I am collaborating with some other piano ed bloggers for a 12-day inspiration blogging journey. Today is Day 3! (Scroll to the end of the post to see the others you may have missed)
One thing that I have noticed more and more among teachers regardless of what they teach is how burned out everyone is. And really it’s not just teachers, it’s my friends, family, neighbors, everyone is just plain ol’ burned out. Burnout is real. One big culprit of burnout is stress. So I wanted to share today 3 ways to reduce stress this year. These simple things have helped me over the years manage when I am feeling stressed.
1- BREAKS
I cannot tell you how important breaks are. They are truly what keeps me sane. I shake my head when I read from private teachers sharing that they teach 52 weeks out of the year or teach 7 days a week. Regardless how much you may love your job, I worry because everyone needs breaks including our students. There is nothing that will bring burnout faster than not taking breaks. Breaks help us re-energize, re-motivate, re-fresh and re-organize. Breaks give you a chance to do something for YOU!
Now breaks don’t just mean taking time off for vacation (which is my favorite type of break) or just not teaching that day, it also includes things like taking a cat-nap during the day (I’m a big proponent of daily naps), or getting up and taking a quick 5-10 min walk (great to get that blood flow moving). Or simply standing instead of sitting. Each type of break has their place and is equally important.
2- REDUCE
Right before I started writing this post, I went to my Facebook homepage to look for a particular FB group I was a member of. The problem is I couldn’t remember the name, so I went to click on my groups to find it and whoa!!! A major shock appeared! I was a member of a TON of groups. Some of which I don’t even remember joining! An hour later, I deleted over 30 groups. I could probably delete some more but for now, it is a good start.
Find out what is overtaking and stressing out your life and reduce it. This may be on social media. It may be that you need to decrease how busy you are because you are constantly saying yes to everything and you feel like have no time to breath. (Been there). Or maybe it’s simply reducing the clutter in your life.
Ask yourself, is this thing causing me stress? If so, reduce it. It may mean getting rid of it all together.
3- BREATHE
My apple watch reminds me to breathe. I love this because sometimes I am not aware of my stress level/heart rate going up until it buzzes at me. Then I take a moment and realize, yep- my heart rate just spiked. I then ask myself why did my heart rate just spike? And then I take a moment for some deep breaths.
While I don’t have a set time for meditation as one imagines meditation time, my meditation time is when I go lay down for a 20-30 minute nap. When my body is in a horizontal position I actually think of my most creative ideas. Now I know not everyone has the luxury to go lay down for a nap. So if you don’t, find a place where you can spend 5 minutes to breathe or meditate.
I know there are a lot of other ways to reduce stress so maybe you can share a few ways that you like to reduce stress? Leave a comment below, I would love to hear about it!
More Posts from the 12 Days of Inspiration:
Day 1- Stay Focussed and Productive with the Power of One
Day 2- 2 Things Every Music Teacher Should Do on Their Break
You are reading Day 3!
Day 4: 4 New Years Resolutions for your Studio!
Day 5: 5 Ways to Reset Your Music Studio
Day 6: 6 Things that Should Happen at the First Piano Lesson
Day 7: 7 Tax Deductions for Music Teachers
Day 8: 8 Questions to Bring Your Studio Into the New Year
Day 9: 9 Ways to Increase Your Studio Retention
Day 10: 10 Impressive Benefits in Learning by Ear
Day 11: Eleven Finds for the New Year
Day 12: Twelve Tricks for Teaching Tricky Personalities
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