September 29, 2025 • 23 mins
Do you feel like you’re stuck in back-to-school survival mode while the rest of the year flies by? You’re not alone! In this episode, we’re talking about an October Reset for teachers - our favorite way to shift from the September sprint to a sustainable teaching routine. We’ll share five essential strategies to help you recover from the post-September crash, evaluate what’s working (and what’s not) in your classroom systems, and focus your energy where it really counts.
Prefer to read? Grab the episode transcript and resources in the show notes here: https://www.secondstorywindow.net/podcast/october-reset-for-teachers/
Resources:
- Join the Teacher Approved Club!
- Atmosphere, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
- The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love, by India Holton
- Connect with us on Instagram @2ndstorywindow.
- Shop our teacher-approved resources.
- Join our Facebook group, Teacher Approved
- Leave your review on Apple Podcasts!
Related Episodes to Enjoy:
- Episode 32, 5 Classroom Management Questions to Help Banish Bad Class Habits
- Episode 94, A Great Day Before School Even Starts: Your Perfect Teacher Morning Routine At School
- Episode 176, Our 4 Tried and True Tricks to Reset a Rough Day of School
- Episode 223, The Core 4 Routines Every Classroom Needs to Run Like Clockwork
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Heidi (00:01):
This is episode 226 of Teacher Approved.
You're listening to TeacherApproved, the podcast helping
educators elevate what mattersand simplify the rest. I'm
Heidi.
Emily (00:13):
And I'm Emily. We're the creators behind Second Story
Window, where we give researchbased and teacher approved
strategies that make teachingless stressful and more
effective. You can check out theshow notes and resources from
each episode atsecondstorywindow.net.
Heidi (00:28):
We're so glad you're tuning in today. Let's get to
the show.
Emily (00:36):
Hey there. Thanks for joining us today. In today's
episode, we are talking aboutthe October reset, how to
transition from back to schoolsurvival mode to sustainable
teaching that actually feelsgood. Plus we're sharing a
teacher approved tip forrecharging your energy bank.
Heidi (00:52):
But first, let's start with a try it tomorrow, where we
share a quick win that you cantry in your classroom right
away. Emily, what's oursuggestion for this week?
Emily (01:00):
Well, this week, try the one minute check in with
yourself right before studentsarrive. You just set a timer on
your phone and spend 60 secondsjust noticing how you're
feeling—tired, excited,overwhelmed, ready. You don't
have to fix anything or changeanything. It's just a good
moment to acknowledge howeveryou're feeling.
Heidi (01:19):
I love this. I think this is so helpful, because sometimes
we are so busy running onautopilot, especially as
teachers, that we don't evenrealize we're exhausted until we
have reached a point where we'recompletely depleted. Taking a
minute to just pause and thinkabout how you're handling things
can really help you make betterchoices about your energy
throughout the day, andhopefully save you from reaching
(01:40):
that depleted point.
Emily (01:41):
Yes, love that. If you like this idea or anything else
we share here on the podcast, wewould love it if you would take
a second and give us a five starrating and review in your
podcast app.
Heidi (01:51):
Well, Emily, can you believe it? September is almost
over.
Emily (01:55):
I don't know how the months just get faster as the
year goes on, like January neverends, and then once we're
hitting September, it's justlike, zoom, zoom, zoom. But I'm
hoping I can get my feet underme now that it feels like we're
settling back into the oldroutine.
Heidi (02:10):
Oh, yes, totally the same. I swear the Fourth of July
was, should have just been lastweek. And now we're talking
about October.
Emily (02:18):
I know it's basically Christmas.
Heidi (02:20):
Yes, I've definitely got whiplash. I don't know what's
going on. And I guess it makessense, because we spend all
summer prepping for back toschool, and we have all the
effort of trying to get the yearoff the ground, and that by the
time we finally get throughthose weeks, we're just wiped
out.
Emily (02:36):
Yeah, so tired. And unfortunately, at that point,
there's not a break in sight, atleast not in the near sight.
That can feel prettyoverwhelming. It's like trying
to nap while pedaling a bike.The house projects, the family
needs, the personal goals thatyou put on pause, they're all
now clamoring for your attentionall at once.
Heidi (02:56):
Not to mention that all of the school demands aren't
going anywhere. So if no one isgoing to give us a break, we're
going to have to manufactureone. And October is actually the
perfect time for what Emily andI are calling the October reset.
Emily (03:10):
Everything's better with a title.
Heidi (03:12):
Yes.
Emily (03:13):
So if you think of it like gardening, September was
the planting season. You'redoing all that intensive back
breaking work of gettingeverything established.
