Mollie Deuel's Teaching Portfolio

Side Dish 5

​

Self Care Strategies and Plan

​

It is important for me to think through how I will care for my mental and physical well-being once I become a teacher, because I tend to lose sight of self-care when I become overwhelmingly busy with a job that is as demanding as teaching.  Carefully thinking through how I will take care of myself before I jump into teaching will give me a tangible checklist to make sure I fulfill once I do start teching.  Below I outline a rough weekly schedule that incorporates things I will do to stay sane and happy during the school year.  I also highlight six specific goals I have for myself and how I will go about fulfilling them during my time teaching.  Being mindful to keep my personal well-being as a priority will not only make me happy, but it will also allow me to be the best teacher and mentor for my students if I am happy and fulfilled in all parts of my life.   

 

Rough outline of my weekly schedule

 

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

 

 

Goal 1 – Physical well being

I’ve always found that my physical wellbeing is directly correlated with my mental and emotional well-being.  For that reason, I think it is important to have a plan in place to maintain my physical well-being via sleep, exercise, a well-balanced diet and good hygiene throughout my teaching career.

• Sleep – I will be in bed by 11:30 every night and I will wake up at 6:30. I am currently not a morning person, but once I get on a schedule I know that waking up will get easier for me.

• Exercise – I need to exercise not only for my physical well-being but also for my mental well-being.  When I feel like I’m getting out of shape or don’t exercise for a while, I start to become depressed and find it hard to see things in a positive life.  I feel lucky that I figured this out early on in life and have already worked this into my weekly routine, so hopefully this won’t be too much of a struggle to uphold.  I plan on going to community yoga class every Sunday that is an hour and a half because I’ve found it to be a great workout and it helps me be more mindful.  I also would like to continue to play in Charlottesville community rec sand volleyball league, because it not only provides me with a great workout, but it also allows for social time with friends.  On top of participating in those two things every week I would like to try to get to the gym at least once if not twice. 

• Nutrition – I will continue to be a pescetarian throughout my career and I plan on trying to eat healthy at least five days a week.  I will always allow for one night of pizza every week and probably indulge in a lavish meal on Friday Nights to celebrate making it through the week.  I also plan on preparing my lunches, or at least planning them out, for the week on Sunday night, so that I have one less thing to worry about in the mornings.

• Hygiene – I have always preferred to shower at night because it allows me more time to get ready in the morning.  Typically, I only shower after exercise so hopefully I will uphold my promise to exercise three to four times a week, otherwise I’ll need to figure out other times to bathe.

 

Goal 2 – No Work Friday Afternoon – Sunday morning

• I want to give myself a full 24 hours+ to disconnect from work and focus on myself and relationships in my life.  I believe this will help me from becoming burnt out, because it gives me uninterrupted time to focus on myself and my well-being.

 

Goal 3 – Finish All Work for the Day at School

• I do not want to bring my school work home with me.  I believe that allowing myself to disconnect from my work every night will help me sleep better and ensure that I find something enjoyable to do with the rest of my day. I plan to uphold this even if it means I have to stay at work until it is dark out.  

 

Goal 4 – Maintain Relationships

• Significant other – I would like to carve out at least one night a week where I can spend time with my significant other where we do something that is fun and where we are able to engage with each other (so not just watching Netflix, although I do foresee a lot of that in my future).  Luckily, he will be on the same schedule as me and enjoys many of the same things that I do so it shouldn’t be too hard to fit this into our busy schedules. 

• Family – I value maintaining communication with my family, although I have in the past been bad at keeping in touch when my life gets busy.  I

• Friends – I am a very social being and need to maintain sound, close friendships in my life to remain happy.  I would like to designate Friday nights as a “friend” night.  I also will be able to have some social opportunities with the community rec volleyball league I will be participating in every Tuesday.

• Myself – I think that my relationship needs with myself have shifted somewhat over the past few years.  I would like to be mindful of taking some time for self-reflection.   I also will be able to fulfil this by maintaining my wellbeing and holding myself accountable for all of these goals during my teaching.

 

Goal 5 – Take Time for Mindfulness During the School Day

• I like getting to school early so that I can have some time to myself before students arrive.  I hate feeling rushed and/or flustered and also enjoy a little quiet time in the space that I will be teaching in for the rest of the day.  This helps me get focused and prepared and allows me to center myself before undertaking the marathon that is the school day.

• I also want to be aware of how I am reacting to certain situations or interactions, and take the time to reflect before reacting.  If I find myself ever getting upset or angry, I plan on taking a step back, metaphorically, and assessing the situation.  This may come through as taking a breath before responding to a student who is challenging me or making sure that I never react to anyone, students or adults, when I am feeling angry or upset.  This is going to be important when it comes to maintain healthy relationships at work and with my overall self-image and if I have confidence and trust in myself in handling tricky situations.

• At some point in the middle of the day I would like to find 5-10 minutes to be alone and re-center myself. 

 

Goal 6 – Take Actual Vacations During Vacation Time

• One of my favorite things to do when I have the time is travel.  Whether its traveling to a new local hike that I’ve heard is great, traveling to a new national park I’ve never been to, or going to a different country; I love having new and exciting experiences and find it to be incredibly rejuvenating.  One of my and my significant other’s long term goals is to teach abroad.  While I would like to keep that goal in my sites, I think that I can still fulfil my need to travel, see the world, and continue to learn about new cultures and experiences by utilizing the time off that is gifted to people in the teaching profession. 

​

Being mindful of keeping my personal well-being as a priority will not only make me happy, but it will also allow me to be the best teacher and mentor for my students if I am happy and fulfilled in all parts of my life.  I have always been a firm believe that happiness comes from maintaining balance in your life and relationships with people you really care about.  I feel fortunate enough to have found a profession that makes me feel excited and like I am making a difference, but I also don’t believe that a person can feel completely fulfilled through their work alone.  Holding myself accountable for maintaining the things that really matter to me will be the greatest thing I can do for myself as I enter into my future career as a teacher.

 

References

• Jennings, P. A. (2015, March 30). Seven Ways Mindfulness Can Help Teachers. Retrieved May 07, 2017, from http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/seven_ways_mindfulness_can_help_teachers

​