Benjamin Franklin once wrote,

“When the well is dry, we know the worth of water.”  
At the beginning of this new school year, what are you doing to keep your well full?

The start of a new school year is the perfect time for all of us in the Penn community to reflect on how we can incorporate self-care into our schedules. It can be difficult for educators and staff members—who focus so much on teaching and caring for others—to prioritize self-care. Cultivating tools and strategies for self-care is important for our lives all of the time and may make it easier to cope in particular times of stress. If you need suggestions for developing self-care strategies, here are a few ideas to consider:

Wellness and Work-Life Balance

Exercise helps reduce stress, increase energy and improve your overall health. Regular physical activity can decrease your risk for serious illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes and even some forms of cancer. Consider using the great exercise facilities or taking a class at PennRec. Think about joining a walking club. The Penn Walking Program is open to all faculty and staff and offers a fun way to stay focused on your health by incorporating walking into your schedule when you’re free. If you’re more into Yoga, Zumba or Spinning, Penn Healthy You offers these classes and more for our wellness and work-life balance.

Therapy and Counseling

Penn has many resources for faculty and staff to prioritize your mental health. Penn’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provides eligible faculty and staff and their families access to free, confidential, 24/7 counseling and referral services for personal and professional life issues from any location. The Office of the Chaplain/SPARC is also another confidential resource for faculty and staff to access throughout the year. Or perhaps an off-campus resource is the best fit for you. Wherever feels right to you, having someone to talk through what’s going on in our minds and hearts is an important part of wellness.

Take a Vacation! 

Did your vacation days from last year roll over? When was the last time you took a break? It’s easy for us to become over-tasked throughout the year, which can lead to burnout. Remember to schedule a break for yourself in addition to the holidays we already receive. Get it on the calendar now and make plans to go away to the Poconos, go down the shore or have a staycation at home. This is an important and healthy way to model to students when to step back from work and recoup.

Invest in Yourself: Pursue the hobbies you always wanted to do!

Are you interested in learning to cook? Or play the guitar? Or in learning a new style of dance? Hobbies can help with stress reduction, igniting creativity and they can help us explore new social opportunities. This is a great time to start looking into scheduling a guitar tutor, learning how to knit or to enroll in a dance class, which you can add into your calendar for the rest of the year. Take some time to reflect intentionally on which hobbies can help with your personal growth, and invest in yourself.

Mentoring 

Think about connecting with students and mentoring one or two of them this year.  Maybe someone from your hometown or perhaps students who have similar research interests, hobbies or sports interests. Think about how you can encourage and pour into the lives of others this year by mentoring a student. Also, think about finding a mentor for yourself. Mentors are great for folks of all ages and could play a similar role to someone like a life coach for a person contemplating changes in work-life balance.

 These are gentle reminders to schedule time to unplug, eat well and exercise throughout this year as life will inevitably become busier. Pay attention to what your body is telling you, know your limits and make sure to drink lots of water to keep your internal well full.

—The Office of the Chaplain/SPARC