Heidi (03:23):
Right. There was all your room prep, procedure teaching,
so much procedure teaching,relationship building. That was
like preparing the soil andgetting all your little seeds in
the ground.
Emily (03:33):
And now you're in a different season, the intensive
planting is done, but thatdoesn't mean the work stops.
You're just in a differentphase, the tending phase, and
tending requires a completelydifferent kind of energy.
Heidi (03:44):
Which this is actually good news, because you cannot
sustain planting season energyfor another eight months, you
would just completely burn out.Oh, for sure.
Emily (03:53):
Even if you love your students and your work, teaching
is super demanding. It takesenergy and time every single
day. So it's natural to feel alittle drained and wonder, how
am I going to sustain this?
Heidi (04:05):
That is the question. So today we're going to help you
figure out how to shift fromplanting mode to tending mode,
and we've got five strategiesfor making this transition
effective so that you can buildsomething sustainable instead of
just white knuckling your way toJune.
Emily (04:21):
Our first strategy is to give yourself permission to feel
the crash, and by crash I meanthat drained battery feeling
that shows up in October. Thishas a little different flavor
than that end of school yearexhaustion that I'm sure you're
familiar with. Maybe it'spumpkin spice, or maybe it's
knowing that there are stilleight months to summer break.
(04:41):
But either way, it is somethingwe all face.
Heidi (04:44):
Oh, this is so important. When you are high on September
adrenaline, running on fourhours of sleep and still getting
200 task cards laminated, justfeels like a normal Tuesday
afternoon. But October comes inwith a hard dose of reality.
Emily (04:59):
I used to think something was wrong with me when I felt
tired and kind of flat after theexcitement of the new year wore
off, because I'd started sostrong. Why couldn't I just keep
going that way?
Heidi (05:09):
Right. And when we tell ourselves that operating at
level 10 every day is normal,but all we can muster today is
level 6 energy, it kind of feelslike a failure. But the truth is
that running on back to schooladrenaline is not sustainable.
Your body is actually doingexactly what it's supposed to by
slowing down now.
Emily (05:29):
It's like how marathon runners don't try to maintain
their sprint pace for all 26miles. September was a sprint,
and of course, you're tired now.
Heidi (05:38):
Yes, and the worst part is that while you are recovering
from that sprint, you suddenlynotice all of the plates that
you dropped while you were insurvival mode. Maybe your
friends all think you're mad atthem and you don't remember the
last time you exercised.
Emily (05:51):
And there's a good chance all that produce you bought back
when you were so sure that thiswas the year you were gonna pack
a salad for lunch every day hasjust turned into a lovely
science experiment in yourfridge. All that to say, there's
probably a lot that needs yourattention.
Heidi (06:06):
Oh, all of the poor, poor lettuce that is lost in the name
of back to school stress. It haslived its whole life just to end
up as mush in the back of myfridge. For me, this was the
most disheartening part. Well,not the lettuce part. But,
although, that is sad, RIPlettuce, but the way that life
just fell apart when schoolstarted. Honestly, as we were
(06:28):
working on the notes for thisepisode, I got a little teary
just thinking about it. Whenyou're pushing through the
exhaustion to try to maintaingood momentum at school, and
when you finally get a second tocome up for air, and then the
first thing you see is thelaundry pile that's overtaking
the bed. And once you see that,every other ignored task starts
clamoring for attention, andthat moment can feel so
(06:50):
overwhelming, to say the least.
Emily (06:52):
But since you know that that rough moment of wake up is
coming, you can plan for it.Decide now on a simple reminder
you can repeat to pull yourselfout of that spiral. So try
something like, this is a normalpart of the process. I've
figured this out before, and Iwill do it again, or, it's okay
to rest before I restore.
Heidi (07:11):
The chaos of regular life at the start of October is not a
reflection of your worth or yourcompetence. It's just the
natural result of spending yourenergy on a very demanding
season. Don't put pressure onyourself to have everything back
to normal all at once.
Emily (07:26):
You will be much happier if you start small with just one
or two neglected tasks and takeit from there. So remember,
you're not behind, you're notstuck, and you're definitely not
alone.
Heidi (07:36):
Yeah, I think most teachers feel this way in
October, even the veteranswho've been around the block a
few times. The difference iswhether you beat yourself up
about it or you use it asinformation to make better
choices going forward.
Emily (07:48):
And that's what we want to help you do today, use this
awareness to build somethingbetter.
Heidi (07:54):
So that sets us up for our second strategy for October,
and that is to identify what'sgrowing and identify what's just
taking up space. So going backto our garden metaphor, by
October, you can see whichplants are thriving and which
ones are struggling.
