The Principal's Handbook

How to Make the Most of Your Holiday Break
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Welcome to the Principal's Handbook, your go to resource [00:01:00] for principals looking to revamp their leadership approach and prioritize self care. I'm Barb Flowers, a certified life coach with eight years of experience as an elementary principal. Tune in each week as we delve into strategies for boosting mental resilience, managing time effectively, and nurturing overall wellness.
From tackling daily challenges to maintaining a healthy work life balance, I'm Barb Flowers. We'll navigate the complexities of school leadership together. Join me in fostering your sense of purpose as a principal and reigniting your passion for the job. Welcome to a podcast where your wellbeing is the top priority.
hey everyone. Welcome to the podcast. As we approach the holidays, it's so exciting to think about being off and taking a break for a couple of weeks from school. The break is a great time to reconnect with family and just allow yourself to decompress. So today I want to focus on how you can make the most of your holiday break because remember a break is so great to actually take [00:02:00] time for yourself and decompress.
Because I know for me, I've had those breaks where I needed a break from my break or I've had breaks where I didn't even know how I spent the time. It just went by so quickly. I didn't really get it. Get any of the things done that I wanted to do. So over time I've become better at maximizing my breaks.
So today I want to share six tips on things that I like to do to make the most of a holiday break. Tip number one, disconnect from school, take email off your phone and don't check email on your computer. Also set up an out of office auto reply so that people get a message from you. If they email you that you're not back in the office until January and they're not expecting a response.
Inform your staff and your colleagues that you're going to be taking the break for yourself, and you're not going to be checking email and encourage your staff to do the same. I think you can model that for them. And when you model being disconnected, that helps them to be disconnected as well and make the most of their break.
So make sure that you're not messaging staff as [00:03:00] well. This has really become a strength of mine, where I, I don't even think about school over a break. I don't look at my email. I don't get on my computer and work on things because I feel like this is a time where I really need to take time for myself so that when I go back in January, I'm going back and feeling totally rested and rejuvenated and ready to start the year because that is the purpose of a break.
It's to allow ourselves. back ready to go at 100%. And if we are working the entire break or we're really not taking that time to rest and disconnect, then we come back not really feeling that rejuvenated. So take time to disconnect. Tip number two, take time to rest and decompress. What helps you decompress?
Is it watching a show? Is it reading a book? Create a designated area in your house where you just unplug and can fully relax without any work related distractions. [00:04:00] And consider trying new hobbies or activities that maybe you've wanted to do during the school year but you haven't had time. And engaging activities that contribute to stress reduction.
So for me, I love watching shows. I love getting caught up on shows. I love reading books. I like to exercise more. But just having time where I can do the things that I want to do feels really good. So take that time for yourself. And sometimes I have to tell myself it's okay not to be productive today.
It's okay to sit on the couch because this is not the normal for me, but I'm just letting myself rest and have that day. Tip number three, focus on self care. So take time over the break to exercise, to meditate. Prioritize your self care by scheduling exercise sessions, whether that's at home or you go to a gym, go for a daily walk, do yoga.
Hopefully you have a workout routine because I think working out every day is super important. so important for self care, but if you don't, a break [00:05:00] is the perfect time to start a new routine. So incorporate mindfulness practices like meditation or deep breathing exercises to practice centering yourself.
So you can take those back with you when you start work again, if you get into a routine. , so taking this time during the break to really establish a good self care routine is really important. And practicing things like meditation, yoga, walking, where you're really helping with stress levels so that one, you're focusing on your self care during the break, and you can feel less stress during the break, but also so you can take those strategies.
in with you when you start back to school. I like to use the break to spend more time doing yoga. I love walking on the treadmill and watching a show, so I'm getting steps and watching a show. I also love to schedule myself a massage or a facial. Those are things I don't do all the time, but a break is a great time to do it because I have more time to go and it just is a good way to relax that, you know, feels like indulgent [00:06:00] self care.
Tip number four, Connect with family and friends. Use the break to really connect with your family and friends. See people you haven't seen in a while. You can organize virtual or in person gatherings with your family to strengthen those connections. You know, share quality time. Have time where you actually plan things to do.
For me, I love the break because it's quality time I get to spend with my kids. My kids are little and And it's a great time to make memories with them. However, I've learned over time that if I'm not intentional about the things that we are going to do, and I don't plan things for us to do, then we You know, return to school from the break and we've done nothing.
