This has been a very stressful year for all of us but for teachers in particular because there have been so many changes and demands put upon them. In this episode, Kitty offers an article that she ran across entitled, "17 Simple Ways to Relieve Worry, Stress, and Anxiety" by Linda Bjork | Oct 17, 2019, available at this link: https://hopeforhealingfoundation.org/17-simple-ways-to-relieve-worry-stress-and-anxiety/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwktKFBhCkARIsAJeDT0gBQW_hYvfu11QAraD8v2_xbfGJE1vJxCUg-7jq25MqLBw-CYVQ_4gaAv6oEALw_wcB
Kitty doesn't try to cover all 17, but she does speak to the benefits of several of the ways that were mentioned in the article. Listen to hear for yourself the various ways to relieve your stress as we enter the summer season.
Kitty also mentioned that this is the week she is offering some Masterclasses on "How to Leapfrog from Teacher Into the Career of Your Dreams." If you are interested, here is the registration link: https://event.webinarjam.com/register/26/27l48aml.
As always if you would like to make an appointment for a complimentary Discovery Session, click here: https://teachersintransition.com/calendar.
You can also email Kitty directly at kittyboitnott@gmail.com.
This has been a very stressful year for all of us but for teachers in particular because there have been so many changes and demands put upon them. In this episode, Kitty offers an article that she ran across entitled, "17 Simple Ways to Relieve Worry, Stress, and Anxiety" by Linda Bjork | Oct 17, 2019, available at this link: https://hopeforhealingfoundation.org/17-simple-ways-to-relieve-worry-stress-and-anxiety/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwktKFBhCkARIsAJeDT0gBQW_hYvfu11QAraD8v2_xbfGJE1vJxCUg-7jq25MqLBw-CYVQ_4gaAv6oEALw_wcB
Kitty doesn't try to cover all 17, but she does speak to the benefits of several of the ways that were mentioned in the article. Listen to hear for yourself the various ways to relieve your stress as we enter the summer season.
Kitty also mentioned that this is the week she is offering some Masterclasses on "How to Leapfrog from Teacher Into the Career of Your Dreams." If you are interested, here is the registration link: https://event.webinarjam.com/register/26/27l48aml.
As always if you would like to make an appointment for a complimentary Discovery Session, click here: https://teachersintransition.com/calendar.
You can also email Kitty directly at kittyboitnott@gmail.com.
Are you a teacher who's feeling stressed out and overwhelmed. Do you worry that you're feeling symptoms of burnout or are you sure you've already gotten there? Have you started to dream of doing some other kind of job or perhaps pursuing a whole different career, but you don't know what else you're even qualified to do. You don't know how to start a job search. You just feel stuck. If that sounds like you, I promise you're not alone. My name is kitty Boitnott. I'm a career transition and job search coach. And I specialize in helping burn out teachers, just like you deal, not only with the stress and overwhelm of your day to day job, but to consider what other careers might be out there waiting for you. Join me for teachers in transition. In some episodes, I'll be speaking to stress management techniques and how you can manage your stress on a day to day basis. In other episodes, I'll be talking about career transition. What tools do you need to be successful in a job search when you're moving from one career into a totally different track. These are questions that you need answers to, and I can help you find those answers. My name is kitty. Boitnott welcome to teachers and transition.
Speaker 2:Welcome back to episode 114 of teachers in transition the podcast and the YouTube channel. My name is kitty Boitnott. I am the owner of Boitnott coaching, LLC, and the founder of teachers in transition. I specialize in working with burnout teachers who are ready to make a career change. And I also work with teachers who are stressed out because I'm a certified stress management coach. So in this podcast and on the YouTube channel, by the same title I, and the same content, by the way I offer on alternating weeks, a one week information about career transition strategies and on alternate weeks information about stress management. And this week, I'm going to share with you a few of, uh, stress management strategies that I found in an article called 17 simple ways to relieve, worry, stress and anxiety, and that wanted to go over all 17. But I did make note of a few of the more notable ones that are easy to implement and important to work into your routine. If you can, especially, if you are feeling over stressed, now I'm recording this on Memorial day. You will be hearing it on Thursday, June 4th. So happy belated Memorial day. For those of you are listening on Thursday. And it's also the beginning of summer, the official beginning of summer with Memorial day now behind us and school will be letting out. Now I know for a lot of districts, there will be summer sessions that will be offered in an effort to help those kids who fell behind during the pandemic year 20, 20, 20, 21. And so many of the teachers who are listening to this podcast may not get the normal summer break if you've volunteered or offered, or you've been encouraged to sign up, to teach summer school. Um, hopefully you'll get a little extra income out of it at least, but I want you to be mindful that you still need to take some time for yourself this summer, because this has been a really hard year. It's been hard for everybody, but it's been hard for teachers because in many cases you were asked to change things up on the fly. One week you might've been teaching virtual and next week you might've been teaching hybrid. Some districts went back in person a long time ago. Some never missed a beat, uh, out of county, not too far from where I live. I think they've been in full session with, with everybody in school for most of the school year. They probably started a little late, but other than that, they managed with masks and the social distancing and the kids did well. And nobody, nobody really had to change up that much in that district. But in a lot of places, it hasn't been nearly that simple. And so you're no doubt stressed and you may be looking forward to a summer break. What I want to suggest to you is that you really give yourself a break, whether you're teaching