Emily (08:09):
And what does that mean in your classroom? Well, that
means looking at your systemsand routines and asking, what's
working what's making my lifeeasier, and what's just creating
more work without any realbenefit.
Heidi (08:20):
I love this, because it's not about throwing everything
out and starting over, pleasedon't do that, but it's about
being strategic with yourenergy. Maybe your morning
routine is running smoothly.That is so great. Keep watering
that.
Emily (08:32):
But maybe your homework system is causing you more
stress than it's worth. Maybeyou're stressing over those
anchor charts that none of yourstudents even bother to
reference, those might be weedsyou need to pull.
Heidi (08:43):
Another place where weeds sneak in is with technology. If
you have got a new tech tool ora program that seemed like the
answer to all of your prayersbut isn't living up to the hype,
see if that's something you canshelf for now.
Emily (08:55):
Oh yeah, that shiny new app that was going to
revolutionize everything, but isactually a daily headache. This
is actually easier to see inOctober than it was in
September, because now you havesome real data. So you've lived
with these systems for a fewweeks now.
Heidi (09:10):
Right, in September, everything feels urgent and
important, but now you can stepback and ask yourself, Is this
actually helping my studentslearn, or is it just something I
think I should be doing?
Emily (09:21):
You can apply this same filter at home too. Look at what
was truly essential for keepingyour household running in
September, and put time andeffort into making those systems
as supportive as possible.
Heidi (09:32):
And then take a good look at the rest of the demands on
your time. Use the major lifederailment that came with the
start of the school year to getperspective on what is worth
preserving and maybe what needsto go.
Emily (09:46):
The third strategy for your October reset is to build
in micro recoveries. Think ofthese as little moments
throughout your day where youcan reset your energy instead of
just pushing through until youcollapse.
Heidi (09:57):
This approach is so different from the I'm just
going to wait till winter breakmentality. We are talking about
tiny breaks that you canactually take during your
regular school day.
Emily (10:07):
Even two or three minutes really can make a difference. So
maybe it's drinking your coffeewhile looking out the window
instead of grading papers, ortaking three deep breaths before
you pick up your students fromspecialty classes.
Heidi (10:19):
You might actually do a form of this naturally. Do you
ever just sit in your car for afew minutes when you get home,
no phone, no to do list, justsitting? Maybe, if you're like
me, you might beat yourself up abit about taking this pause in
the car, because there is aperfectly good, much more
comfortable couch waitinginside. But sometimes having the
space to breathe is the bridgewe need between demands.
Emily (10:42):
I know I feel like the car is like this zone in between
responsibilities, and so ifyou're sitting in your car with
it not on, somehow you're likehidden from the responsibilities
of your life if you're just inthat secret space in your car.
Heidi (11:00):
Especially if you've got kids waiting inside who are
going to want things from you.
Emily (11:03):
Oh, amen. I usually just stay there until someone comes
looking for me. So this iscreating little buffer zones in
your day, instead of going fromzero to 60 and then back again
all day long.
Heidi (11:15):
Yeah, that is a sure fire recipe for exhaustion. The key
is that these micro recoverieshave to be realistic. As
restorative as it would be tospend your planning time
meditating.
Emily (11:27):
I almost laughed out loud.
Heidi (11:29):
Yeah, it's not very practical. So look for
opportunities that fit in a realclassroom with real constraints.
Emily (11:38):
Although if you do manage to meditate during your prep
time, tell us your secret. Somaybe you're going to do a 30
second desk tidy at the end ofthe day as a micro recovery that
can help you switch fromteaching mode to prepare for
tomorrow mode. Or you can trygiving yourself a soft landing
routine once you're home fromschool. Let your kids have 15
(11:58):
minutes of screen time so youcan reset before diving into
making dinner. Transitions takework, so look for ways to make
them a little gentler. Andbefore I had kids, when I got
home from school, I would lay onthe couch and watch a rerun of
The OC.
Heidi (12:15):
I love that as a reset.
Our fourth strategy for yourOctober reset is to protect your
energy. This is aboutrecognizing that your energy is
not unlimited, and beingstrategic about where you spend
it.
Emily (12:29):
I think teachers are really bad at this, because we
just care so much. We want togive everything to everyone, and
even if we just give the bareminimum, the list of demands is
never ending. But it's also notsustainable to live like that.
Heidi (12:43):
Oh, right, so this is where you have to make some hard
choices about where your energygoes. Maybe you spend less time
on bulletin boards and more timeon planning engaging lessons, or
maybe you simplify your gradingsystem so you have more energy
for relationship building.
Emily (12:59):
One question I find useful is what are two or three
things that will have thebiggest impact on my students
learning? Those are the thingsworth spending your energy on.
