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75 Teacher Self Care Ideas

Whether you are a veteran teacher, student teacher, or homeschooling your little ones, these teacher self care ideas are for you.  These ideas were generated by teachers who are learning to balance the teacher stress with a personal life. 

Along with the teacher self care ideas, you will also find poll results from inside the Teachers on a Budget Facebook group.  There, the teachers shared the reasons they are stressed, and ways they have found to de-stress after a long day.  

Teacher Burnout

You are an awesome teacher doing amazing things, but teacher burnout is a real thing. From lesson plans and testing to managing student behavior, there are a lot stresses in your life. On top of it all, you can’t stop thinking about your struggling student and the professional development requirement you have to meet.

As a former teacher for 17 years, I know what you are going through. Sadly, teacher stress is continuing to increase post pandemic. In fact, teachers are becoming so overwhelmed, they are leaving mid-year to escape the high-stress job. Unfortunately, the healthy work-life balance is becoming more and more difficult for teachers. And while I support teachers doing what’s best for their own mental sanity; I fear the kids are going to be left with a lack of a quality education.

Next, let’s take a quick look at the different things teachers feel are causing the most stress in their profession.

 

Causes of Teacher Stress

There is no sugar coating this topic. Being a classroom teacher is rewarding in many ways, yet so stressful and exhausting. Even the best teacher knows how challenging a daily routine can be.

There are good days and bad days throughout the school year. With that being said, let’s look at some common causes of teacher stress.

  • Large class sizes
  • Not enough time for planning and prepping materials
  • Low pay
  • Lack of support from administration
  • Too much standardized testing
  • Lack of support staff
  • Not enough behavioral support in the schools
  • Excessive amount of paperwork and little time to complete it
  • Out of classroom duties taking from planning and paperwork time
  • Lack of support from parents
  • Extreme behavior issues
  • Increase of IEP’s and 504 plans without additional support
  • High workload expected outside of contracted hours
  • State required teacher evaluations and observations
  • Being expected to differentiate for every student
  • Unpaid professional development

50 Teacher Self Care Ideas

Clearly, teacher stress reflects the common challenges of education. While I cannot come and do all the little things for you, I can share these self-care ideas that will help you be your best self.

  1. Meditate
  2. Drink herbal tea
  3. Read a good book
  4. Go for a walk
  5. Make time for your own family
  6. Schedule time for self-care activities
  7. Give yourself the best gift from time to time
  8. Visit a holistic chiropractor regularly
  9. Go for a swim
  10. Deep breathing
  11. Start a no-till garden
  12. Try out a new face mask
  13. Use your personal time
  14. Listen to your favorite podcast
  15. Subscribe to your favorite teacher self-care box
  16. Learn a new mindfulness practice
  17. Have alone time
  18. Go for a bike ride
  19. Get away on a holiday break
  20. Set boundaries
  21. Plan for healthy lunches at work
  22. Invite family members out to dinner
  23. Have a salon or spa day
  24. Play an instrument
  25. Binge watch your favorite shows
  26. Spend time coloring (there are lots of cool adult coloring books)
  27. Listen to your favorite music
  28. Dance like nobody’s watching
  29. Focus on positive energy
  30. Have a game night
  31. Buy yourself fresh flowers
  32. Yoga
  33. Limit social media
  34. Get outside for fresh air
  35. Hang out with positive people
  36. Write in a gratitude journal at the end of the day
  37. Go for a hike in a nearby state park
  38. Distance yourself from those with constant negative thoughts
  39. Organize your bathroom drawers
  40. Meet friends for happy hour
  41. Get Vitamin D
  42. Soak in a hot bath with Epsom salt
  43. Make a vision board
  44. Diffuse your favorite essential oils
  45. Go for a drive by yourself
  46. Paint
  47. Bake a new desert
  48. Take a nap
  49. Declutter your closet
  50. Walk barefoot in the grass (there are SO many benefits to walking barefoot)

As you know, not taking time for self-care practices will quickly effect both your mental health and physical health. Next, we will look at the benefits you will reap by taking time to create new habits or a self-care plan.

You will find some of these overlap with the self-care strategies teachers shared in the polls below.

What Teachers Need

I recently polled 14.5 thousand teachers inside the Teachers on a Budget FB group about teacher burnout.

They were asked to choose 3 things they need to help address teacher burnout. In addition the to options, they were allowed to add their own suggestions.

25 Teacher’s Favorite Self-Care Activities

Following the teacher burnout poll above, I asked the teachers to share their favorite self-care activity. I was happy to see that self-care matters to many teachers.

The self-care tips they shared inside the Facebook group bounce off the teacher self care ideas above.

  1. Leave at your contracted time
  2. Don’t do school work over the weekend
  3. Long hot showers
  4. Doing your nails
  5. Enjoy a hot cup of tea or coffee
  6. Dinner after school with your teacher besties
  7. Monthly massages
  8. Separate your emotions from the stress of the classroom
  9. Read a good book
  10. Drink a glass of wine
  11. Binge watch your favorite show
  12. Bubble baths
  13. Listening to your favorite music
  14. Limit screen time
  15. Diamond painting
  16. Only check emails on contracted time
  17. Go to the gym
  18. Start the day in The Word
  19. Turn off your phone and give yourself 1 full hour of off-time
  20. Get a facial
  21. Date nights with your spouse
  22. Game nights with friends or family
  23. Pool time
  24. Visit the local library for quiet time
  25. Go for a walk

Benefits of Teacher Self-Care

The first step to improving your emotional health is knowing your worth. You are worthy of a healthy life. Overall, your mental health and physical health are the last thing you should compromise.

Taking the time out of your days to do some of the self-care activities listed above has many benefits. Call them self-indulgent activities or effective ways to a happier life. Whatever you call it, take small steps to include good things for yourself…everyday!

75 teacher self care ideas

Teacher; take care of your health! You will see a change once you implement a self-care routine.  In fact, here are some of the benefits of regularly doing the teacher self care ideas:

  • experience more happiness
  • have positive emotions
  • improve your personal life
  • attract different people bring more joy to your days
  • improve your physical health
  • see a huge difference in your mental health
  • start achieving personal goals
  • begin focusing on the best things during the day rather than the typical stresses
  • handle classroom management in a more effective way

 

Before you go, here are more posts you will enjoy:

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10 Easy Ideas for Birthdays at School

35 Healthy High Protein Lunch Ideas for Work

The Teacher Discounts and Deals List

Teacher Self Care Ideas