Teacher's Ed with Edward DeShazer

Three Things Educators Need To Do In 2025

• Edward DeShazer

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Kickstart your 2025 with strategies that will empower you to thrive as an educator! Discover the transformative steps to prioritize your mental and physical health, essential for excelling in both your professional and personal life. Set non-negotiable self-care routines, incorporate movement into your daily schedule, and shield your mental space from negativity. These are more than just resolutions—they're life-changing habits that will allow you to support your students, colleagues, and family like never before.

You'll also learn the art of building strong boundaries to fend off burnout and maintain balance. By recognizing your limits and mastering the ability to say no to unnecessary commitments, you create a more fulfilling and stress-free life. This episode urges you to take the first step this week: pick one key area to focus on, write it down, and share it with someone who matters to you. By doing so, you're not only investing in your own well-being but also laying the foundation for a more connected and resilient school community. It's time to stay inspired, stay connected, and keep growing—not just for your students and colleagues, but for yourself as well.

www.EdwardDeShazer.org

Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Teachers Ed Podcast. I'm your host, edward Eshazer. Teachers Ed Podcast is a place where the best and brightest in education come to be inspired, to connect, to learn and to grow. Let me start off by saying Happy New Year, everyone, and welcome to the first episode of 2025. A new year brings new opportunities, and today I want to talk about how we, as educators, can embrace the new year ahead and truly, truly thrive. In this episode, I'm going to share three things that educators need to start doing to be the best version of themselves in 2025. And these tips that I'm going to give you today are actionable, they are transformative and they are designed to help you make this your best year yet.

Speaker 1:

So let's dive right in to the first one. Tip number one is we must prioritize our mental and physical health. As educators, we get so caught up and often focused on taking care of everyone else around us which is why we usually wear the weight of so many people, whether it's our students, colleagues and even our family that so often we forget that we also got to take care of ourselves, and we heard this a lot during COVID, and it is a truth that you really can't pour when your cup is empty and if you want to be the best version of yourself in 2025, prioritizing your mental and physical health is not an option, but it has to be essential. And one of the things that we can do, starting today, is set non-negotiable self-care time, block out time each and every week for activities that recharge you, whether that's reading, whether that's exercising, whether it's taking a nap and I want you to begin to treat this time as sacred. The second thing is we got to move our bodies.

Speaker 1:

Physical health and mental health are so closely connected. You don't have to be someone that's like, well, I don't have an hour and a half to spend at the gym, and you don't need an hour and a half to spend at the gym. Even just taking a daily walk or just a 10 minute stretch to start the day can work wonders for your energy and mood. And the last thing is we have to protect our mental space. You have to pay attention to what drains you versus what fills you up, whether that's limiting your exposure to you know the negativity that's out there whether that's social media, toxic conversations with family, with friends, and maybe group chats that you're in that just don't really make you feel good and they just take up a lot of time or really anything else, and I want us to start replacing that with activities that lift you up and that make you feel fulfilled and really, for me, I used to think that self-care was something that I could just get to later, but after hitting a point of burnout a few years ago, I realized that I had to make it a priority for me, and I try to get at least a 20 to 30 minute walk in almost every day just to really clear my head, and I stopped drinking because I knew that that was just a coping mechanism versus actually dealing with the problems and struggles that I was having. And these simple things they really changed everything. It gave me a mental clarity that I needed to better show up for our staff, better show up for our students and, most importantly, better show up for our students and, most importantly, better show up for my family and myself in a more meaningful way. But it is now a non-negotiable part of my day. As soon as I get done with this episode, I am going to be jumping on the peloton because I have to get my movement in for the day. So I want us to pause for reflection and think of what is one thing you can start doing this week to prioritize your health, and I want you to write it down and I want you to make it happen, because the healthy you is a better you. But we have to be intentional with our health in 2025.