Heidi (13:07):
One way to make this more doable is to make it visual, and
you can do this with a list.Write down your to do list for
the week and circle the two orthree tasks that have the
largest impact on studentlearning. Those are your non
negotiables. Everything else canbend, flex, or wait.
Emily (13:24):
We really can't give equally to every expectation, so
we have to be strategic aboutidentifying what truly matters,
even if that might meandisappointing other people. Your
principal might want you tovolunteer for multiple
committees. Your grade levelteam might want you to do the
bulk of the planning, but youhave to protect your core energy
for what matters most.
Heidi (13:41):
I want to recognize that I understand that disappointing
people does not come naturallyto a lot of people, and by
Emily (13:46):
Yeah.
Heidi (13:48):
It will probably feel uncomfortable, but try reminding
people, I mean women.
yourself that saying no to anoutside expectation means you
get to say yes to your studentsneeds and your own well being.
Every time, good enough is stillgood.
Emily (14:04):
Which brings us to our final strategy for your October
reset, and that is to focus onconsistency over perfection.
Going back to our gardeningmetaphor, plants don't need
fireworks to grow. In fact, thatsounds like a hazard.
Heidi (14:18):
Yes.
Emily (14:18):
They need steady sunlight and water, and classrooms are
the same.
Heidi (14:23):
This is huge for teachers, because we tend to
have grand visions, and socialmedia definitely hasn't helped
this. But putting too mucheffort into having
Instagram-worthy organizationand perfectly optimized routines
and lessons that have studentshanging on every word is how
teachers burn out.
Emily (14:40):
So instead of striving for the most beautiful
classroom, maximizing everymoment or orchestrating a daily
dog and pony show, just show upconsistently where it matters.
Make sure students have whatthey need, leave space for
connection and reset, and teachthe standards in engaging but
low prep ways. That's what makesthe difference for you and your
students.
Heidi (15:00):
I think about this with things like grading. I know the
expectation from youradministration might be that you
grade every assignment, but it'sbetter for everyone if you're
consistent about only assessingthe work that can inform your
teaching, and you can giveeverything else a pass or a fail
and call that graded.
Emily (15:17):
Yeah, your students benefit more from steady,
consistent effort than fromextraordinary, sporadic effort.
Heidi (15:24):
The nice thing is that you are the one who gets to
decide what works for yourclassroom and your life. That
doesn't mean you have to cuteverything down to bare bones
and just do the minimum, butrather look at this as an
opportunity to clear out whatdoesn't serve you so you have
room to inject more joy intoyour day.
Emily (15:41):
A sustainable teacher life isn't just about doing less
work, it's about adding fuel towhat lights you up. Think about
the things you love aboutteaching. Maybe that is the
perfectly coordinated bins orbig over the top lessons. If
that's for you, then find waysto make that manageable.
Heidi (15:57):
But if what you love about teaching is quiet moments
with your students, sharing afunny new book, or watching a
student learn something new,find ways to slow down and be
present in those experiences.
Emily (16:08):
Sometimes it's not about adding something new, it's about
making sure we recognize thegood stuff that's already
happening.
Heidi (16:14):
And there is so much good stuff. Ultimately, the goal is
to create something you canmaintain, a happy little garden
that you can tend withoutburning yourself out.
Emily (16:25):
Okay, so I'm going to recap our five strategies for
the October reset. First, giveyourself permission to feel the
crash. Second, identify what'sgrowing and what's just taking
up space. Third, build in microrecoveries. Fourth, protect your
energy, and finally, focus onconsistency over perfection.
Heidi (16:43):
The beautiful thing about October is that you still have
time to adjust. Your classroomroutines aren't set in stone
yet, your students are stilllearning what to expect from
you. So this is actually theperfect time to make changes.
Emily (16:57):
And remember, this isn't about doing less or caring less.
It's about doing things in a waythat is sustainable, so you can
actually make it to June feelinggood about your year.
Heidi (17:06):
We would love to hear all about how you are handling your
October reset. Come share withus in the Teacher Approved
Facebook group.
Emily (17:14):
Now for our Teacher Approved Tip of the Week, where
we share an actionable tip tohelp you elevate what matters
and simplify the rest. Thisweek's teacher approved tip is
to create your October energytrio. Tell us more about it,
Heidi.
Heidi (17:27):
Well, I love this tip. First of all, it sounds like an
appetizer sampler, whicheveryone loves those.
Emily (17:33):
They'd probably be all pumpkin based if it's October.
Heidi (17:35):
But the good thing about this tip is it's creating your
own personal energy managementsystem, and it only takes about
10 minutes to set up, but it canmake a real difference in how
sustainable your days feel.Think of it like having a
toolkit ready to go when youneed it most. So here's how it
works. First, choose one energygainer, something that actually
(17:57):
brings life back into your day.We're looking for something that
genuinely makes you feel morealive or connected to why you
love teaching.
