Keep Yourself Healthy During End-of-School Year Scramble

For whatever reason, the job of the school-based speech-language pathologist is always busier in the spring semester than the fall semester. We have loads of evaluations that we need to complete, meetings to review and revise our students’ Individualized Education Programs, end-of-year-reports, and a rush to complete any needed make-up time. Our students (and for many of us, our children) have end-of-year performances, and end-of-year testing.

I find that during these crazy times, the first things to go are the very things that make me able to function better. I give up sleep to stay up writing reports. I give up exercise because I just can’t seem to fit it in. I start eating foods that aren’t great for me because they are easy and fast. And I start drinking more coffee to give myself the jolt I need to get through it all. I wake up exhausted and I am not nearly as productive as I am when I take care of myself. It is my dark side, and there I will not go.

Here are 3 great ways to keep yourself healthy in these crazy times so you can start your summer healthy!

• Make a pact with a colleague to walk during your lunch break. What lunch break? Okay, we don’t always get one of those. If you don’t, find another way to get your body moving. I took a pair of students who were working on articulation goals out to the track with counters in their hands. Their job was to spot things on our walk that used our target sounds. We did four laps and 172 productions of our sounds!
• Pack a quick, healthy snack. My current favorites: dried mangos, almonds, and cherry tomatoes.
• Make a plan with a friend to exercise in the early morning. This will force you to go to bed earlier, give you some social time, and get your blood pumping in the morning. You’ll be more productive throughout your day.

The countdown is on, friends. Four weeks left. Stay strong and keep yourself healthy!