Description: This week, Dr. Boogren challenges the Squad to avoid a very tempting bad habit. Let's give ourselves time to recharge and tell teacher guilt to walk out the door.
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Transcription: Hi, and welcome to episode 14 of season two of Self-Care for Educators. I am your host, Tina Boogren. This week's invitation is a small one, but it's a really important one. Here's what I want us to commit to this week or my invitation for us this week. I want you to eat lunch. I know we've talked about this before. I know that in other professions, this is not nearly as challenging as it is for us, but as I was thinking about some different ways that we can purposely stay grounded or during this stretch between Thanksgiving and winter break, I think one of the small things that we can do is to commit to eating lunch, to actually putting in our mouths, to think about nourishing food. That's going to help us have the energy that we need, and really just the ritual of taking time to eat. That temptation as educators is always to work through lunch and get 75 things done and run around and do this ...
And, it's hard. It's really hard to not do that, but I think that reset in the middle of the day is going to be essential for helping us find that sense of calm. So, that's what I want you to play with this week. I want you to think about what, what food can you bring to work most likely or where can you get food that's going to be nourishing? Maybe you can plan ahead. Plan out your week, and then decide where you will eat lunch.
Maybe you need to move away from your desk, so that you are not tempted to do all of the things. Maybe you want to ask a colleague to eat lunch with you, and you find kind of a neutral place for you guys to simply enjoy lunch. Maybe you were the kind of person that needs to eat lunch by yourself. I can relate to this. And so, you commit to finding a secret spot in the school or in the building that's just yours. Or, you go sit at a different table in your room, and you turn off the lights so no one knows you're there. Or, depending on what your weather is, you go sit outside, or you could even go sit in your car. I know a lot of teachers that go sit in their car, and it's not to be antisocial. It's to just take a breath, take a beat, listen to a podcast, listen to music, just to just find that sense of calm. You know, there's a reason that most of our contracts allow us to have uninterrupted lunchbreak, and a lot of times we ignore that. I know I did for a long, long, long time.
It was just this feeling of like, oh, I've got time. I'm going to do all the things. And, the truth is that just makes us even more scattered. So, to just find that break, I think is huge. If that feels like, Oh, I couldn't possibly have too much to do. Okay. Maybe you take your lunchtime. Maybe you have 17 minutes-20 minutes, whatever it is. And, I want you to at least commit to like taking half of that time to have an uninterrupted lunch break that's just yours. I also love the idea of eating your lunch and taking a quick walk around the building outside, inside, something ...
Or, just sitting inside doing a meditation, listening to some music, have a dance party before you get your afternoon started just that little like respite during the day, I think can be huge. You know, I, we often giggle in workshops about how many of us have partners and spouses and family members that take an hour lunch. Right? And then, they leave, and they go sit somewhere and eat lunch for an hour. And, that's just like, unheard of. And, we probably can't take an hour lunch or go out to eat. But, I do think that we can take some of those lessons from those that just kind of gift of time and start incorporating it, demanding it.
And, I think it's probably for some of us going to feel real awkward. And, we might feel pretty anxious for the first few minutes, but then I think we'll sink into it. And, I want us to just really hold on to that. Maybe, you get an accountability partner that you check in with or that you eat with. Whatever works for you. I just want you to commit this week to pausing, to actually eat lunch, to take in an interrupted lunch break. Remember that? No is a full sentence. And, I know so many of us have ... are having to have help out and step up and take on all sorts of different roles and responsibilities. And yes, it's, it takes a village. But, there's also a time and a space to say, I need this time. I'm going to keep my lunchtime sacred. And, I know we work with students at different times, but it's okay. Hear me say that it is okay to give yourself permission to eat lunch and on an interrupted lunch break.
Let's give ourselves that gift to this. As always a huge thank you to Brooke for making this happen. Thank you to Marzano Resources and Solution Tree for this wonderful job that I get to do, even when it's crazy. I'm so grateful for it. And, above all and always a huge, huge shout out to you by bad-ass self care squad. My gratitude is just overflowing and I hope that you find time. To have an, an interrupted ledger break this week.
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