Speaker 1:

And before we move into the next tip, I want to drop my little ad Be Well Teacher Academy. It's live and it is designed specifically for educators who want to prioritize their self-care and their well-being. This year we are starting out strong. We have a live virtual experience on January 26th. It is going to be myself and three other super dynamic wellness professionals and wellness experts and we're going to be going for two hours on Sunday, january 26th. It is virtual and it is free to everyone. That is a part of our community. We also have monthly self-care workshops. We're currently going through a 14-day habit-kicking challenge, so that's going on. To register for the January event, visit wwwbewellteachercom and remember that investing in yourself is the best investment that you can make.

Speaker 1:

Jump into tip number two. Tip number two is building stronger boundaries. Not only do we have to build the boundaries, but we have to maintain and we have to set the boundaries. So often we will say we are setting boundaries but we don't do anything when people step over them. So boundaries aren't walls. But what boundaries are? They're bridges to a healthy, more balanced life, and as educators, it is very easy to feel like we have to say yes to everything Extra meetings, grading on weekends, emails late at night, family that keeps coming back and asking for stuff over and over and over and over again. But without boundaries, you are going to risk burnout and that is not helping anyone. So some ways that we can start setting and building some stronger boundaries.

Speaker 1:

Number one is we have to know what our limits are. Reflect on what is really really draining your energy and what's truly necessary. Maybe it's you're not checking emails after 6 pm or maybe you're not taking on every single volunteer opportunity that they ask you. I always tell educators this the reason that some of you have 12 different committees at work is because you keep saying yes to them. At some point, you have to start saying no to things that you just cannot do.

Speaker 1:

Number two and this one is important we have to communicate clearly. Two, and this one is important, important we have to communicate clearly. Once you know what those limits are. Once you set what those limits and those boundaries are, you have to let others know. For example, you know letting people know. You know, after 6 pm I'm not going to be responding to emails, but I will make sure I get back to you, you know, the first day, the next day, as soon as I possibly can. It's important that not only do we set them but we communicate the boundaries that we are setting with, especially with the people that are important to us your family, your friends, maybe your supervisor at work, maybe coworkers at work. Really communicating those clearly is absolutely critical. And then number three you got to stick to it. Boundaries only work if you enforce them. At first people may push back, people may send you another email, but over time they will learn to respect your limits.

Speaker 1:

My phone goes on. Do not disturb at a certain time. At this point. Nobody really bothers me at that time because I have really stuck to my plan of what I will and will not do.

Speaker 1:

After certain times at my house, certain times at my house and early on in my career, I thought that saying no meant I wasn't a team player, that I was answering emails late at night, I was showing up work at six in the morning. I was staying till 6 pm taking on every extra project that came my way. But then over time I just realized that that was not sustainable. I started setting clear boundaries no work emails. I'll respond to work emails here and there, but my phone goes on. My phone, pretty much, is on, do not disturb, most of the day, but after a certain time a lot of stuff is not. I have set so messages and other stuff will not pop up on my phone. And it was hard because your habits are to want to check and look and open up the apps. But eventually it becomes easier and you start to adjust. And not only did these boundaries protect my time, but they gave me my mental space that I needed to fully show up everywhere in my life to the best of my ability ability. The reflection that I would ask for when we're talking about setting boundaries is what is one boundary that you can set this week that's really going to protect your time and your energy? And it's not about being selfish, it is about being sustainable in your life.

Speaker 1:

I always say you know teaching. If you're a teacher, teaching is temporary. If you're a principal, principling if that's a word is temporary. You know the job that you have at work is temporary. So it is important that you do your best to show up as a mother, as a parent, as a spouse, because ultimately, one day, you're not going to be whatever your title is and if you're listening to this and you're not even a teacher, whatever your title is, in the world eventually is going to end. Someone's going to have your job, someone's going to have your desk, someone's going to have your office, but you are a parent, you are a husband, you are a wife, you are a friend, you are a son, you are a daughter, aunt, uncle. All those titles last much longer than teaching does. So it's important that we do the best that we can to honor those.

