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Dear Subscriber Name, Happy Monday! Welcome to a new week. I hope you had some time this morning to revisit your morning routine and begin to look ahead to the fall. Maybe, you are still in a weird place with back-to-school preparation, but now is a great time to look at your sleeping habits, how you plan to work self-care into your routine for the fall, and get excited about 2-3 things for your classroom. If you aren’t a teacher, the transition to fall still comes with many shifts in mindset and routine. Online learning is about the shift in mindset we all have as we enter a new world of teaching and work as we know it. I found myself this morning thinking about the routines that I have in place now that can carry over into the fall. I am thinking about how I can work in self-care routines like moving my body, hydration, time to read, and time to write. I saw a post recently that said something along the lines of “Every teacher is a new teacher this fall.” I loved this saying because there are many times that I wish I had the renewed energy of a new teacher to learn and get curious about teaching. It is powerful being a beginner. I have loved the ten years of teaching that have prepared me for a weird year eleven. I have valued reflecting on the things that I have learned in those ten years because I am a very different teacher since my first year of teaching in 2010. I am looking at this year as a growing year, not a throw-a-way year. The move to online learning has the potential to change how my classroom runs from here on out. Forever. I am looking at grading practices, revisiting small groups and conferencing, and trying out new systems of technology. This year may feel all wrong, but there is a lot of right going on in our own learning during this time. I’m curious. What are your routine non-negotiables for the fall? Here’s what I am considering as I create a fall routine schedule: Maintaining a morning routine even though I am working from home. Working from home can be great for a lot of people, but it can also make it easy to not align your schedule with productive and mindful habits. For example, it would be easy to sleep in too much, not get dressed, or not work for set amounts of time. I want to make sure that the habits I am forming create a person who is as productive as one that is reporting to work each day. Building capacity for physical activity and moving my body, not necessarily for fitness, but preventative care. I know I will be sitting at a computer for a large majority of my day as an online teacher. I want to move my body on purpose in the morning mainly because I know I will be tired at the end of the day, and also because I know my body will need the movement to get going and get unstuck. I know the excuses that I will make at the end of the day, therefore, I can find time where I have no excuses. Feeding my own curiosity. I have written about passion projects on the blog, but it is important to also make time early on for our own hobbies and interests. Working from home creates a schedule where it is easy to work too much or too little. I am using my Passion Planner to block out periods of time each day. I am going to hold the line when I am done working each day. This will allow for my own interests, but also family time for cooking, cleaning, and just watching TV. Take advantage of the positives of the current time period. If you are a teacher, get excited about the ability to remain hydrated. If you aren’t a teacher, you may want to focus on what positives are surrounding you that may go away in the future. I know many people who are concerned about the working conditions of the fall. There are so many things to consider; however, I am highlighting the positives of working from home like hydration, time to cook, time to be creative, and more. I am only limited by my ability to maintain and hold myself accountable to my own schedule.
This week’s journal prompts: “In the morning, my perfect routine would be…” “In the evening, how I wind down from the day is…” “My non-negotiables for teaching are…” “My non-negotiables for my self-care routines are…” “My average day looks like…” or “My current schedule is…” “I feel uncomfortable when…” "Something that could improve my own life is..."
Brew some coffee or tea, grab a pen or your computer, cozy up with a blanket, and write. Happy reading and writing, Stephanie P.S. You may start noticing that my little blog is getting a redesign with a new logo, new colors, and some new categories. As we move into the fall, keep an eye out for posts about teaching, but also food, family, and finding wellness!
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