Emily (18:04):
That could be something like reading aloud to your
students, playing music duringtransitions, or buying yourself
fresh flowers once a week. Thekey is that it has to be
something that taps into whattruly energizes you, not just
something you think you shouldenjoy.
Heidi (18:18):
After you choose your energy gainer, choose one energy
saver, something that you'regoing to streamline or let go
for now, maybe it's switchingfrom elaborate bulletin board
displays to simple functionalones. Or maybe it's giving
yourself permission to use thesame math warm up routine for
two weeks instead of planningsomething new every day.
Emily (18:36):
This might be something you'll do every day all year,
but if you're struggling, focuson something to help you through
just the next few weeks. Thegoal is to free up energy during
this transition time so you canfocus on what matters most. You
can always add complexity backlater, when you're feeling more
grounded.
Heidi (18:51):
And the third part of our energy trio is to choose one
energy transformer. This is asimple ritual that helps you
soften transitions throughoutyour day. This could be a mantra
you repeat when you unlock yourclassroom door in the morning,
or playing a specific song whileyou tidy up your desk at the end
of the day.
Emily (19:08):
That car sitting that we talked about earlier is a
perfect example of an energytransformer. Think about a
transition that's draining foryou and create a buffer zone
that helps you shift from onedemand to the next with a little
more grace.
Heidi (19:21):
Write these down where you'll see them, because when
you're having a tough day, it'sreally easy to forget that you
Emily (19:24):
And here's the beautiful part, once you start paying
have these tools available.Having them visible reminds you
that you have choices about howyou spend and restore your energy.
attention to what actually givesyou energy versus what drains
it, you'll get better at makingthose kinds of choices naturally
throughout your day.
Heidi (19:43):
So here's your challenge. Take a few minutes this week to
identify your energy trio—onething that fills your tank, one
thing you're going to simplify,and one ritual that helps you
transition more smoothly. YourOctober self will definitely
thank you.
Alright, to wrap up the show. Weare sharing what we're giving
extra credit to this week.Emily, what gets your extra
(20:06):
credit?
Emily (20:06):
I'm giving extra credit to the book Atmosphere by Taylor
Jenkins Reid. So I really knewvery little going into this book
other than that it was set inthe early 1980s space program.
But if anybody, if you haven'theard anything about this, maybe
just go into it that way, ofjust just knowing sort of the
setting. And it really did blowme away, like I had heard really
good things about it, but Iwasn't sure what I was gonna
think. But oh yeah, I loved itso much. And of course, it's
(20:29):
getting tons of buzz. So I willjust add my voice to say that
everyone should add it to theirTBR if they haven't.
Heidi (20:36):
She writes such unique settings, and they're all so
varied.
Emily (20:40):
Yes, and I feel like I have no interest in tennis, and
I loved Carrie Soto is back, andI maybe have a little more
interest in space, but evenstill, I don't know that it's
like something I'm super into,but I was completely engrossed
in the whole thing. And there'sso much more to the story than
just the fact that the maincharacters are astronauts.
Well, I'll have to add it to mylist. What are you giving us
(21:04):
credit to this week, Heidi?
Heidi (21:05):
Well, I'm also giving extra credit to a book. This is
the Ornithologist Field Guide tolove by India Holton.
Emily (21:11):
Ooh.
Heidi (21:13):
It sounds like a dry, dusty textbook, but it is not,
it is very funny. So it's setin, like, 1880s I think London,
1870s, 1880s, something likethat. And it follows two rivals
to lovers, academics Devin andBeth, who are trying to win the
birder of the year competition.It's normal Victorian London,
(21:33):
except they have magical birds,so it's just kind of a weird
little touch. And so the worldof birding in this London is
cutthroat, to say the least. Sothey're having all these hijinks
of people out to sabotage them.And of course, they have to go
on the road to find this onespecial bird. And they get to a
small town and there's only oneroom left at the inn.
Emily (21:56):
I love that trope.
Heidi (21:57):
And guess what happens.
Emily (21:58):
Do they have to share a bed?
Heidi (22:00):
Oh no, there are seven beds.
Emily (22:02):
Oh!
Heidi (22:04):
So if you think that's funny, you would like this book.
Emily (22:08):
I think I'm gonna like it.
Heidi (22:09):
It just takes all the little tropes and turns them on
their head. It's very funny.There was a line where she says,
like her mind let out a thoughtshe didn't know it was holding.
So it takes all of the normalthings and just puts a funny
little spin on it. It was veryfunny.
