🌿 Your Tuesday Email: Release to Rest

Hello Reader!

You are allowed to rest! Woo hoo!

Not after the last to-do. Not once you've processed everything. Not as long as you stay a little bit productive about it.

Just rest. Please, listen to your body.

Why this is hard

Educators find meaning in service. You chose a role defined by showing up for others, and you've spent years building the habit of making sure everyone has what they need before you ask what you need.

That's one of the most beautiful things about you. It's also one of the most exhausting because service doesn't come with an off switch. Even on a beach, even on an empty weekend, the professional brain keeps scanning: What needs doing? Who needs me? Should I be doing more?

Right now, the answer is no.

What rest gives back

Rest isn't passive, and it isn't lazy. When you genuinely rest: no scrolling, no half-working, no planning while pretending to relax. Your nervous system literally needs to repair itself - so let it! Once this happens, your creativity comes back, your patience rebuilds, and the empathy your students will lean on in October quietly refills.

Rest is preparation - although it just doesn't "look" like it.

A summer invitation

For the next few weeks, before the August work begins:

• Do something that has nothing to do with school
• Rest without justifying it
• Remember who you are outside the job

You are not just an educator. You are a person who chose education and that person deserves a summer! So enjoy letting your mind be free.

We'll be back in July with something quieter.

Until then. Rest well, friends!

Podcast:

• This week: Ep 115 - Season 6 highlights! One small shift can change your entire week as a teacher or school leader, but only if you can actually remember it when the day gets loud. That’s why we pulled together our Season 6 highlights into one “mega” stream of pare-down pointers: the sharpest, simplest takeaways from conversations on focus, school culture, learning environments, meetings, literacy, and sustainable leadership.
• Next week: Summer Bonus Series Intro!
• Last week: Ep 114 - What If The School Day Is Quietly Keeping You Well? with Christine & Tammy. This is our last full length episode for Season 6!

Listen to the pod on all the platforms like Apple, Spotify, iHeart Radio and YouTube. Now you can follow us on Instagram.

Resources:

• FEATURE Article: Our parent coach, Josephine Hunt, has been featured the media lately. Here are here words about Toy Story 5 in OK! magazine​
• Article: Greater Good Science Center: "The Science of Rest and Why It Matters"​
• Book: Saundra Yancy McGuire, Teach Yourself How to Learn (on cognitive restoration)

Reflection

What does rest actually look like for you this summer? And if your summer has started, what is it looking like for you? We'd love to hear!

Yours,

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P.S. Forward this email to colleagues who you think would enjoy the connection and resources.