Ways Teachers Can Rejuvenate During Summer Break

Establish an exercise routine. Exercise has been proven time and time again to be a great stress reliever. If you had a stressful school year—or even a few stressful weeks wrapping it up—get your body moving with a new exercise habit. There are countless workout videos on YouTube, or if you like getting outside, take morning or evening power walks or runs. Grab a friend and start a gym membership together.

Practice emotional self-care. Spend time with friends and family. Although you need to prepare for next school year, try not to spend your entire summer working. If you find yourself feeling negative after a long school year, take a mental break and set all things school-related aside for a bit. Then, start a gratitude list. Write down or acknowledge the things about your job and your students for which you are grateful. It will help you embrace a better mindset.

Reflect on the year. Within a week or two of school ending, start taking a notebook to your favorite coffee shop regularly for some reflection. What worked well last year? What didn’t?

Set goals when your mind is fresh. After reflecting on the prior school year, set a few goals. What would you like to improve or change next year? How will you make those changes, and what milestones can you set to ensure you make progress?

Make a summer reading list. Just like you tell your students, summer is the best time to rediscover your love for reading for the fun of it. Make a list of pool reads and commit to unplugging and reading at least 20 minutes every day.

Develop healthy hobbies. Find ways to enjoy life outside of the classroom. Maybe that’s reading, listening to podcasts or crafting. If you are hobby-less at the moment, there’s no better time than summer break to take up something. That might be knitting, doing puzzles, taking photographs or painting, for example.

Stay organized. It doesn’t sound like self-care, but getting organized over summer feels good. If there’s one thing that creates chaos for a teacher, after all, it is a messy classroom. Take a day (or even just a few hours) to clean out and tidy up. As the first day of school gets closer, revisit your organizational routines and make changes as needed.

Last tip: Don’t feel pressured to do all of the above at once. Start small and do one thing. If that feels good, add something else. But remember to be good to yourself, which will help you be the best teacher you can be.

Summer is your chance to breathe in between school years and give yourself a much-needed mental break! Use the time well so that when the next school year comes, you feel excited and ready to make it a great year.