A 7-Day Teacher Decompression Plan for First Week of Summer [Episode 260]

Heidi 0:00
This is episode 260 of Teacher Approved.

Heidi 0:06
You’re listening to Teacher Approved, the podcast helping educators elevate what matters and simplify the rest. I’m Heidi.

Emily 0:14
And I’m Emily. We’re the creators behind Second Story Window, where we give research-based and teacher-approved strategies that make teaching less stressful and more effective. You can check out the show notes and resources from each episode at secondstorywindow.net.

Heidi 0:29
We’re so glad you’re tuning in today. Let’s get to the show.

Emily 0:36
Hey there, thanks for joining us today. In today’s episode, we are talking about the first week of summer and how to actually decompress, plus we’ve got a teacher-approved tip for soaking up the full sensory experience of summer.

Heidi 0:50
But first, let’s start with a try it tomorrow, where we share a quick one that you can try in your classroom right away. Emily, what is our suggestion this week?

Emily 0:58
This week, we’ve got a couch task for you. You know we love a couch task. Spend five minutes decluttering your teaching Pinterest boards, or your saved TikToks, or those Instagram posts that you’ve been hoarding all year. Just go through and delete the ideas that now you realize you are never actually going to use, and that way you can easily find the good ideas when you need them.

Heidi 1:22
Right. This is such an important step if you’re going to save ideas, because you got to look for that one anchor chart idea, and then you have to scroll through 400 activities that seem awesome, but you know you, you’re never actually going to use these. So just trim the dead weight, keep what’s exciting but still feels reasonable, and then just delete what isn’t serving you anymore. It makes your saved content way more useful.

Emily 1:46
Plus, it is also weirdly satisfying, because it’s like cleaning out your purse. You don’t realize how much clutter you’re carrying around until you take some of it out, and then when you do, it’s like such a big win.

Heidi 1:56
Yes, it’s like a whole new system.

Emily 1:58
Yes.

Heidi 1:59
Well, if you like this idea, or anything else we share here on the podcast, would you take a second and give us a five-star rating and review on Apple Podcasts or on Spotify? Ratings and reviews help new listeners find us, so every one really helps.

Heidi 2:12
Okay, everyone, happy June 1. We know some of you lucky souls are starting your second, or maybe your third week of summer break.

Emily 2:20
But some of you still have three or more weeks to the finish line.

Heidi 2:24
Oh, that’s rough.

Emily 2:26
But they will still be at the beach when the early out crowd is heading back in July, so it all kind of evens out.

Heidi 2:32
Yeah, I guess there’s trade offs, but whether you are in those first golden days of break or your golden days are still just a distant bright spot on the calendar, summer is a gift.

Emily 2:43
The problem with this gift, though, is that it doesn’t come with any assembly instructions.

Heidi 2:48
Yeah, you have been counting down for months, you’ve been telling yourself, if I can just make it to summer, everything will be fine. And then summer arrives, and you wake up on day one, and you have absolutely no idea what to do with yourself.

Emily 3:01
So you do what any rational person would do, and you scroll your phone for a while, maybe you take a nap, you feel weirdly unsettled about something you can’t quite name, and you wonder if you should be doing something more.

Heidi 3:15
Or maybe you go the complete other direction. You decide that since you finally have time, you’re going to clean out the garage, repaint the bathroom, and start lesson planning for next year. By day four, you’re exhausted, your house is half torn apart, and you still haven’t done a single thing that feels like summer.

Emily 3:32
Yeah, those are the two failure modes we’re calling them guilty rest and the productivity trap, and it’s easy to fall into one or the other.

Heidi 3:41
Or both. Honestly, both. You start with guilty rest, and then you panic about wasting your summer, and you swing hard into the productivity trap, and then you crash again. It’s a whole cycle.

Emily 3:52
Yeah, we know that cycle well. When we were both still teaching, we had plenty of summers where we came home from the last day of school, and collapsed on the couch for, you know, two weeks, and not in a restful way. In the I literally cannot make a decision about what to do with myself way, and you just kind of become a vegetable on the couch.