Emily (22:25):
Our romance readers will get those references.
Heidi (22:29):
Well, that is it for today's episode. Try out our
strategies for the Octoberreset, and don't forget our
teacher approved tip forrecharging your energy.
Emily (22:37):
We are cheering you on as you transition from planting
season to tending season. And ifyou enjoyed this episode, please
consider giving us a five starrating and review.
Heidi (22:48):
We hope you enjoyed this episode of teacher approved. I'm
Heidi.
Emily (22:52):
And I'm Emily. Thank you for listening. Be sure to follow
or subscribe in your podcast appso that you never miss an
episode.
Heidi (22:59):
You can connect with us and other teachers in the
Teacher Approved Facebook group.We'll see you here next week.
Bye for now.
Emily (23:05):
Bye.
This is episode 226 of Teacher Approved.
You're listening to TeacherApproved, the podcast helping
educators elevate what mattersand simplify the rest. I'm
Heidi.
Emily (00:13):
And I'm Emily. We're the creators behind Second Story
Window, where we give researchbased and teacher approved
strategies that make teachingless stressful and more
effective. You can check out theshow notes and resources from
each episode atsecondstorywindow.net.
Heidi (00:28):
We're so glad you're tuning in today. Let's get to
the show.
Emily (00:36):
Hey there. Thanks for joining us today. In today's
episode, we are talking aboutthe October reset, how to
transition from back to schoolsurvival mode to sustainable
teaching that actually feelsgood. Plus we're sharing a
teacher approved tip forrecharging your energy bank.
Heidi (00:52):
But first, let's start with a try it tomorrow, where we
share a quick win that you cantry in your classroom right
away. Emily, what's oursuggestion for this week?
Emily (01:00):
Well, this week, try the one minute check in with
yourself right before studentsarrive. You just set a timer on
your phone and spend 60 secondsjust noticing how you're
feeling—tired, excited,overwhelmed, ready. You don't
have to fix anything or changeanything. It's just a good
moment to acknowledge howeveryou're feeling.
Heidi (01:19):
I love this. I think this is so helpful, because sometimes
we are so busy running onautopilot, especially as
teachers, that we don't evenrealize we're exhausted until we
have reached a point where we'recompletely depleted. Taking a
minute to just pause and thinkabout how you're handling things
can really help you make betterchoices about your energy
throughout the day, andhopefully save you from reaching
(01:40):
that depleted point.
Emily (01:41):
Yes, love that. If you like this idea or anything else
we share here on the podcast, wewould love it if you would take
a second and give us a five starrating and review in your
podcast app.
Heidi (01:51):
Well, Emily, can you believe it? September is almost
over.
Emily (01:55):
I don't know how the months just get faster as the
year goes on, like January neverends, and then once we're
hitting September, it's justlike, zoom, zoom, zoom. But I'm
hoping I can get my feet underme now that it feels like we're
settling back into the oldroutine.
Heidi (02:10):
Oh, yes, totally the same. I swear the Fourth of July
was, should have just been lastweek. And now we're talking
about October.
Emily (02:18):
I know it's basically Christmas.
Heidi (02:20):
Yes, I've definitely got whiplash. I don't know what's
going on. And I guess it makessense, because we spend all
summer prepping for back toschool, and we have all the
effort of trying to get the yearoff the ground, and that by the
time we finally get throughthose weeks, we're just wiped
out.
Emily (02:36):
Yeah, so tired. And unfortunately, at that point,
there's not a break in sight, atleast not in the near sight.
That can feel prettyoverwhelming. It's like trying
to nap while pedaling a bike.The house projects, the family
needs, the personal goals thatyou put on pause, they're all
now clamoring for your attentionall at once.
Heidi (02:56):
Not to mention that all of the school demands aren't
going anywhere. So if no one isgoing to give us a break, we're
going to have to manufactureone. And October is actually the
perfect time for what Emily andI are calling the October reset.
Emily (03:10):
Everything's better with a title.
Heidi (03:12):
Yes.
Emily (03:13):
So if you think of it like gardening, September was
the planting season. You'redoing all that intensive back
breaking work of gettingeverything established.
Heidi (03:23):
Right. There was all your room prep, procedure teaching,
so much procedure teaching,relationship building. That was
like preparing the soil andgetting all your little seeds in
the ground.
Emily (03:33):
And now you're in a different season, the intensive
planting is done, but thatdoesn't mean the work stops.
You're just in a differentphase, the tending phase, and
tending requires a completelydifferent kind of energy.
Heidi (03:44):
Which this is actually good news, because you cannot
sustain planting season energyfor another eight months, you
would just completely burn out.Oh, for sure.
