Four Simple Ways Teachers Can Reduce Stress





Here are four dead simple strategies you can use to reduce your stress and get back to loving what you do - teach!



Stress and teaching go hand in hand, but doesn’t have to be this way. An educator's modern schedule makes it tough balance all our responsibilities to our students, friends, and families. Unfortunately, burn out in our profession is all too common.





HERE ARE FOUR SIMPLE STRATEGIES YOU CAN USE TO REDUCE YOUR STRESS AND GET BACK TO LOVING WHAT YOU DO - TEACH!



Start The Day With Mindfulness



Framing your day from a meditative point of view early in the morning is one of the best ways I've found to reduce my stress. I try to begin the day calmly; sometimes I listen to relaxing music. Visualizing my day ahead, I see myself responding to challenges from a position of confidence because I'm in control of my stress. This simple start to the day allows me to frame the day, to take charge and be a better teacher.



Don't Sweat The Small Stuff



As educators, we often get bogged down by our massive workloads that we somehow forget why we became teachers. The joy of sharing knowledge with our students, seeing them excel and just plain enjoying the process. We'll always be busy, but taking time to remember why we became teachers helps us recognize why we do what we do.



Figure Out What's Causing You Stress



The best way to solve a problem is first to identify why it's happening. What's causing your stress? Sandra Taylor, a development manager for the Teacher Support Network, explains, "Write a list detailing all the things that are causing you stress right now. Divide your list into two columns: things you can control and things you can't." Once you have your stress factors written down, focus only on what you can control. This strategy gives you a way to manage your stress by focusing on things that you can manage and that have the biggest impact on your day.



Create A Realistic & Written To Do List



We often have grand goals for the day and all the things we're going to accomplish, but we may sometimes be setting ourselves up for failure. Instead, writing down a set of realistic to do items, things know you can achieve. Writing them down is key, this gets the thoughts out of your head and on paper. The act of writing works like a mental weight that is lifted. By offloading your thoughts on paper and creating a realistic to do list, you'll effortlessly reduce your stress. ​ I hope these ideas have a positive impact you. Here's to reducing our stress and doing more of what we love. At Midwest Teachers Institute, we help teachers and educators continue their education with affordable graduate courses for teachers, you may also visit our main site here.​