Monthly Archives: November 2019

Working in schools can be overwhelming and all encompassing. It feels like there is always more that we could do and our work can feel never ending. It can also be difficult to disconnect and switch off. Thinking about work and the challenges we face at school can be all consuming. It is important to set boundaries and limits to stop school work from encroaching on the other things in our life that are important to us eg your partner, family, friends and other interests. Whilst developments in technology should help us, they have also resulted in us becoming more ‘connected’ than ever. For example, many staff members check their work emails at home at night, on the weekends and…

One of the key characteristics of highly resilient people is their ‘natural’ ability to reframe challenges as opportunities, to make lemonade out of lemons. I have used inverted commas for ‘natural’ because, whilst for many this is an intrinsic characteristic of optimism, for others it can be learned. Step 1 – Understand that Events can be Neutral – When something we perceive as challenging happens, we often label it as ‘bad’ or ‘negative’. However, upon reflection we sometimes realise that it wasn’t so bad after all or it may even have been ‘a blessing in disguise’. If we can check ourselves before labeling an experience as good or bad, we can change our response into something more resourceful. For example,…