Heidi 4:12
Yes, become part of the couch.

Emily 4:14
Yep.

Heidi 4:14
It was a combination of being so depleted that we couldn’t function and not knowing what to do that was productive, but still gentle. So we just defaulted to zoning out until we could stand the thought of starting to think about the next school year.

Emily 4:28
And then we dove in with fire. We had a whole system where we spent mornings working in Heidi’s room, and then switched to my room after lunch, because I had a swamp cooler on my room, and Heidi had no air conditioner.

Heidi 4:40
Yeah, and calling it a cooler is a stretch. The word cool. Of course, you know, the front office had AC, but the rest of the building was just, we’re just at the mercy of that humidifying swamp cooler.

Emily 4:52
I can feel the stickiness now.

Heidi 4:55
Yeah.

Emily 4:56
Don’t miss that. But no matter your default approach to summer, having a plan helps, so we are offering a third option today. No guilty rest, no productive overhaul. We’re going to do something in between.

Heidi 5:07
Now, before you feel any pressure set in, let us reassure you that this is not about getting stuff done. To borrow one of Phoebe’s great quotes from Friends, this isn’t a plan, this isn’t even a pluh, it’s just a way to give the first week of summer some intentional handholds, so you don’t lose it to drift or guilt.

Emily 5:28
And if you’re already on your break, that’s fine, just start where you are, we are totally flexible here.

Heidi 5:33
And if you’ve got a while to go to your break, just save this for later, it will come in handy.

Heidi 5:37
Okay, day one of your break, the prompt is to close in style. Your nervous system needs a signal that something has actually changed. You’ve spent the last 180 days walking into the same building and doing the same things. If you close out that last day of school the exact same way you closed out yesterday, your brain doesn’t really clock that anything is different.

Emily 5:59
So, let’s mark the occasion. If you’re low in energy, do the action hero version. Drop your teacher bag in the hall closet, then shut the door and walk away like you’re an action hero walking away from an explosion. Do not look back, the bag is dead to you now.

Heidi 6:15
Just take out any dirty dishes first, because I know I would make that mistake.

Emily 6:19
Yeah, don’t leave your lunchbox in there, that’ll be sad.

Heidi 6:22
Yeah, please avoid that. But if you really want to celebrate your moment of freedom, you could even turn on an epic song as your personal soundtrack. I checked, and I found a playlist on Spotify called Songs to Walk Away from an Explosion in Slow Motion, and I am partial to Seven Nation Army, but I think this playlist has convinced me to try some Fleetwood Mac. It kind of has a good pep to it.

Emily 6:47
Okay, well, of course, there is a playlist. I love it. So, I guess we’ll link to that in the show notes, but do be aware that some of the songs are not kid-friendly, so be careful if your epic moment will have an audience. Maybe put your headphones in. This is just for you.

Heidi 7:05
And if you have some energy left after your dramatic walk away, round up some teacher friends, hit the pool, or go out to dinner, whatever marking the occasion looks like to you.

Emily 7:14
But you really don’t have to do anything big. It just has to feel like a signal. The point is to put a period on the year, to end the day differently than every other day has ended for the last nine months.

Heidi 7:27
And that’s our whole goal for day one. On day two, it’s time to write your I can finally list.

Emily 7:34
I love this, because making a list makes me feel like I’m doing something productive, but this list, the stakes could not be lower on this list. You sit down and you make a list of everything you can do now. You can finally drink your coffee while it’s still hot. You can finally go to the bathroom whenever you want to. You can finally meet a friend for lunch on a Tuesday.

Heidi 7:56
And it’s okay if they sound really small. That’s the point. The list isn’t supposed to be impressive. It’s just supposed to name all of the tiny things that you have been deferring for months, because when you put them on paper, you realize how many of them there are, and that makes that shift from school year mode to summer mode feel real.

