Description: Sometimes teeny, tiny, itty bitty, little actions make the biggest sustainable changes.
Resources:
1. Explore the one small thing research for yourself here!
Listen Now:
Transcription: Hi, and welcome to episode seven of Season three of Self-Care for Educators, and I am your host, Tina Boogren. This week's invitation is the small one. Literally. What I want us to think about this week is one small thing, one tiny little five minute action that we can do that puts us in forward motion. As we talked about last week when we kind of dug into the concept of burnout, it's a notoriously hard time of year. It's always a hard time year, and this year feels even harder in a lot of ways. I first of all wanna remind you that it's not going to stay like this, that it will get better, and that without a doubt, if we want it to get better, we need to do something. It's been something I've been bringing up a lot in my workshops lately of this idea of when we're stuck in this place of disillusionment or burnout, you know, we can't just hope that we wake up feeling better.
I think what we have to do instead is recognize that we're in this place of disillusionment or burnout, and take that as the canary in the coal mine, if you will, that it's time to do something, and that's where this week's invitation really can be helped. So, this week's invitation is a reminder that we can feel oftentimes overwhelmed, and it just feels like too much to do anything. We may have these like big visions, these big goals, these ... this future that we can kind of see. But, just ... The act of getting there feels so monumental that we get kind of stuck. And so, instead what I want us to think about is the idea of what's just one tiny, little thing that we can do? One super small thing you might think of this as one five minute action. Literally five minutes. Something you can do in five minutes.
So, think about ... Okay, in terms of ... Let's say you're thinking about moving your body and it feels like, oh my gosh, to actually work out just feels like it's gonna be so much, it's gonna take so long. Can you just go for a five minute walk? Can you literally just do something for five minutes? Something that you don't even have to change clothes, right? Something teeny, tiny that you can do. What could you get done in terms of thinking about your food and nutrition in five minutes? Can you pack your lunch for tomorrow? Can you drink the stupid water? Can you clean out a couple of cabinets and get rid of some, some stuff or kind of clean out your fridge? What can you do that's so teeny tiny? That just feels like a little, bitty baby step that gets you on your way. Something that doesn't take a lot of time, but that it'll feel really good that you can. Cross it off your list and that always feels so good.
Even maybe you're thinking about a five minute action in terms of can you just rest for five minutes? Just allow yourself to like not look at any screens. Put your phone away. Maybe even close your eyes. For just five minutes a day, just five teeny, tiny minutes. Can you make a commitment that you're gonna go to bed five minutes earlier tonight, or maybe you're gonna get up five minutes earlier tomorrow and see what that does to allow you just a little bit more time. Can you read for pleasure for just five minutes? Just one teeny, tiny little thing that you can do.
I wanna share this website that a friend of mine and colleague, one of my associates, Tabitha, shared on her blog. It's amazing. So, the website is just onesmallthing.org. So, just all one word, just onesmallthing.org. It's actually out of the University of Vermont. It's the University of Vermont Health Network, but it's pretty cool. You can go onto this website, and it has three areas--move, recharge, eat. And, I ask you to think about just one tiny, little thing that you can do. It says what would happen if you change just one small thing in your life? A lot research shows that small changes in how you eat, rest, or move can lead to big benefits in the long one. And boy, that is true. So, you can actually go on this website and, like, click on move or recharge or eat. And, when it ... When you do that, what comes up is it gives you this little video, but then little tips that you can click on, and it'll say phone calls. This one's under ... This one would be under move. So, it says, phone calls can range from five minutes to an hour or more. Build an activity like walking around your house or office or clean while you're on the phone. I love that. So, there's just these little ideas that you can take.
It's the same idea as I said of like that five minute action. So, that's what I want you to think about. Teeny, tiny, little things that you can do to start climbing out of that slump that you might be in for that disillusionment phase, or if you're starting to recognize those signs of burnout. This week, I want you to commit to just one small thing, one teeny, tiny, little thing, and I'd love, love, love if you would jump on over to that Facebook group, and just tell us what is your one small thing? Are you doing one small thing every single day. Are you doing one small thing per week? Doesn't matter. It's totally up to you. I would just love to know what you're ... What is that you're gonna do for your small thing. I'm cheering so hard for you.
You guys, as always, a huge thank you to Brooke for making this happen. Thank you Solution Tree and Marzano Resources for this job I get to do and to you, my bad-ass Self-Care Squad. I'm cheering so stinking hard for you. Take a deep breath. It's not always going to be this hard. Whew. And, you know what's just one small thing, one teeny, tiny little five minute action? You've got this. Make it a great week you guys.