It’s June. Here’s one key thing coaches can do to prepare for the fall.
Dear coaches,
It’s June, and we’ve just finished one of the hardest school years in decades. There’s one super simple, and yet very challenging, action that I believe all coaches should take this summer to get ready for the fall: rest.
Just rest.
Simple, right? But I’ll continue, since I know from experience that it is quite challenging for most of us in a coaching role to rest well.
I hope you don’t feel the pressure of doing or being anything this summer. I hope you don’t feel the pressure of starting a new position, supporting burnt-out teachers, or juggling all the non-coaching hats that are so often put on you. Oftentimes, the pressure to be or do something comes from ourselves. But this burden isn’t ours to bear, at least not alone, and especially not in June.
If you haven’t already, give yourself permission to rest this summer.
This year, you have helped teachers and students accomplish what they didn’t think was possible. You have squeezed an impossible number of meetings into each week. You have adapted to new technology, new curriculum, and a new political climate for educators. You have passed teachers tissues as they cry in your office. You have researched countless resources; sometimes quite effectively, and other times wondering why it feels so hard to find things with a near-endless search engine. You have worn the hat of teacher, testing coordinator, roster chair, AP, data specialist, PD specialist, and therapist, even though none of these are in your job description. You have marveled at the brilliance of children.
You have done more than enough in your role this year. It’s time to rest.
And it’s not that you are allowed to rest because you “deserve it” from all your hard work. You deserve to rest just because you are human. Let’s not falsely reinforce the idea that we are valuable because of the work we produce, or that we have to “earn” opportunities for rest.
I know everyone rests in different ways. Some people rest through lots of sleep or sitting on the beach; others through being active, taking a class, or doing house projects. Consider how you feel most renewed in time off work. However you rest, make sure you are resting from your work.
Take a break. Everything will be okay if you don’t reply to emails for a few weeks! Nothing will be better in the fall if you plan throughout the entire summer. You will be the most effective in the fall if you take time to truly recharge this summer.
In coaching, we support teachers in building new habits, especially through practice and repetition. Part of your goal for resting this summer should be to build new habits that can be sustained into the new school year. In the fall, build your new school year around your balanced schedule - around family, friends, exercise, and rest - instead of the other way around.
Reflect on Rest:
As you are resting from your work as a coach, reflect on one or more of these questions:
What helps me be more rested and recharged when I have time off? How can I build in more opportunities for this activity this summer?
What holds me back from fully resting or disconnecting?
Why is rest important to me? How will it really help me this fall?
What community of people helps me feel more rested and whole? How can I connect with these people this summer?
How can I build new habits of rest or balance this summer that I can sustain into the new school year?
Here’s to summer of rest!
Much love,
Lauren