Emily 8:16
And if you’re in the teacher-approved club this month, we have a printable I can finally list waiting for you in your member resources as part of our tired teacher summer planner. So, if writing it out on a fresh piece of paper feels nicer than scrolling it on the back of an envelope, we got you. We will have the link in the show notes if you want to check it out in the club.

Heidi 8:36
Now, day three’s task is to close the loops, and this one sounds slightly less fun, but stick with us, because it pays off.

Emily 8:43
This is when you do a brain dump of every open school task that’s floating around in your head. The thing you forgot to email the office about, the kid you wanted to follow up with, the supplies you need to reorder for next year. Just get it out of your brain and onto paper.

Heidi 8:58
We’re calling this the loose ends list, and you don’t have to do any of it. You just have to decide when you’re going to deal with it. Urgent things can go in the do now column, less urgent stuff goes in the do later column, and then anything you decide that really isn’t that important can go in the let go column.

Emily 9:15
The reason this matters is that those open loops are what nag at you while you’re trying to relax. Your brain keeps pulling them up, like, hey, remember this, hey, what about this one? Once they have a home, your brain can let them rest. It is a small step, but it makes a huge difference in how restful the rest of summer feels.

Heidi 9:34
And club members, we have a sortable list for this in your member resources too. It’s in the same place as the I can finally list.

Emily 9:43
Day four’s task is to reconnect with fun, plan something fun for this day, whatever fun means to you.

Heidi 9:49
If that seems like a tough ask, because you have forgotten what fun feels like, that’s okay. Pick something that used to be fun, or something that sounds fun in theory, and try it. Maybe that’s rounding up friends for a hike, or maybe an afternoon of jigsaw puzzling with snacks is more your speed. Whatever is enjoyable for you is the right answer.

Emily 10:10
Jigsaw puzzling is definitely more my speed than hiking, but just remember, fun is not a luxury, it’s actually how you recover. So, you’re not being self-indulgent by planning a fun day, you’re helping your system recuperate after being in high gear for so many months.

Heidi 10:27
On day five, it’s time for a creative nudge. This is about waking up the parts of your brain that get turned off during the school year. When you’re teaching, you are constantly managing logistics and putting out fires. The creative, playful parts of your brain don’t get a lot of air time, so they get a little rusty.

Emily 10:44
Let’s turn one of those channels back on. Is there an old hobby you keep meaning to get back to, or a new thing you’ve been curious about? Maybe you want to pull out the watercolors you bought three years ago, try that recipe you’ve been saving, or buy a fresh notebook and just doodle in it.

Heidi 11:01
And again, this is not supposed to be ambitious. If you spend an hour doing it and decide it’s not for you, that is fine. The point is the trying, not the outcome.

Emily 11:10
Okay. Day six, and it’s our favorite. Your very important job for this day is to give yourself one indulgence. Pick something that you would normally feel guilty for enjoying, and lean all the way in.

Heidi 11:22
If you’re not sure where to start, you can try borrowing a tradition from Iceland and plan an Isbiltur. I think that’s how you say it, and that is an ice cream road trip. I love that they have a culture around this. Pick the best ice cream shops within driving distance and visit one, or you know, go big, hit three of them in one afternoon, but if you’re gonna do that, maybe just skip the double scoops.

Emily 11:45
Yeah, I would need to remember the lactaid.

Heidi 11:47
Oh, definitely.

Emily 11:49
Or spend the whole day catching up on The Real Housewives in your pajamas, maybe with a charcuterie board.

Heidi 11:55
Or read a romance novel cover to cover, or stay up way too late watching movies, or get a really nice coffee and drive around with the music up.

Emily 12:02
And here’s why this matters. The thing that makes most of these activities not feel restful is the guilt. You watch four hours of TV, and you feel terrible because you should have been doing something productive. You eat the ice cream, and you feel bad about it later.

Heidi 12:18
But making a planned exception to your normal standards just takes the guilt off the table. If you wake up on day six and you’ve already decided today, I have permission to enjoy this thing I love, no judgment allowed, it transforms the experience. The same activity that would have left you feeling gross now feels restorative.

