Prepare for a Restful Winter Break

In today’s episode, we'll explore tech-infused strategies you can use to prepare for a restful winter break.

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Transcript

Paul Beckermann 0:00 Welcome to Tech Talk for teachers. I'm your host, Paul Beckermann.

Transition Music with Rena's Children 0:05 Check it out. Check it out. Check it out. What's in the toolkit? Check it out.

Paul Beckermann 0:16 The topic of today's episode is prepare for a restful winter break. The days before winter break can be filled with fun, student engagement, classroom celebrations, and anticipation of some time off; they can also be exhausting.

In this episode, I'm going to share some tech strategies that you can use to set boundaries, automate routine tasks, and help you enjoy some valuable time off during break. These small steps before break can help you protect your time, lower stress, and make the return in January much smoother.

Transition Music with Rena's Children Let's count it. Let's count it. Let's count it down.

Paul Beckermann  Number one: Clear the clutter. 

During the frenzy of these last days before break, it's easy to let things pile up. This clutter might include physical paper stacked on your desk. It can also be online learning management systems stuffed with digital assignments. It's tempting to push these piles aside and tell yourself that you'll deal with them when you return after break.

However, a little extra effort now, even though you're tired, can help you rest more easily over break and return with a cleared deck. If you can find the time, leave for break with assignments already graded and with your virtual and physical desk cleared.

An even better option might be to ramp up to break with formative assessments that don't require you to grade them. Consider using the opportunity for peer feedback, self-assessment, automated digital feedback, or enrichment activities that can help students grow but don't require grading.

If something does require grading, consider having students present their work to the class. Then you can grade or provide feedback while they are sharing, rather than at home over break. Be kind to yourself and try to keep the workload manageable.

This "clear the clutter" philosophy even extends to your email inbox. Consider putting all after-break items into one labeled folder or list called "January 2," or whatever your return date is.

This gives a clean reentry point instead of a mental pileup of emails filling up your inbox.

Number two: Set an email out-of-office message. 

Email can be a source of continual anxiety. It seems like it comes in faster than we can reply, and the thought of it piling up even more while we're out for break can be stressful. It can tempt us to continually check our inbox, even when school is not in session.

It can be very healthy practice to set some boundaries here. Set up an out-of-office message for the days you are out of school over break. A simple, warm message will work well, something like, "Thank you for your message. Our school is currently on break. I'll respond when we return.". This gives an immediate response for those trying to reach you, and it also sets the expectation and boundary that you won't be replying during break.

Number three: Schedule messages in advance.

Similar to clearing the clutter, you can be preemptive about messages that you know will need to be sent when you return from break. Taking care of some of these now will reduce your stress level when you return.

Many programs allow you to schedule send messages in advance. This includes email, learning management systems, and student information systems. You might include a "welcome back" message to automatically go out the night before school returns. Or you might put a message on the landing page of your LMS. This might include your classroom newsletter, a preview of a new unit to begin in January, or perhaps a warm welcome back to your students and their families.

For email messages that you know you will need to attend to when you return, consider a schedule-send message back to yourself at a later date. While this doesn't eliminate the work, it can help you clear out your inbox during break. Overstuffed inboxes can be big sources of anxiety.

Number four: Turn off school notifications on your devices. 

Pop-up alerts of new emails or messages coming in can be stressful and continual reminders that work is waiting for you. To help you unplug and disconnect from the stress of work, turn those notifications off. It can help you break the habit of constantly checking email or other communication inboxes.

You might even choose to move your school email shortcut off your home screen during break, to move it out of sight. Do what works for you, and remember it's healthy to disconnect during break.

Number five: Have the first day back ready to go before you leave.

Again, this takes a little time now, but if you can have your first day or two planned and ready before you leave, it will allow you to enjoy your break much more stress-free. You'll be eliminating the urgent work that is needed for that first day, allowing you to be more relaxed heading back to school. If you use a learning management system, you can have those lessons prepped and loaded in there.

You can usually hide them from student view as well, and you can publish it or make it public when you return. Sometimes this can be scheduled.

One great back-to-school lesson idea is to review digital routines when you return. This can be a fairly easy lift and can help you and your students review best practices that will keep things running smoothly in the new year. This might include things like digital routines, organization of digital files, and digital communication protocols.

Another way to keep that first day back manageable is to consider using it to reestablish relational capacity in your classroom. You might pre-build a simple slide that you can use on that first day back, something like, "Welcome back. Let's ease in. What's one thing you learned or enjoyed during break?". This sets a warm tone and gives you something manageable to do on that first day back. It also honors the relationships you're building in your classroom.

Posting a message encouraging your students to enjoy their break is a nice touch as well.

Number six: Calendar block your first day back.

Again, be kind to yourself and add a 30 to 60 minute quiet planning block to your calendar on that return day. This protects time for recentering, easing in, and catching up.

Oh, and here's a bonus tip. 

Here's a bonus tip: Send yourself a positive message. This one's sort of related to the schedule-send tip, but send one to yourself. Write yourself a positive, encouraging email and schedule-send it so you'll receive it when you return to school after break.

You might remind yourself of a classroom win you had before break, or outline a brief to-do list to recenter yourself after being away from school for a while. Make it positive, give yourself a smile, maybe even include a photo of your family or a funny meme. You'll probably forget.

You send it, and it can give you a nice positive boost when you return to your classroom after some time off.

When that final bell rings and your students file out of your classroom, remember to tell yourself you've done enough. Let this break be a break. The work will wait. You might even write this message on a Post-it and stick it to your computer screen. Boundaries are healthy, and now it's time to take a break. You do great things. You are appreciated, and you make a difference.

To learn more about today's topic and explore other free resources, visit avidopenaccess.org. Specifically, I encourage you to check out the article, "Holiday Tech: Fun Activities for Your Classroom". And of course, be sure to join Rena Winston and me every Wednesday for our full-length podcast, Unpacking Education, where we're joined by exceptional guests and explore education topics that are important to you.

Thanks for listening. Take care, enjoy your holiday break, and thanks for all you do. You do make a difference.