Speaker 1:

And tip number three is we got to invest in personal and professional growth. The best version of you in 2025 isn't just about surviving, like we have just been conditioned as teachers, that we're just here to survive, and you are not here to survive. You are built to thrive, and thriving comes from growth. That means getting committed and committing to learning, improving and becoming a better version of yourself, both professionally but, most importantly, personally. And here's a couple things that you can start right away to start 2025.

Speaker 1:

Number one you have to set growth goals. Like, what goals? Like, some of us just kind of wander into the new year without any intentional goals, like, oh, I'm going to be the best you know, new year, new me. But like, what's? What are some goals that you have? What is one skill that you want to learn this year? Maybe it's classroom management, maybe it's you know, a new technique in literacy. Maybe it's something personal, like I want to learn Spanish this year because I want to take a trip to Mexico, I want to learn French. But whatever it is, you have to write this goal down and you have to actually create a plan to achieve that goal. We can't just continue to wander into 2025. We have to be intentional with everything that we do.

Speaker 1:

Number two we have to embrace feedback. Growth requires self-awareness. You have to be open to feedback from colleagues. You have to be open to feedback from your students. You have to be open to feedback from your administration and you have to be open to feedback from your family and friends. Use feedback as a tool to improve, not as a personal critique that we get defensive with.

Speaker 1:

And then, number three, you have to find your tribe. You have to surround yourself with people who inspire you. You have to surround yourself with people who challenge you. This could be colleagues at work. This could be a mentor. This could be an online community like the Be Well Teacher Academy. This could be someone that you met on social media, someone that you met at a conference that you attended as a teacher. You have to surround yourself with people who inspire you and challenge you, and not people who poke holes in you and who make you feel like you are less than worthy, who you are less than deserving of, because you are less than deserving of, because you are deserving of, all the great things that 2025 has for you. And you have to stop allowing the people that are around you to make you feel like you are not worthy of that.

Speaker 1:

And I always think back to a few years back, when I felt like I was stuck in my role and I wanted to grow, but I wasn't really sure where to start and I really started investing in myself, um, as a speaker and the speaking in a speaking community, and when I joined this community, it gave me uh, it gave me a lot of great ideas as a speaker. It gave me a lot of great techniques as how to grow a speaking business, but, most importantly, it's surrounded me with an online community which ultimately does a lot of stuff in person of like-minded people. People that, when times are tough, understand what you're going through. People that, when things are great, they're clapping and cheering for you. I said this on Instagram on three things we got to let go of in 2025. But there are people in your life that should be cheering and clapping for you that aren't because they have a jealous spirit, and what I started to learn is that there are people that cheer louder for me and support me stronger than people I've met in the last few years and people I've known for 20 plus years, plus years.

Speaker 1:

So I want you to really, as we get ready to end this episode, I want you to really reflect on what's one way that you're going to invest in your growth this year. Are you going to join a community? Are you going to do some personal development? Are you going to join a book club? Whatever it is? I want you to think about one way you're going to invest in your growth this year, but then I want you to be intentional with coming up with a plan and how you are going to do that, because it is about becoming the best version of yourself, and I want to thank you, as always, for joining, for tuning in, for subscribing If you haven't, I want you to make sure you.

Speaker 1:

Please head on to your podcast platform, please like, subscribe Teachers Ed Podcast. And I want you to remember that prioritizing your health, setting boundaries and investing in growth are the three steps to becoming the best version of yourself this year and again. Which are you going to start with? I want you to write it down, I want you to share it with someone that's important to you and I want you to put it into action this week. And I want you to remember that, taking care of yourself and those around you, you're building a stronger, more connected school community. You're building a stronger, more connected. You Keep believing in your students, keep believing in your colleagues. Most importantly, I want you to keep believing in yourself. Until next time, stay inspired, stay connected and keep growing. Bye.