Emily 12:37
Okay, we’ve made it to the end of our first week. It’s day seven, and today’s task is to peek ahead at the rest of the summer and start thinking about what you want to get out of it.

Heidi 12:48
But we’re not going to talk about making a bucket list. Instead, we are going to make a joy list. Dee Michelle Perry posted about this on Instagram, and we think she nailed it. So I’m just going to read what she said. “Bucket lists can start to feel like to do lists, and I don’t need any more to do lists. They can be overly aspirational too. I want my seasons to be about where my attention is placed, not what I have achieved. Social media comparisonitis is a real thing. That’s why I’m creating a monthly joy list that’s accessible, adaptable, affordable, and creates anticipation for things to look forward to each month.”

Emily 13:25
Yes, and that’s the goal, right? Bucket lists, man, they can turn into to-do lists, and then we feel like we failed if we didn’t check off enough of them by Labor Day, which is why I always refuse to make a summer bucket list with my kids, because I just know it will hang over me all summer, but a joy list is different.

Heidi 13:44
Yeah, a joy list is, what would I love to pay attention to this summer, not, what would I love to accomplish. Just think about the things you want to notice and do, and taste, and spend time on.

Emily 13:55
And those four words from her post are so useful: accessible, adaptable, affordable, and creates anticipation. Your summer doesn’t have to look like the summer you see online.

Heidi 14:07
Yeah, there’s no summer police. You’re not failing if you don’t go on a trip or host a backyard party or do whatever else the algorithm is currently telling you summer’s supposed to be. Make the right summer for you.

Emily 14:19
And we’re going to be coming back to this idea of designing your summer in our next few episodes, so stay tuned for that. But first, let’s recap our summer decompression plan. Day one, close in style. Day two, write your I can finally list. Day three, close the loops. Day four, reconnect with fun. Day five, revisit creativity. Day six, do one indulgent thing, and day seven, peek ahead and make a joylist.

Heidi 14:45
You don’t have to do these in order, and you don’t have to do all of them. If you are already into summer break, start with whatever makes the most sense for where you are.

Emily 14:53
And if you still have a few weeks until the end, use this episode to get your wheels turning. What do you want the start of your break to look like? Give yourself something to look forward to as you calm overhyper children and inventory all your cupboards.

Heidi 15:07
If this idea resonates with you, you might already be thinking about how to bring more intention to every season, not just summer. And that’s the heart of our upcoming book, Structure and Spark. It’s the framework for letting each season of the school year work for you, not against you. And it’s available for pre-order now. The link is in the show notes, if you want to take a look.

Emily 15:27
Now for our teacher-approved tip of the week, where we share an actionable tip to help you elevate what matters and simplify the rest. This week’s teacher-approved tip is to make a summer sensorium. Tell us about it, Heidi.

Heidi 15:41
Well, we have talked about this before, back in episodes 134 and 199. But since it happens to be summer again, how is it summer again? I’m so confused, but it is summer, says the calendar and the weather outside, and my allergies, but that makes this the perfect time to revisit this idea. So, a quick refresher on what a sensorium is. Your sensorium is your different sensory perceptions taken as a whole. So your brain takes the inputs from each of your senses and assembles them into your perceived experiences of a moment, or you know, a day, or the whole season. So, if you want a summer that actually feels like summer and not just three months that happened, you have to intentionally include the sensory inputs that make it feel that way.

Emily 16:28
And that’s actually a really fun exercise, because you just need to take a minute to think about your favorite summer sights and sounds and textures, tastes and smells, then decide how to include them in your plans.

Heidi 16:40
Yeah, think about how enriched you’ll feel after a summer of sweet, drippy watermelon and chlorine-scented kids and twinkling fireflies and backyard dance parties and walking in the grass.