summer school or not find a week or two or more, if you can, where you take a break away from school away from thinking about school, because your mind and your mental abilities, your spirit needs the break. You emotionally need the break from the harsh routine that you've just experienced in this past school year. I also want to caution you not to get caught up in trying to do so much this summer, that you create more stress for yourself. You know, it's okay to just do nothing for a while. It's okay. If you need to just, you know, not, not get dressed for a few days in a row, as long as you're not depressed, you're just taking arrest. I don't see anything wrong with just hanging around the house, turning off, turn off the technology, find things that you can do around your home. Surely there are projects that you've probably put off because you were too busy to do them during the school year. So invest some of your time in those projects. We connect with your friends and your family that you've lost touch with, uh, over the course of this past year and, and just do what needs to be done for you to rejuvenate yourself, to feel like you're yourself again, to relax. You know, when I took early retirement back in 2012, I took six months and did as little as possible. And I'm serious about that. I didn't set an alarm. I didn't read anything. I didn't want to read. I didn't watch anything. I didn't want to watch. I went where I wanted. I didn't go where I didn't want to go. I just got in touch with myself again. I needed every minute of that six months because I was so burnt out. Now, few people have the luxury of taking six months off. So I'm not suggesting that you should do that yourself, but you do need some time for yourself. So I want to share with you just a few of this is a laundry list of some simple, easy things that you can do to help yourself relax and de stress from this past year, we all need to do it because we've all experienced a certain amount of trauma, mental, and emotional trauma. Some of us, I didn't get sick, but a lot of people did catch COVID and were sick for a period of time and are just, just now perhaps coming out of the long haul of it. Because for some people, the recovery has been an extended period of time. So perhaps you're recovering physically as well as mentally and emotionally do what you need to do for yourself to start feeling like yourself again. So the first one and the simplest one, and probably one of the most beneficial ones is to simply go for a walk and try to work up to a 30 minute walk every single day. That's, that's going to be my goal. I haven't walked as much. I've had some back issues. I'm getting ready to have that hopefully fixed in the next couple of weeks. And so one of my goals for this summer is to get back into the routine of walking for at least 30 minutes a day. If you don't have a physical reason not to be walking, then make a commitment to yourself, to go with a friend. Now that we don't have to worry so much about masking and social distancing, reconnect with a friend that you haven't seen for a while and decide to meet somewhere at a park, go, go for a walk and reconnect. Aroma therapy is also a really helpful strategy for easing your nerves and calming you lavender in particular is a good scent or aroma to go for. Rose is also good. Sandalwood is good. Find a candle, or you can always buy the essential oils and use a diffuser to help help you relax. The aromas will give you a sense of calm and peace and serenity, and you'll enjoy that. Some people relax when they're journaling and I would highly recommend it. Um, I don't know that I've mentioned it. I probably have in the last month, my brother passed away very unexpectedly and, and tragically. He was only 63 years old, but he's left behind a number of journals that I'm going to dive into. I've started one of them. And it reminds me of just how gentle a spirit he was and how curious he was about the world. He's offered commentary on everything from literature to music, to politics, to social commentary. And it's some of it's funny. And some of it's very, very thoughtful and they're a gift that he has left for us. So journaling is a way to get out of your head and onto paper. Something that maybe is bothering you, or maybe needs, needs to be written because you need to get it out. So try that as a stress management strategy, you can also listen to soft music. Personally. I like smooth jazz in the background when I'm working, but everybody has their own tastes. So whatever kind of music lifts your spirit and makes you happy. Try listening to that. It's also scientifically proven that stress can be depleted a little bit when you sing. So whether you sing well or not, doesn't matter, find a song that you like to sing along to and belted out. It will help you to feel less stressed. One of the things that occurred to me a couple of months ago when I was watching, I forgotten what sitcom it was a long ago. You know, it was binge binge watching a sitcom that I had missed out on years ago. And I caught myself laughing out loud so hard and it felt so good. And it dawned on me that I hadn't laughed like that in a very long time. So now I'm making it, uh, a commitment to myself to find something to laugh at every single day, because it makes you feel better. And that laugh, laughing until your belly hurts is the best kind of laughter. So find some way to connect with whatever tickles your fancy and laugh, connect with friends. You know, I have friends that back before the pandemic, we met once a month, it's teacher friends that I have stayed in touch with past my long past my retirement. We all taught at the same school and we didn't even become really close until after we had retired. But yeah, five of us, sometimes six when one of them, yeah, sister shows up on with, with her and that's fine. So she's a terrific addition to the group. And we have met once a month in person for dinner for all of these years. And then when COVID, then no more dinners, but I offered to use my zoom platform for a virtual happy hour to replace the dinners that we weren't going to be able to have. And we've picked up without missing a beat every month. We've met for zoom virtual happy hour in this coming month in June, we're going to get together in person again, out on a patio for dinner. It's something I'm really looking forward to. I never knew how much I had missed hugs