Teacher Wellbeing

In this episode you will hear Part 2 of my interview with Elise. If you haven’t yet, go back and listen to Part 1 so that this half to he conversation makes sense! In Part 1 she tells us about some serious health challenges she’s faced, including a really, REALLY important message about vocal care, plus how important a culture of wellbeing is in a school.So while in Part 1 we talked a lot about school experiences of wellbeing there, the conversation shifts in Part 2 to be about Elise’s personal life and wellbeing, and the self-care practices in place that she supports herself with. It’s so great to hear how she has changed her practices and also her mindset from paying attention to what’s working and what’s not, and being willing to try things to see how they will or won’t support her wellbeing. Elise’s story is also such a great example of how powerful coaching is to help upgrade and improve our wellbeing both in the classroom and in life.You can also find out about the Mind Management Pilot Program starting

In this episode we hear another teacher story, this time from Elise. Elise tells us about some serious health challenges she’s faced, including a really important message for teachers about vocal care.We cover so many great points and it was such a good conversation that it actually went for nearly an hour, so I’ve split it into 2 parts. This episode, part 1, focuses on workplace stuff, the wellbeing challenges and the impact a leadership team that is proactively supportive of staff wellbeing has been.In Part 2 we focus on the more personal wellbeing side of things, and Elise shares some great tips there too, so stay tuned for that next week.Throughout both of these episodes, Elise mentions Katrina Bourke from Katrina Bourke Coaching, who is a friend and supporter of this podcast and has been a wonderful sponsor for a couple of seasons now. I do want to say, though, that this is NOT a sponsored episode, Katrina is not paying me to or Elise to say any of this. This is just a very real and honest testimonial fo

Despite the jokes that teaching is 9 - 3 with 12 weeks holiday a year, we know it to be otherwise. We know that the work starts well before 9am, finishes well after 3pm and that large parts of those holidays are usually spent working too. We also know that workload has been increasing over the last 10-20 years. The introduction of new improvement measures such as Professional Standards for Teachers and the national curriculum, as well as the impact of NAPLAN and the My School Website have resulted in more administrative work, much of which arguably has little to do with the actual running of a classroom day to day.There is a vast invisible workload required of teachers today, much of which isn't only invisible to the general public but it's also going unnoticed and unacknowledged by us too. As well as the administrative requirements of the job, the mental load of running a classroom and the emotional labour inherent in the role are increasing too.This episode is about that invisible work, and while there are

In this episode I interview Kelsey, a teacher from the United States. She shares with us her wellbeing challenges of being consumed by the job in her first year, and losing her identity as a person. Kelsey then tells us how she has overcome this through intentional personal growth and self-care. We talk about decision fatigue, the power of rituals and routines, and learning to switch off at night.You can find Kelsey at @adventuringkelsey on Facebook and Instagram and also at adventuringkelsey.comConnect with me @selfcareforteachers on Facebook and Instagram and at selfcareforteachers.com.auI also have a couple of announcements!If you’re in South East QLD Miranda from Kickstart Martial Arts and Yoga and I are running another PD, a Teacher Wellbeing Workshop in Toowoomba on Saturday the 29th June, so head to selfcareforteachers.com.au/workshop for the details and to book. Spots are limited so get in quick!Speaking of events, make sure you keep an eye on the Facebook events list because I’m also running another

In this episode I speak with Linda Back from Zest Natural Therapies. Linda works with a lot of teachers so I felt she was a great guest to cover this topic because she really does have a good understanding and appreciation of the kind of work that we do and the demands of working in a school that are different to other workplaces. We talk about all things to do with gut health and the immune system, which is such an important thing and very timely too at this time of year.Disclaimer: This podcast episode is NOT medical advice, this is general information only and you need to speak to your health practitioner to get advice that is right for you.Connect with Linda via her website zestnaturaltherapies.com.au, on Facebook, or email her at linda@zestnaturaltherapies.com.auSome articles Linda suggests are below, and you can also check out her free e-course on immmunity here.Low immunity/continual colds & flus: https://www.zestnaturaltherapies.com.au/why-we-get-sick-and-what-to-do-about-it/Burnout recovery: http

