REFRESH, RENEW AND REFOCUS

Refresh,Renew and Refocus

For most educators, this holiday is a much needed time off. Use this time to Refresh your relationship with family. Renew your reasons for teaching and Refocus yourself to regain mental clarity.

Refresh

This has been an intense semester. Everything after the holidays is intense. You may have let things lapse when it comes to family. Working nights and weekends to catch up with school work means that time with family and friends are cut short. At the very least, if you are anything like me, you only gave your kids half the attention because you were always grading or planning when you should have been 100% focussed on your family.

You convince yourself that you can do it all. Take a moment to put your work away. Spend time watching, listening, enjoying your friends and family. Laugh, cry, and talk until the wee hours of the morning. Do something nice and unexpected for those your love.

Plan an unexpected family outing, event or activity. It doesn’t have to be elaborate or expensive it just has to be time together. Make memories with those you cherish and who cherish you.

Renew

Renew your spirit. Remember why you went into teaching. Watch a movie, read a book, watch some touching videos.

Don’t focus on the stress and negativity. Journa about your students and your wins. Relish in the memories of children’s smiles and maybe even tears of joys.

Know your worth. Know that your students are lucky to have you even on your worst day. You are best for them even if you are not at your best.

I was lucky enough to have a wonderful administrator, Her name was Ms. Viginia Kinney and one staff development day she bought the teachers lunch and hosted movies in several rooms. I saw “To Sir, With Love”. That was the best staff development I had ever attended. I saw a movie I had never seen before. I renewed my spirit and shared in the moment with fellow teachers. I highy suggest it.

Refocus

Prioritize. Multi-tasking is not your friend. You may be not be able to do it all but you can do the most important things. Make a list, I love lists. Check things off as you go along. It keeps you focussed and motivated.

Practice mindfulness and meditation. Be in the moment. It can strengthen well-being and mental fitness. During the meditation process, our brain becomes calmer and our whole body becomes more relaxed. We focus on our breath during the process so that we will not be distracted by our minds. With practice, we can learn to use our breath to bring our attention back to a particular task so that it can be done well even if we get interrupted.

Refocus your mind and body. We all know that excercise is important and has its benefits. It will help you sleep better. Which is good for everyone? It can boost the brain’s dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin levels and all these will affect focus and attention.

Physical movement helps relax the muscles and relieve tension in the body. Since the body and mind are so closely linked, when your body feels better so, too, will your mind.

So during your break please take a moment or two to Refresh, Renew and Refocus.