Emily 16:52
This is the magic of summer, and none of those things require a big expense or a big plan. They’re all just sensory experiences that you can fold into a regular Tuesday, and it ensures that you’re really savoring the full scope of what the season has to offer. So, make yourself a summer sensorium. You can jot it down on a piece of paper, or Teacher Approved Club members, you can use the sensorium page in our summer planner.

Heidi 17:17
All right, to wrap up the show, we are showing what we’re giving extra credit to. Emily, what gets your extra credit this week?

Emily 17:22
Okay, I’m giving extra credit to a foldable silicone sink topper. So, I have a broken sink. I have two sinks in my bathroom, and one of them has a crack, and I need to deal with that, but I haven’t. So, the water is turned off to it, so it’s not being used for anything. And one of my daughters has also decided that that’s where she likes to get ready, is in my bathroom, where there’s room, but she was dropping things in the sink all the time, and just making a mess, and I was like, ah, more counter space would actually be more helpful. So this sink topper, it has holes in it, but they’re not big enough for, like, your stuff to fall through, and you just put, you just put it out over the sink, and they come in a couple different sizes, depending what size your sink is, and you suddenly have all this extra counter space, and it even has enough room that if you wanted to turn your sink on, you could.

Heidi 18:12
Is it flat like a tray?

Emily 18:13
It’s flat like a tray. Yes,

Heidi 18:15
I’ve been like picturing something that you curve that you like set in the sink.

Emily 18:19
No, no, no, no, it’s flat, and it goes far enough out from the side of this sink that it’s sturdy enough that it can go across.

Heidi 18:27
Oh, that’s cool.

Emily 18:28
You know, and stay sturdy. So, I think this would be helpful any place you need more counter space, especially if you only have one sink and a small counter, and you need a little extra space, or like in a half bathroom that just has one little sink, but someone needs to get ready in there, you just pop this out, and it’s really easy to fold up and put it away, too.

Heidi 18:47
Well, that’s handy.

Emily 18:48
It is handy. What are you giving extra credit to, Heidi?

Heidi 18:52
Okay, well, this is much less handy, but I’m giving extra credit to the trend of romanticizing your life. It’s in my algorithm, it’s all over Instagram recently, and the idea is to just take your regular life, but make it feel like an event we’re showing up for. And I love that thought, but you know, I’m busy, and it doesn’t seem super practical. But I happened to see some mugs on sale at the store, and they had a cute one that was shaped like a teacup and decorated with tulips, so I grabbed it, and I use it to take my nighttime pills, and it really is just been the most fun little change up. It’s like having a tea party with my melatonin. I even got, oh my gosh, I even got a fancy teaspoon, so now I stir glycine into my pill water, like I’m in Downton Abbey or something.

Emily 19:42
I love it.

Heidi 19:44
I could have, like, I could have got a teacup, teacup, but I’m storing this in my bin with my pills, so I needed some, I swear a teacup wouldn’t be sturdy enough, so the mug works perfectly, and it’s just been just a little smile at the end of the day. I love it.

Emily 19:56
If you’re really trying to feel like you’re going back in time, you can pretend that you’re stirring laudanum into your dream.

Heidi 20:02
Oh, man, I would sleep so good after that. Way better than glycine and melatonin. Well, put that on the list, that’ll be our next extra credit.

Emily 20:13
No, it will not.

Heidi 20:15
Okay, well, DM me for that one.

Heidi 20:19
That is it for today’s episode. Get started on your decompression plan, or save this for whenever your summer actually starts.

Emily 20:27
And don’t forget about our book, Structure and Spark, that is available for pre-order. The link for that is in the show notes, and it is a great way to support us if we’ve ever helped you with the things that we share.

Heidi 20:41
We hope you enjoyed this episode of Teacher Approved. I’m Heidi.

Emily 20:45
And I’m Emily. Thank you for listening. Be sure to follow or subscribe in your podcast app so that you never miss an episode.

Heidi 20:51
You can connect with us and other teachers in the Teacher Approved Facebook group. We’ll see you here next week. Bye for now.

Emily 20:58
Bye.