So I have to be really intentional about what are the things I want to do with my kids or what are the things I want to do with friends that I haven't seen in a while. So taking that time to be intentional, planning things and connecting with others is really important for your overall wellbeing and to maintain those [00:07:00] relationships so that you have people to talk to and you have people to go to when.
You know, you're struggling having connections is so important for your mental health. So having the break is a great time to maintain those connections and, you know, strengthen them during that time. Tip number five, use the break as a time for reflection. If you're feeling burnt out or stressed as the break starts, take time to assess and get to the root of those feelings to prevent them from coming up again.
I think a lot of times in education, we think when we have the summer off or we have spring break, or we have the holiday break that it's It's a time where burnout or stress just goes away. And that's not how it works. If you're not intentional and reflecting on what is causing the stress or what is causing the burnout, it doesn't just go away.
You have to reflect and you have to make changes and being on break is a great time to do that. So consider journaling and really getting to the [00:08:00] bottom and root causes of your thoughts and your emotions. Collaborate with a mentor that you have or Get a coach to gain insights and perspectives on what's going on with you and, and what can positively impact your wellbeing because having someone else.
can help you see things that you might not even be able to see. So during the break, I personally, I take time to engage in more personal development content from my own coach. You know, I'm in her coaching community and I like to take that time to really engage in our content. I like to read books about personal development and look at ways I can be improving.
So having a coach, having someone who can mentor you, help you during this time is great for reflecting and making changes. Which goes along with tip number six, create a vision for the new year. So use the break as a time to create a vision for what you want your life to look like, both personally and professionally.
I love having a break at the new year because I have a lot of time to [00:09:00] reflect on what I want my life to look like. What routines do I want to have? What type of person do I want to become? You have to be intentional about those things and it takes time and it takes planning. I think sometimes we don't want to take the time to plan what we want our life to look like, but how do you make changes if you aren't intentional and you aren't planning?
So take your reflections and make them actionable goals. Develop a strategic plan for what positive change you want to make in your personal or professional life. And then consider sharing your vision with a friend or a colleague for accountability and support. Again, you could hire a, you could hire a coach who can hold you accountable and help you reach your goals.
I take a lot of time at the end of the year thinking about What went well, what I would like to do differently. I buy a planner each year that helps me map out each area of my life and what I want that to look like for the years. I think about the following areas, such as what do I want my family life to look like?[00:10:00]
What do I want other relationships and friendships to look like? What do I want my marriage to look like? Um, how do I want to engage in work? How do I, what Where do I want to travel? How do I want travel to look in my life? Do I want it to be a couple times a year? What do I want that to look like? Um, what do I want my spiritual life to look like?
You know, do I want to be in a Bible study? Do I want to have a mentor? What do I want that to look like? Am I happy with where that is? What do I want my finances to look like? Is there a specific amount of money I want to save? Is there debt to pay off? You know, what goals do I have around finances and what goals do I have around hobbies?
Because if you're not intentional about it, you might not have time for hobbies. So is there a new hobby you want to try? Is there something else you want to do? So really looking at all these different areas and thinking about what you want that to look like in your life. When you have a vision. And you really think about what that vision is and how to get there.
That's how you make [00:11:00] changes and that's how you create the life that you want to have. So taking that time during a break is a great time to do that. So I just want to review what those six tips were that we talked about today. So disconnect from school, take time to rest and decompress, focus on self care, connect with family and friends, Use the break as a time for reflection and create a vision for the new year.
So remember finding a balance between rest, reflection, and rejuvenation is the key to making the most of your holiday break. As a principle, we need this break. We need to make the most of it and make sure we come out of the break, feeling good and positive about how we use that time. So I keep using this word, but you have to be intentional.
So make sure you're intentional about your break. Make sure you're intentional about relaxation. All of these things are important, and I hope you take this time for yourself, and I hope you really enjoy your break. If you're interested in coaching to help reflect and create a vision for the new year, I'd love to help you.
As a [00:12:00] coach, I can help you evaluate your thoughts and emotions that will lead to actions towards your goals. I can also help you follow through so you can achieve your goals and create the life you want to have. I have hired a coach for myself and it is life changing. Having a coach is so crucial to having someone else to see what areas you're trying to focus on and maybe where you're struggling or where you feel like you're in a rut.
So if you're interested in that, reach out to me. Thank you for tuning into the podcast. If you find this podcast helpful, please leave a review so other people can find this podcast and stay tuned for next week's episode.
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