I share 5 steps to changing your health habits and improving your wellbeing as a teacher. When I’m coaching teachers, running live webinars or presenting workshops and retreats, you tell me that your habits are something you know undermines your wellbeing, especially as the busy times of term set in. So hopefully this episode will be quite timely for you and will help you cultivate wellbeing habits that support your health and happiness not just on the school holidays but throughout the year as well. Find some helpful worksheets, including a self-coaching worksheet, a healthy habit tracker and a free training about healthy habit hacks, in the freebies library on the Self-Care for Teachers Resource Room: www.selfcareforteachers.com.au/libraryI also have some important people to thank. In case you don’t know, podcasts are free to listen to but they’re not free to make and if you’ve been paying attention on the socials, you’ll know I ran a successful crowdfunding campaign earlier in the year to make this Season

This is the last episode of Season 4, and I'm talking about three thinking traps that sabotage your wellbeing as a teacher. I see these all the time and I experience them myself, so don’t feel like you’re alone in it. Of course it’s not an exhaustive list, but these are the top three that I see and I think it’s useful to identify them so that we can get out of the trap. I’ve heard Katrina Bourke say that we have to "name it to tame it" when talking about emotions, and I think it applies here too. Once we’re aware of these thinking traps, we can catch ourselves in the act and redirect our thoughts to be more conducive to supporting our self-care and our health and happiness, instead of sabotaging it.May the rest of your 2018 go smoothly and I hope you will join me on the socials and via the newsletter so you can be the first to know about announcements and have access to things like early bird prices for programs I'm running in the new year. Support the show at www.patreon.com/selfcareforteachers and by leavin

In this episode, I interview Clare Crew, a mother, teacher, speaker and host of the Thriving Children podcast. Clare shares with us some of the ups and downs on her journey of parenting and integrating that with her role as an educator, being still a great teacher while having some energy left for your own children. She experienced post-natal depression in her shift into motherhood, and I really wanted to have her on the show because of course teaching is still a predominantly female workforce and many still think of it as a very family-friendly profession, but it isn’t always the case. Obviously every parent’s story will be different and there is no one-size-fits-all but as you probably know by now, I think it’s important to talk about mental health challenges and also to share a range of different career options for teachers at any stage of life.Clare talks in this episode about the different choices she’s made in her teaching career since becoming a parent, and how that’s still evolving. I also particularl

Welcome back and thank you for bearing with me in my couple of weeks intermission of Season 4 of the podcast. In this episode, I interview a teacher friend of mine, Miranda, who I think has a really empowering story for lots of people. She has made a shift away from full time teaching, but she’s now teaching in a lot of different contexts.Miranda shares that it was a really difficult decision for her at the time but I really like the way she made some choices based on her values and what would be sustainable and effective for her long term, but also bu looking back at what her original goals were and why she became a teacher in the first place. She figured out how to still meet those goals without being in the traditional full-time school teacher context that most of us think is ‘being a teacher’. I hope you enjoy this episode and Miranda’s story, I think there’s a lot in it for us all to learn from.Find the show notes for this episode at www.selfcareforteachers.com.au/podcast and connect with Miranda @kickst

Daniela Falecki from teacher-wellbeing.com.au has been called the ‘Keep-it-real Teacher’ because she is passionate, energetic, funny and most importantly realistic. As a teacher for more than 20 years, she knows all too well the stress, frustrations and struggles teachers face. You might remember Daniela from Season 3 where she shared her journey from teacher to coach to PD presenter in Episode 2. She's also one of the sponsors of the podcast so I'm thrilled to welcome her back as a repeat guest! In this episode, Daniela shares how teachers are faring at the coal face, what she is hearing from teachers around Australia and some really valuable advice about time management. She also explains some important questions you need to be asking in order to support yourself, as well as evidence-based strategies for your wellbeing, and some great resources too.Find the show notes for this episode at www.selfcareforteachers.com.au/podcast and connect with Daniela @teacherwellbeing for Instagram and Facebook, @dfalecki o

