mug and tried to pour some delicious coffee into my mouth, it wouldn’t work. There’s nothing in the mug.
The same works for us. If we’re running on empty - physically, mentally and emotionally spent - we won’t be able to pour out to others.
Not taking time to prioritize self-care not only leaves us feeling exhausted and burned out, but it also keeps us from being able to care for our students, our friends and our families.
Plus, studies have shown that regularly practicing self-care can lead to increased happiness, decreased mental health issues such as depression and anxiety, improved energy, and more. Don’t those benefits sound wonderful?! Keep reading for practical tips for promoting self-care at your school.
Tip #1: Prioritize Your Own Self-Care
One important way to promote self-care in your school is to lead by example. Make sure you’re doing your best to prioritize self-care in your own life.
Of course no one’s perfect and there will be times when you struggle with it, but when others see that self-care is something that’s important to you, they may be more likely to consider it themselves.
Reading fiction is one of my favorite self-care practices!
Thankfully, there are lots of easy ways to practice self-care!
Some of my favorites include:
Not checking or responding to work e-mails after hours
Making sure I drink enough water
Reading a fiction book for fun
Learning to say “no”
Going out for coffee with a friend
It doesn’t have to be complicated. If you’re looking for self-care ideas for counselors (or any educator), check out my tips for practicing self-care during the school day or my ideas for practicing self-care during distance learning.
No matter what self-care looks like for you, others will notice that it’s a priority of yours and will hopefully follow suit!
Tip #2: Respect Other People’s Boundaries
A big part of self-care is being able to set boundaries for yourself. For school counselors and other educators, this might include saying no to things, not working past contracted hours, taking time to actually eat lunch, etc.
The hard thing is that sometimes doing this can be inconvenient to others. Like when the teacher down the hall needs to talk to you during lunch, or when a parent e-mails you on a Sunday morning.
Saying no to things like this can be hard, because of the feeling that you are disappointing someone. I’m sure I’m not alone in having pushed my own boundaries because I was afraid to let someone down.
A simple way to encourage others to practice self-care is to respect the boundaries they have put in place, even if they are inconvenient for you.
When people feel like their boundaries are respected, they will be more likely to set them and stick to them.
While this might make things a little harder for you in the short term, working at a school where self-care is prioritized and expected is better in the long run. So, the next time someone doesn’t respond to your e-mail right away, or has their door closed when you need to talk to them, take a deep breath and remind yourself that what they’re doing is important.
Being okay with others taking time for themselves will work to reduce the shame of setting important boundaries, and hopefully will encourage your colleagues to continue with the practice.
Tip #3: Talk About It Explicitly
While self-care has certainly become a buzzword lately, especially in the field of education, not everyone remembers to do it.
The role of an educator is demanding. We’re often running from one thing to the next, and unless something is right in front of our face, it’s easy to forget about it.
Use these self-care handouts to remind your school community about self-care and provide practical tips!
That’s why if we want our school community to take self-care seriously, we need to talk about it. Not just twice a year at a staff meeting (although that can be helpful!), but it needs to be something that’s a regular part of our conversations at school.
Here are some ideas for talking about self-care at your school:
Host a professional development focused on self-care. Even though it might not directly relate to teaching or counseling, we can be better educators if we prioritize self-care
Send out a weekly or monthly e-mail with a simple self-care tip
Have handouts (like these) in the staff lounge or teacher workroom as a visual reminder
Ask your colleagues how they are doing with self-care
Share what you are doing to practice self-care
Those are just a few ideas, but the bottom line is the more you talk about it, and include it in your school culture, the harder it will be NOT to practice self-care.
Tip #4 Make It Fun To Practice Self-Care
Self-care doesn’t have to feel like a chore.
One way to make self-care fun is to do a challenge! Here are some self-care challenge ideas:
Give staff a Bingo board to complete
Throughout the week, allow teachers to write down ways they have practiced self-care, and put them into a box. Draw a winner from the box at the end of the week
Do something specific, like challenging colleagues to drink enough water, get outside, etc. Each time they complete an activity, they can add their name to a chart or a board
This self-care gift tag and more can be found in the free resource library.
If possible, offer fun prizes like a jeans day, a cup of coffee, a journal, or a special lunch.
Another idea for making self-care fun is to give the staff inexpensive gifts to remind them of the importance of self-care and help them to practice it.
Some examples include:
A piece of chocolate
A bottle of water with some links to online yoga videos
A stress ball or canister of play-doh
Some new recipe cards to try with a simple cookie mix
A tube of bubbles to encourage deep breathing
Reminding yourself and your colleagues that self-care isn’t a terrible chore, but is meant to be enjoyed, can be a great way to promote self-care school-wide.
Looking for ideas: I have a self-care tracker and a set of gift tags in the Free Resource Library!
Tip #5 Hold Each Other Accountable
I’m so much more likely to do something when I know someone will be checking in with me about it later.
Whether it’s working out, reading more fiction books, or cutting down on my trips to Starbucks, having someone talk to me about it, and ask how I’m doing with it, can be a big motivation. Plus, it makes it less likely that I’ll forget about what I said I was going to do!
The same goes for practicing self-care. Having someone to keep you accountable for your goals can keep you on track and help you feel encouraged when you’re in a rut.
This also goes back to tip #3 - the more that we’re intentionally talking about self-care in our school communities, the more it will become a part of the culture.
If you’re looking to set up self-care accountability partners or groups at your school, here are a few ideas:
Ask the people on your team or in your department if they would be interested in holding each other accountable for self-care
Set up a Google form or other sheet where staff can sign up if they’re interested in being part of an accountability group
Share your self-care plans with a colleague and ask him/her to check in with you about them
Regardless of how formal you are with the process, holding each other accountable for self-care can be a helpful way to make sure you aren’t forgetting to take care of yourself.
Bonus Tip: Grace For Everyone (Including Yourself!)
Self-care is a process, and it’s not about doing it “right”. So the most important thing to remember is to give yourself grace and extend that grace to others.
Did you work on a Saturday to get caught up on paperwork? It’s going to be okay.
Is a colleague having a hard time learning to say no? Be patient with him/her.
Don’t worry about getting it perfect or having the same self-care journey as someone else. It’s okay to fail, and to learn and grow!
These tips for promoting self-care school-wide might not help you the next time your spouse brings home a plate of cookies from work, but they will help you create a school culture where it’s normal and encouraged to take care of yourself.
Remember that you aren’t alone in this. You have your school community to walk alongside you, as you make the decision to prioritize self-care.
Plus, I have a few resources to make things easier for you:
I’d love to know what you do to promote self-care at your school, so drop a comment below and let me know!
