You Are Part of the Plan

At the beginning of a school year, we spend a tremendous amount of time making sure everyone else is ready. We prepare classrooms, build schedules, organize materials, review plans, welcome families, and make certain our students have what they need. Educators are very good at taking care of other people. Sometimes we are so good at it that we forget one important person in the plan: ourselves.

I have had a personal reminder of that recently. Health has a way of getting your attention when you have been moving too fast, sleeping too little, eating whatever is convenient, or convincing yourself that you will slow down later. I am not sharing that to create worry. I am sharing it because I think there is a lesson in it for all of us. We cannot wait until we are exhausted, sick, or completely empty before we decide that taking care of ourselves matters.

The beginning of the year is actually the perfect time to establish those habits. It is easy to think about self-care in May when everyone is tired. The better strategy is to begin in August. The sleep you protect now, the meals you choose now, the water you drink, and the time you give your mind to shut down are deposits into an account you will draw from later in the year.

Sleep matters. Good nutrition matters. Movement matters. So does downtime. There needs to be a point in the day when the school problems stop following you from room to room and eventually all the way home. We all need moments when we are not solving something, answering something, grading something, planning something, or worrying about what comes next.

None of this means we become less committed to our work. In fact, it is the opposite. Taking care of yourself is one way of protecting your ability to continue doing the work you care about. You cannot continually withdraw energy without eventually making a deposit. We are building toward June, and the habits we establish now will determine how much we have left when the year asks the most from us.

So this week, pay attention to yourself with the same care you give your students. Get the sleep. Eat the meal. Drink the water. Take the walk. Put the phone down for a while. Sit quietly. Laugh with someone. Go home when the work can wait until tomorrow. There will always be another email and another item on the list. There is only one you.

Make an Impact, absolutely. Just remember that you are part of the impact plan too.

Until next time...