In this episode I share a teacher story from high school teacher and side-hustler Vince. We discuss the importance reflecting on your mistakes and weaknesses, and how you can learn from them to improve the next time around. Vince also shares how useful it was for his teaching career to take a two year break and do something else for a while. We then talk about the power of hobbies and how his side-hustle has not only improved his life but also his experience in the classroom.You can connect with Vince on LinkedIn or check out his blogs and podcasts about innovation and teaching entrepreneurship over at vincemassara.comThis episode is sponsored by the Self-Care for Teachers Resource Room: an online hub for teachers to learn about health, happiness, wellbeing and burnout prevention. Check out the library. It’s a collection of free resources that you can use to be proactive about your self-care and wellbeing. Find out more atwww.selfcareforteachers.com.au/library

Listen to part 2 of my interview with Gigi Langer, an author, speaker, teacher and educator of pre-service teachers. Gigi has a really powerful story about her journey with fear, worry and substance abuse, which she shares in her wonderful book 50 Ways to Worry Less Now: Reject Negative Thinking to Find Peace, Clarity and Connection.This is a 2-part episode because Gigi and I had so much to talk about. This episode is part 2 of the interview where Gigi shares some of the excellent techniques in her book, including the best acronym I’ve ever heard, and some fantastic book suggestions too.Find the show notes for this episode at www.selfcareforteachers.com.au/podcast and connect with Gigi at her website www.gigilanger.com and Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/worrylessnow/This episode is brought to you by Daniela Falecki’s teacher wellbeing cards. These 52 cards give you simple daily reminders to help better support your wellbeing. Find them and Daniela’s other resources at www.teacher-wellbeing.com

Listen to part 1 of my interview with Gigi Langer, an author, speaker, teacher and educator of pre-service teachers. Gigi has a really powerful story about her journey with fear, worry and substance abuse, which she shares in her wonderful book 50 Ways to Worry Less Now: Reject Negative Thinking to Find Peace, Clarity and Connection.This is a 2-part episode because Gigi and I had so much to talk about. This episode is part 1 of the interview where Gigi shares a bit about her background and her journey, and how she came to be writing a self-help book, as well as some tips to help you increase your health, happiness and wellbeing at work and in life.Find the show notes for this episode at www.selfcareforteachers.com.au/podcast and connect with Gigi at her website www.gigilanger.com and Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/worrylessnow/This episode is sponsored by Katrina Bourke Coaching, helping caring professions create a life of balance and flow. Find out more at www.katrinabourkecoaching.com.auand evolve,

In this episode I share with you some of the results of the Self-Care for Teachers Annual Survey that I did in June 2018. The report is still forthcoming, but today I thought I would share with you a bit of an overview and what I’ve got so far.In the survey, I asked a whole bunch of questions, and I don’t go through all of them today, but I do cover a bit about physical and mental health, workload, wellbeing practices and what respondents said is happening in their schools in terms of support for staff wellbeing.Stay tuned for the final report, once I’ve finished sifting through all the free-form answers. There’s a lot to do and I want to do it properly, so I appreciate all your patience. If you’re not already, make sure you subscribe to the podcast in your podcast player, sign up to the newsletter and come over to follow me on Facebook or Instagram (my handle is @selfcareforteachers ) because that’s where you’ll get the updates.Find the full show notes at selfcareforteachers.com.au/podcastThis episode of the

I speak with Ben Weir about his journey from classroom teacher to clinical psychologist, and the power of self-compassion. This was a really interesting conversation that aligns with the ethos of Self-Care for Teachers. Having followed his love of learning into the primary school classroom and also into yoga, he now works at New River, an organisation that aims to build capacity for positive change in individuals, school communities and community organisations. As part of his Masters of Clinical Psychology, Ben is researching teacher wellbeing via the Teacher Stress and Self-Compassion Study, which he would love you to participate in.Find out more about New River on their website, follow Ben’s research on Facebook or to participate, go here: http://bit.ly/2zP7hhcTeacherStressCompassionThis episode is brought to you by Daniela Falecki’s teacher wellbeing cards. These 52 cards give you simple daily reminders to help better support your wellbeing. Find them and Daniela’s other resources at www.teacher-wellbeing.

