For Every Educator Who’s Run on Coffee, Hope, and Sheer Grit
For Every Educator Who’s Run on Coffee, Hope, and Sheer Grit
Hey Educators (yes, you, the miracle workers of hallways and heartache),
You made it. Somehow. Against all odds. Through schedule changes, student meltdowns, spirit weeks, emails & texts titled “Quick Question,” and the endless soundtrack of your name being said 800 times a day. And now? Now it’s your time. Time to breathe, heal, and not answer another question that starts with “What are we supposed to be doing?”
As a member of your ESSDACK Resilience Team, I’ve got your back! You have permission to rest & refuel this summer.
Below are 20 ways—equal parts serious, soul-saving, and slightly silly—to help you really de-stress this summer, support your mental and physical wellness, and prep your spirit for the next lap around the sun. PLUS, I really like #9!
A calming, cheerful illustration of teachers relaxing in nature. One teacher is meditating under a tree, another is journaling in a hammock, one is walking a dog, and another is laughing with a friend. There’s a picnic blanket with healthy snacks, books, and water. Soft sunlight filters through trees, and a small cabin nearby has a sign that says “Teacher Recharge Zone.”
1. Actually. Do. Nothing.
You’ve earned some full-on horizontal hours. Don’t confuse productivity with worth. Stillness is a form of recovery.
2. Reclaim Your Mornings
Wake up because you’re rested, not because of an alarm or a “we’re out of glue sticks” email. Make coffee. Sit outside. Breathe. Repeat.
3. Move in Ways That Feel Good
Walk. Dance. Swim. Stretch. Do an interpretive routine to your most chaotic class memory. Movement = mood medicine and immunity booster.
4. Fuel Like You Love Yourself
No judgment if you lived off protein bars and PTO pizza. But now’s the time for rainbow salads, juicy fruits, and things that didn’t come from the vending machine at 2 p.m.
5. Be Assertively Unavailable
Practice saying, “I’m not taking that on right now,” without apologizing. Boundaries are not barriers—they're guardrails for sanity.
6. Turn Off Notifications
Silence the digital chaos. The group chat can wait. You’re not on call for anyone’s schedule but your own right now.
7. Give Compassion Fatigue a Break
You gave so much this year. Let yourself receive now. Hang out with people who pour into you, not just from you.
8. Take a Solo Field Trip
Go to a museum, a quiet lake, a hidden trail, or the fancy grocery store where no one calls you "Miss" or asks to borrow a pencil.
9. Create a “Yes, and…” List
Instead of a giant to-do list, make a summer “yes” list. Yes to rest. Yes to joy. Yes to sleeping until you don’t feel tired anymore. Seriously. Make it a checklist and be sure you do it, over all the other to-dos out there!
10. Hydrate Like It’s a Hobby
Dehydrated brains make bad decisions. Like signing up to teach summer school. (jk) Stay watered, friends.
11. Laugh. A Lot.
Watch your favorite comedy. Swap memes. Write down the funniest thing a kid said this year (“My mom says you look like her cousin who just got out of jail!”). Laughter lowers cortisol. Science, ftw!
12. Practice Mindfulness That Isn’t Woo-Woo
Breathe. Meditate. Sit in silence. Or just stare at the wall … with intention. The goal isn’t perfection—it’s presence.
13. Check Your Self-Talk
Would you say to a friend what you say to yourself? “I should’ve done more.” “I wasn’t enough.” Try replacing it with: “I did my best in impossible conditions.” Because… you did.
14. Say No So You Can Say Yes Later
“No” to one more committee. “No” to that extra duty. It’s not selfish—it’s strategic. Your future self will thank you in October.
15. Get Your Joy Muscles Moving Again
Try something new just for fun. Paint. Learn pickleball. Take up pottery. Join that wine…er book club your non-teacher friend has been telling you about. Rewatch Gilmore Girls. Do it because it makes you smile, not because it checks a box.
16. Rework Your Time Management—For You
Structure isn’t the enemy. Play with a summer schedule that includes you time, not just errand-running and chore-busting. (whew, I confess that was hard to type)
17. Do a Brain Dump and Let It Go
Write down everything still swirling in your mind: unfinished tasks, worries, big ideas. Then walk away. You don’t have to carry it all into June.
18. Schedule Your Wellness
Your mental and physical health deserves a calendar slot. Book the check-up. Find a therapist. Make a massage appointment. Healing won’t happen on its own.
19. Curate What Comes In
Guard your inputs. Skip toxic social media. It’s ok to still be friends with them in real life, but you have my permission to UNFOLLOW that person on the socials. Also, unfollow burnout glamor and “Pinterest-perfect” classrooms. Fill your feed and brain with what lifts you.
20. Start One Sustainable Habit
Just one. A five-minute stretch. A gratitude note. A nightly wind-down. Make it small and doable and celebrate it. Let it be your slow return to balance.
Final Thoughts
Teaching isn’t just a job—it’s a heart-forward, full-body, soul-stretching calling. But even superheroes need a reset. This summer isn’t about fixing yourself. It’s about finding yourself again—rested, whole, and ready to choose joy over burnout.
So unplug. Unwind. Unapologetically recover. We’ll be right here cheering you on, sunhat and smoothie in hand.
With love and deep admiration,
The ESSDACK Resilience Team 🧡