Emily (03:53):
Even if you love your students and your work, teaching
is super demanding. It takesenergy and time every single
day. So it's natural to feel alittle drained and wonder, how
am I going to sustain this?
Heidi (04:05):
That is the question. So today we're going to help you
figure out how to shift fromplanting mode to tending mode,
and we've got five strategiesfor making this transition
effective so that you can buildsomething sustainable instead of
just white knuckling your way toJune.
Emily (04:21):
Our first strategy is to give yourself permission to feel
the crash, and by crash I meanthat drained battery feeling
that shows up in October. Thishas a little different flavor
than that end of school yearexhaustion that I'm sure you're
familiar with. Maybe it'spumpkin spice, or maybe it's
knowing that there are stilleight months to summer break.
(04:41):
But either way, it is somethingwe all face.
Heidi (04:44):
Oh, this is so important. When you are high on September
adrenaline, running on fourhours of sleep and still getting
200 task cards laminated, justfeels like a normal Tuesday
afternoon. But October comes inwith a hard dose of reality.
Emily (04:59):
I used to think something was wrong with me when I felt
tired and kind of flat after theexcitement of the new year wore
off, because I'd started sostrong. Why couldn't I just keep
going that way?
Heidi (05:09):
Right. And when we tell ourselves that operating at
level 10 every day is normal,but all we can muster today is
level 6 energy, it kind of feelslike a failure. But the truth is
that running on back to schooladrenaline is not sustainable.
Your body is actually doingexactly what it's supposed to by
slowing down now.
Emily (05:29):
It's like how marathon runners don't try to maintain
their sprint pace for all 26miles. September was a sprint,
and of course, you're tired now.
Heidi (05:38):
Yes, and the worst part is that while you are recovering
from that sprint, you suddenlynotice all of the plates that
you dropped while you were insurvival mode. Maybe your
friends all think you're mad atthem and you don't remember the
last time you exercised.
Emily (05:51):
And there's a good chance all that produce you bought back
when you were so sure that thiswas the year you were gonna pack
a salad for lunch every day hasjust turned into a lovely
science experiment in yourfridge. All that to say, there's
probably a lot that needs yourattention.
Heidi (06:06):
Oh, all of the poor, poor lettuce that is lost in the name
of back to school stress. It haslived its whole life just to end
up as mush in the back of myfridge. For me, this was the
most disheartening part. Well,not the lettuce part. But,
although, that is sad, RIPlettuce, but the way that life
just fell apart when schoolstarted. Honestly, as we were
(06:28):
working on the notes for thisepisode, I got a little teary
just thinking about it. Whenyou're pushing through the
exhaustion to try to maintaingood momentum at school, and
when you finally get a second tocome up for air, and then the
first thing you see is thelaundry pile that's overtaking
the bed. And once you see that,every other ignored task starts
clamoring for attention, andthat moment can feel so
(06:50):
overwhelming, to say the least.
Emily (06:52):
But since you know that that rough moment of wake up is
coming, you can plan for it.Decide now on a simple reminder
you can repeat to pull yourselfout of that spiral. So try
something like, this is a normalpart of the process. I've
figured this out before, and Iwill do it again, or, it's okay
to rest before I restore.
Heidi (07:11):
The chaos of regular life at the start of October is not a
reflection of your worth or yourcompetence. It's just the
natural result of spending yourenergy on a very demanding
season. Don't put pressure onyourself to have everything back
to normal all at once.
Emily (07:26):
You will be much happier if you start small with just one
or two neglected tasks and takeit from there. So remember,
you're not behind, you're notstuck, and you're definitely not
alone.
Heidi (07:36):
Yeah, I think most teachers feel this way in
October, even the veteranswho've been around the block a
few times. The difference iswhether you beat yourself up
about it or you use it asinformation to make better
choices going forward.
Emily (07:48):
And that's what we want to help you do today, use this
awareness to build somethingbetter.
Heidi (07:54):
So that sets us up for our second strategy for October,
and that is to identify what'sgrowing and identify what's just
taking up space. So going backto our garden metaphor, by
October, you can see whichplants are thriving and which
ones are struggling.
Emily (08:09):
And what does that mean in your classroom? Well, that
means looking at your systemsand routines and asking, what's
working what's making my lifeeasier, and what's just creating
more work without any realbenefit.
Heidi (08:20):
I love this, because it's not about throwing everything
out and starting over, pleasedon't do that, but it's about
being strategic with yourenergy. Maybe your morning
routine is running smoothly.That is so great. Keep watering
that.
Emily (08:32):
But maybe your homework system is causing you more
stress than it's worth. Maybeyou're stressing over those
anchor charts that none of yourstudents even bother to
reference, those might be weedsyou need to pull.