We're back with Season 4 and in this episode I'm talking all about self-care guilt. Teachers tell me all the time that they feel guilty when they practice self-care. It's extremely common and I have experienced it for myself. The good news is, there's quite a lot you can do about it! In this episode of the Teacher Wellbeing Podcast, I explore 7 ways you can stop the self-care guilt trip and get back to enjoying your wellbeing and your life. As it's the first episode of a new season, I also share some updates that have happened since the end of Season 3 and some upcoming announcements.For full show notes, please visit https://www.selfcareforteachers.com.au/twps04e01This episode is sponsored by Katrina Bourke Coaching, helping caring professions create a life of balance and flow. Find out more at www.katrinabourkecoaching.com.au and evolve, transform, thrive.

In this episode I share the top 5 things that have stood out to me as lessons or themes from the 3 seasons of the Teacher Wellbeing Podcast so far. Of course, you might have a different top 5 list and I'd love to hear it! I also revisit the Self-Care for Teachers mission and share some of my recent reflections on how I'm working to achieve that, including some ways listeners can be involved in supporting the mission. This includes some great new patron-only bonuses for people who choose to support the next season of the podcast on Patreon at patreon.com/selfcareforteachersAt the start of the episode, I share some announcements, including a reminder about the early bird sale of my signature program Prioritise You. It's available for $147 (50% off) until the 25th May 2018. The course begins on 4th June. You can find it, as well as the freebies library at the Resource Room www.selfcareforteachers.com.au/library

In this episode of the Teacher Wellbeing Podcast, I interview Steve Waters from the Teach Well Alliance in the UK. Steve is a former high school English and Drama teacher, who worked for 30 years in high schools in the UK including as an Assistant Principal. After spending some time in a consultancy role for the district, he began noticing an increasing number of teachers were struggling under the pressures of the job and that wellbeing crises were happening more frequently. He decided to do something about it, and has set up the Teach Well Alliance where he works with schools to help them through a 12-month organisational wellbeing program for staff. The Teach Well Alliance also has a conference coming up in July called Tackling Teacher Burnout, so if you're in the UK keep an eye out for that! In this episode, Steve and I talk about some of the factors that influence organisational wellbeing in schools, the expensive and vicious cycle of high staff absences, and some great tips for early career teachers to h

In this episode of the Teacher Wellbeing podcast, I had a fascinating conversation with business growth coach Lena West about personal leadership and being the CEO of your own life. We talk about what it means to be the CEO of your life, and how you can use the CEO mindset to help support your health and wellbeing. Lena explains why sometimes we need to reevaluate our levels of self-care and shift out of maintenance mode if there is a qualifying event in our life that means we require more. We also cover boundaries, making life changes and new habits incrementally, and why resilience and reframing are so important. Lena also shares a story of a turning point in her life and how a teacher made a big impact on her, which I found a beautiful reminder of the power we all have to impact the people around us. You can connect with Lena via Facebook or email lena@lenawest.com “If your needs aren’t taken care of you don’t have the reserves to even consider someone else’s needs because you’re in a deficit.” ~ Lena West

In this episode, I interview Kelly Hine from Body and Soul Retreats. Kelly has a background as an early childhood educator and university lecturer. She now runs retreats, is a Reiki Master, mindfulness, meditation and self-love teacher. She has an online membership community, Soul Space, which delivers weekly soul-nurturing mini-retreats that blend the best of science and spirituality for a happy, peaceful and meaningful life. I have experienced some of Kelly's meditations at a retreat, and they're just beautiful. I really resonated with Kelly's story in this episode. She describes her younger self as a workaholic, insomniac, overthinking stress head worrier, who loved her job but lived and breathed work, which really took its toll. In this episode, she shares her health and wellbeing journey from there and how meditation and mindfulness helped her heal and create a life of more wellbeing.You can connect with Kelly at www.bodyandsoulretreats.com or sign up for her free mindfulnessresources at www.kellyhine.co