Running Against the Clock

RUNNING AGAINST THE CLOCK!

The alarm sounds every morning and as soon as it is set off the race starts. Wake up. Brush your teeth. Take a shower. Get dressed. Have breakfast. Pick up your things. Drive to work. Sign in. 80 minutes. Break. 80 minutes. Break. 80 minutes. Have lunch. 80 minutes. Break. 80 minutes. Break. 80 minutes. Sign out. Go home. 

Isn’t it exhausted? Don’t you feel you are against the clock all day long every single day? How much time do you take for yourself during the day? During the week? During the month? 

Being sincere, sometimes it’s very difficult to me to take time to myself because I say I don’t have time because I have to…and I start mentioning a many-to-do list I have in my mind. And for sure I have to do all this stuff, but couldn’t I have some minutes for myself in the whole day, week or month? 

Commenting that issue with a wise woman I meet recently, she asked me: Don’t you have time or don’t you take time for/to yourself? After listening these words something inside me just makes BUM!! So the days after that, I started receiving input from two great people: Mary Scholl and Sean Conley. They basically help me and guide me to apply or consider some principles of mindfulness and leadership to connect with my inner self in order to have better connections with others around me. 

So, if you want to start taking time for yourself I’ll recommend you to sign up for HeadSpace. It is a digital platform that provides guided meditation sessions and mindfulness training. When doing do, you will start experiencing 3, 5 or 10 minutes for you every day. So, learn how to get relax and breath. Enjoy your new routine with yourself and learn how to stop the chaos around you for some minutes to continue with renovated energy. 

Let’s start loving ourselves first to be able to connect with others then.

I Thought it First!

I THOUGHT IT FIRST!

Have you ever had the experience that you are reading about an activity or strategy in a post, a blog or in an Instagram account and you say: hey! I have been doing this since many years ago!!!

Well, sometimes we improvise, we create, we come out with something new in our classroom and it works! But we usually don’t write these ideas, we don’t share them with other colleagues and we don’t publish them in anywhere. 

We share these kind of experiences in oral form and in like manner, it is transmitted. But what about trying to write about them? What about writing suggested steps to follow in order to develop your idea in other classrooms by other teachers ? Or if you don’t feel like writing, what about recording a video showing how you develop the activity, strategy or idea you want to share?

Give yourself the chance to create, to write, to make your voice noticeable, to flow like a river and share your wonderful ideas and experiences. Here, in this blog, it can be a good place to start it. Do you have something to share with us?

You Are NOT Special!

You are NOT special! 

by Roxana Vargas López

Have you ever felt overwhelmed with all the school duties, job responsibilities, parents’ messages, students’ behavior and material preparation? Have you ever felt burn out with all the paperwork you may have? Have you ever had the need to run away and don’t think in all your duties, assignments, meetings and responsibilities at school?

So, dear colleague, let me tell you that you are not special. You are not the only teacher who have to face all these situations and duties. You are not the only one who has felt overwhelmed, tired, frustrated, in other words, burn out. But the best part of this situation, beside not being an individual matter, is that it doesn’t last for so long. Sometimes you feel that everything is just picky parents, bossy principals, useless paperwork, and noisy students, but then it comes the day when a student (or two or more)surprises you doing something, saying something or producing something beyond your expectations, and use the language to produce something by their own, and you see them feeling happy and proud, you receive kind words from parents, your principal congratulate you for your work and results and everything looks like following the river flow. That moment in our busy daily life as teachers is called happiness, my friends!

                                

Considering that we are not special for facing struggles, just let the happy moments arrive every day in small moments and beautiful smiles, enjoy the meanwhile, the here and now, and the daily routine sharing with your kids. And when difficulties are presented, take a moment for yourself, take a couple of deep breathes and continue with your job. (Repeat daily!)