Back to School Stress

As we head back to school, my excitement and stress goes off the charts! Then my kid starts her back to school meetings (how is she in high school already!), and my stress goes even higher.

I can’t count the times I’ve had to save the day by making a school item magically appear or by fixing the copier for everyone!

I don’t mind doing all this, but it does make the back to school season stressful, so I have made rules to keep me from doing too much.

Hopefully they help someone else, too.

1. Find your group

We all mesh best with certain people. I have found I mesh best with sarcastic people who will tell me a straight answer, even if I hate it. Everyone has a group, and it is really hard at first to find it, but it is incredibly important! These people will help you when you are stressed, tell you to knock it off when you are being a perfectionist, let you vent after a bad day, and run emergency sub plans to your room when you are too sick to move.

Make a point to find them as soon as you can!

Sometimes, it is impossible to find someone at your school to be brutally honest with you.  The NCCE Community is a place where you can ask those questions you feel uncomfortable asking your coworkers.

2. Pick one day to have completely off every week.

For me, it is Sunday. I get as much of the work done as I can early Saturday before doing the shopping, cleaning, and crazy softball mom stuff. 

Sunday is just for me and fun family time (no chores).

This works for me because I have a full 24 hours of not even thinking about school. The mental break helps me remember to be me, not just a mom and teacher.

Here is how I started doing it.

• I set up your email to auto reply on Friday that you are out of the office until Monday. Then make the commitment to NOT check it until Monday.
• I had to program it in my calendar so that it was the first thing I saw in the morning.  
• I turned off ALL school related alarms (email, google classroom, etc) on my cell phone.

3.  You can’t do everything.  

Every day pick out the most essential things to do. Some days I have to modify my plans, grade tests, and grade classwork in just 45 minutes.  Obviously, that isn’t going to happen. 

So, I’ve found some tricks to make it better.

• Create a top 3 list on Google Tasks.  These are your critical task and everything else can wait if it needs to.
• Create voice notes.  They are quick, easy, and unlike sticky notes you can’t lose them.
• I’ve converted some of my worksheets to Google Forms. You can enter in a key and the worksheets get graded the moment they are submitted. 
• Some assignments are a completion grade.
• Assignments can wait until the next day.  Not everything has to be graded right away.  

4.  Take time for health.

I know we get told this all the time and I used to be one of the first to complain HOW??!!

I have been scolded by my doctor for years about it (high blood pressure, and all the other stress markers), and I finally got around to listening to him.

To be fair, I know what he says is true. We all need to get out and exercise. We all need to eat vegetables and maintain a healthy weight.  So this summer, I took a major step.

I got a puppy. An energetic, working dog, puppy that doesn’t let me skip walks. In fact, he demands two a day if I want my shoes to be safe.

I’m not telling you to be crazy like me and force yourself to exercise with a dog, but try to get moving. It really does help your mental health.

If you are into tracking your fitness, like I am trying to do, here are some apps that help:

🏃‍♂️ Garmin Connect

Garmin Connect is a powerful companion app for Garmin devices, offering detailed tracking for activities like running, swimming, cycling, and even triathlons. It’s designed to help you analyze your performance and connect with a community of fellow athletes.

🧘 Fitbit

The Fitbit app helps you monitor your health metrics like heart rate, sleep, stress, and activity levels. It’s customizable, motivational, and integrates with Fitbit Premium for deeper insights and guided workouts. 

❤️ Google Fit

Google Fit uses Heart Points to encourage physical activity based on recommendations from the American Heart Association. It offers coaching, integrates with other health apps, and tracks your progress across devices. 

🚴 Strava

Strava is a social fitness app loved by runners, cyclists, and hikers. It tracks your workouts, lets you share progress, and connects you with a global community for motivation and challenges.

I know all this seems impossible, but pick one or two a month and forgive yourself when you slip up!

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