Try reading and journaling at different times of the day. You won’t know what works for you until you’ve tried a few different things.
Read or journal during your commute. If you’re driving, please use audio reading and voice writing (the voice recording feature in Google Docs works pretty well, if you’re looking for something quick to try). If you no longer have a commute, because Miss Rona has you working from home, reclaim some of your commute time. How long did it take you to get to work? 10 minutes? 45 minutes? Take your commute time, cut it in half, and dedicate that amount of time to self care. For example, if it used to take you 30 minutes to get to work, give yourself 15 minutes of self care before work and 15 minutes of self care after work.
Read or journal after exercise – how is your thinking different after exercise? Your emotions? Your focus?
Read or journal after work – decompress from the day and prepare your mind for the next portion of your day.
Read or journal when you have a few moments. (See previous posts about being prepared to read and journal HERE, HERE and HERE.) Two minutes of self care is success, not failure.
Don’t pressure yourself to meet some imaginary self care standard. Focus on doing what you can, when you can. Practicing some self care is better than practicing none.
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I am doing a 31-day series on reading and journaling as self care for educators. Each day of the series has bonus journal prompts. Click to join the LELA House family of educators committed to nourishing their reading, writing, and creative souls. You’ll receive a link to the journal prompts and gain early alerts for upcoming LELA House ideas, courses, and products. You only need to subscribe once. I will add a new worksheet each day to the access link.
Roshaunda D. Cade, Ph.D. is an educator, writer, and creator. She offers life coaching and writing coaching to educators, as well as other opportunities for educators to practice self care through reading and writing. Check out her LELA House website to learn more about her services. Roshaunda lives in St. Louis, MO with her husband and teenage children and enjoys reading, writing, dancing, and pushing her creative boundaries.