until the pandemic hit. And I'm looking forward to giving each of my friends a hug. We've all been vaccinated and it will be quite safe where we're going to be. So I am looking forward to reconnecting with them person so that I can give them a hug and let them know how much I've missed them. Another strategy that's mentioned in this article, and I will list the link to the article in the notes, uh, is to learn to say, no, no teach teachers are notorious for not being able to say no. They say yes to things. They don't even what to do because there are many of us are people pleasers, but we're all, oh, helpers. And that's what a teacher does. They help. And when somebody needs your help, oh, sure. I'll help out problem with always being there to help is that you can overload yourself and then that's that adds to your stress. So if you have trouble saying no on occasion, you need to start practicing. It's like a muscle that the more you use it, the easier it becomes to use it. And the easier it is to say it. Uh, and I'm not suggesting that you be obstinate and stubborn and not ever help, but you can gauge what you can handle. And if you've overextended yourself, I don't have to tell you how stressful that can be. So cut back a little bit. Start start saying no on occasion another de-stressor and this is going to sound perhaps counter-intuitive because sometimes we think we're putting off things so that we can avoid feeling stressed about them, but the pudding off the procrastination is also a source of stress. So try to get over if you have the habit of procrastinating, try to work on that because when you get things out of the way and off your plate after you've been procrastinating for a while, there's this sense of relief and accomplishment and pleasure that you've accomplished something. So learn to avoid the habit of procrastination. Pet therapy is also a good strategy. If you have a cat or a dog or multiple cats and dogs, it takes some time to rub them, to pet them. They love it. I was reading yesterday about how much a dog loves to have his ears rubbed because there are nerve endings in those ears that give them pleasure when you, when you rub them. So just take a few minutes to connect with your animals if you have them. And if you don't have one, find a friend who has one and pet it, it does help to be, it actually lowers your blood pressure and can help to relieve your stress. Don't forget the importance of breathing deeply into your belly several times a day, the cells in your body need that oxygen, the same way that they need water. So you need to be drinking plenty of water. You might want to try yoga. I keep procrastinating and I keep thinking that I would like to try yoga. But again, my back issue has slowed me down these last few months. But once I, once I get the back issue worked out, I think I'd like to try yoga, to see if the stretching and mindfulness would help me with my stress. And finally, um, we reduced the caffeine that you're drinking. I went fully decaffeinated a few weeks ago, and I can tell a difference. I do occasionally miss having a cup of coffee with the real stuff in it. But for the most part, I think it's helped. Um, I did it to help a blood pressure issue and it's helped that. So reducing caffeine can help you to also reduce your stress and relax. And those are the tips and hints and strategies that you might see just select one. Uh, and like I said, the 17 simple ways to relieve, worry and stress is the article that I'm using to step today. And I will post it in the notes for you. If you'd like to take a look at the remaining items on that list. In the meantime, this week is a big week for me. I'm launching my masterclass on how to leapfrog from teacher to the career of your dreams. I will be starting the first of three masterclasses tomorrow, noon Eastern. I have another one coming up on Thursday, the 3rd of June. Um, it's the third instead of the fourth. Isn't it? The 3rd of June at 8:00 PM Eastern. So you'll be listening to the podcast on the third instead of the fourth. If you listen on Thursday and then I have a third webinar coming up, masterclass coming up on Saturday, the 5th of June at 1:00 PM Eastern. So I've got several classes coming up that I will be presenting for. If you'd like to attend, I'll include the registration link on the show notes so that you can sign up for whichever one of those three dates and times work best for you. And you'll have missed the Tuesday one, but you can still sign up for Thursday night if you're listening during the day on Thursday. And then there's the Saturday one coming up. If you'd like to listen in to that one, I'll be talking about how the job search process works. It, looking at it like a game, and you need to know the rules and you need to have the tools that you need a relevant resume, a compelling cover letter, stellar, LinkedIn profile, and strong interview skills. Just to name a few, and I'll be talking about those in this masterclass. If you're thinking that you'd like to make a change in your career, it may be too late for you to do it this year because the average job search will last anywhere from four to nine months. And that's, if things go well, but you need to, if you, if you're interested in leaving in the next year or two, and there's no time like now to start learning the rules of the game and developing the tools that you'll need so that you can start your search when you are ready. So I hope that if you're interested, you'll sign up and that's it for this week. I hope you have a wonderful first week in June. How hope that your think about some of these items that I've mentioned that will help you to reduce your stress as we go into the summer months. And I hope to see you again next week, have a wonderful week and enjoy your summer weather.
Speaker 1:So there you have it, an episode of teachers in transition. I hope you enjoy the information and I hope you'll plan to come back, please subscribe to teachers in transition so that you can be alerted of future episodes. And let me know if you have any questions or topics that you would like me to specifically cover in a future episode, I'm more than happy to help with individual questions as well. So email me@kittyboitnottatboitnottcoaching.com. If you are interested in finding a new career or just enjoying your life more, this is the place to start. I'm Katie Boitnott and this is teachers in transition.