Whether over the Summer or another season, it’s important to take regular breaks. But, it’s SO hard when you teach or run a studio. Right?
Oftentimes, I like to make a list of tasks that I want to accomplish before the rush of a new school year starts. While I like to relax as much as the next person, there is something about extended periods (more than 1 – 2 weeks) of doing nothing that just doesn’t work for me.
How to take regular breaks
Your studio will not fail if you step away from a couple of weeks. I know. I know. It’s a hard one to accept. All that time & energy spent has to count for something!
And it does.
When you take regular breaks you invest in the future of your studio, your career & your students.
So, how can you make this happen in a way that works for you? I’ve got 4 ideas for you below (or click here).
Figure out what this looks like for you
Regardless of what it looks like when you take regular breaks from teaching (because that’s going to look different for each person), you want to make it count.
The recovering work-a-holic
Typically I’m eager to get back to work. I love what I do so it’s no hardship. However this summer, for the first time ever in a decade … I could have taken an extra week off & been happy. It had been an incredibly stressful previous months & that 2-week staycation was exactly what the doctor ordered. The difference was so profound that I could see how an extra week would have helped even more.
Does this mean I no longer love teaching? No! It was amazing seeing my Summer students & clients for both businesses again.
Understand that what works perfectly one year or season, may not be quite right the next. That’s okay. That’s normal.
Instead, honour where you’re at & accept that maybe you won’t be quite as productive as you thought. Remember the goal here is longevity with a career that spans decades. Not becoming a statistic that burns out in a few short years.
Look at the big picture
Make each moment count. Especially if you aren’t stepping away completely for the entire studio break. Rather than working hard over the Summer or Winter break, take regular breaks & spend the rest of the time on the big picture.
Questions to ask
Here are a few questions to ask yourself:
- What do I want my students to be able to do after their 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc. year with me?
- What activities or approach will help me best support that?
- What do my students & clients love (so I can add more of this)?
- What do they not like (& how can you solve that)?
By the way, there is nothing that says you can’t answer these questions while sitting in the park under a tree, or enjoying a drink on the deck or sitting in front of a fireplace with a cup of tea or [fill in your ideal location].
Based on those answers, you can have a pretty amazing overview of how you want the year to go. And that means the hard part is almost done!
Create a game plan
There are a few things I like to get done either at the end of the school year (best case scenario) or over the break:
- Batch newsletters
- Create rough annual growth plans for each student
- Overview of the year
Notice that all of this can use templates which makes it much easier year to year. Or, it just requires a rough outline that I can then tweak with each student during their lesson time.
If you can get social media scheduled out, awesome! But, since referrals are still the best marketing strategy I recommend spending your limited time on creating an incredible experience for your clients & students.
Take regular breaks
Reading up on new educational literature, planning for the new year, prepping activities. Let’s face it. Us teachers have a bit of a warped sense of relaxing. My theory is that if it can be done at the beach, on a road trip, or hanging out on the deck it still counts as relaxing. That’s my story & I’m sticking to it!
How will you be ‘relaxing’ this summer?
Let me know below!
NOTE: This article was originally published on July 14, 2017. It has since been revised significantly to give you more ideas & tips so you can take regular breaks from teaching & running your studio!