Heidi (08:43):
Another place where weeds sneak in is with technology. If
you have got a new tech tool ora program that seemed like the
answer to all of your prayersbut isn't living up to the hype,
see if that's something you canshelf for now.
Emily (08:55):
Oh yeah, that shiny new app that was going to
revolutionize everything, but isactually a daily headache. This
is actually easier to see inOctober than it was in
September, because now you havesome real data. So you've lived
with these systems for a fewweeks now.
Heidi (09:10):
Right, in September, everything feels urgent and
important, but now you can stepback and ask yourself, Is this
actually helping my studentslearn, or is it just something I
think I should be doing?
Emily (09:21):
You can apply this same filter at home too. Look at what
was truly essential for keepingyour household running in
September, and put time andeffort into making those systems
as supportive as possible.
Heidi (09:32):
And then take a good look at the rest of the demands on
your time. Use the major lifederailment that came with the
start of the school year to getperspective on what is worth
preserving and maybe what needsto go.
Emily (09:46):
The third strategy for your October reset is to build
in micro recoveries. Think ofthese as little moments
throughout your day where youcan reset your energy instead of
just pushing through until youcollapse.
Heidi (09:57):
This approach is so different from the I'm just
going to wait till winter breakmentality. We are talking about
tiny breaks that you canactually take during your
regular school day.
Emily (10:07):
Even two or three minutes really can make a difference. So
maybe it's drinking your coffeewhile looking out the window
instead of grading papers, ortaking three deep breaths before
you pick up your students fromspecialty classes.
Heidi (10:19):
You might actually do a form of this naturally. Do you
ever just sit in your car for afew minutes when you get home,
no phone, no to do list, justsitting? Maybe, if you're like
me, you might beat yourself up abit about taking this pause in
the car, because there is aperfectly good, much more
comfortable couch waitinginside. But sometimes having the
space to breathe is the bridgewe need between demands.
Emily (10:42):
I know I feel like the car is like this zone in between
responsibilities, and so ifyou're sitting in your car with
it not on, somehow you're likehidden from the responsibilities
of your life if you're just inthat secret space in your car.
Heidi (11:00):
Especially if you've got kids waiting inside who are
going to want things from you.
Emily (11:03):
Oh, amen. I usually just stay there until someone comes
looking for me. So this iscreating little buffer zones in
your day, instead of going fromzero to 60 and then back again
all day long.
Heidi (11:15):
Yeah, that is a sure fire recipe for exhaustion. The key
is that these micro recoverieshave to be realistic. As
restorative as it would be tospend your planning time
meditating.
Emily (11:27):
I almost laughed out loud.
Heidi (11:29):
Yeah, it's not very practical. So look for
opportunities that fit in a realclassroom with real constraints.
Emily (11:38):
Although if you do manage to meditate during your prep
time, tell us your secret. Somaybe you're going to do a 30
second desk tidy at the end ofthe day as a micro recovery that
can help you switch fromteaching mode to prepare for
tomorrow mode. Or you can trygiving yourself a soft landing
routine once you're home fromschool. Let your kids have 15
(11:58):
minutes of screen time so youcan reset before diving into
making dinner. Transitions takework, so look for ways to make
them a little gentler. Andbefore I had kids, when I got
home from school, I would lay onthe couch and watch a rerun of
The OC.
Heidi (12:15):
I love that as a reset.
Our fourth strategy for yourOctober reset is to protect your
energy. This is aboutrecognizing that your energy is
not unlimited, and beingstrategic about where you spend
it.
Emily (12:29):
I think teachers are really bad at this, because we
just care so much. We want togive everything to everyone, and
even if we just give the bareminimum, the list of demands is
never ending. But it's also notsustainable to live like that.
Heidi (12:43):
Oh, right, so this is where you have to make some hard
choices about where your energygoes. Maybe you spend less time
on bulletin boards and more timeon planning engaging lessons, or
maybe you simplify your gradingsystem so you have more energy
for relationship building.
Emily (12:59):
One question I find useful is what are two or three
things that will have thebiggest impact on my students
learning? Those are the thingsworth spending your energy on.
Heidi (13:07):
One way to make this more doable is to make it visual, and
you can do this with a list.Write down your to do list for
the week and circle the two orthree tasks that have the
largest impact on studentlearning. Those are your non
negotiables. Everything else canbend, flex, or wait.
Emily (13:24):
We really can't give equally to every expectation, so
we have to be strategic aboutidentifying what truly matters,
even if that might meandisappointing other people. Your
principal might want you tovolunteer for multiple
committees. Your grade levelteam might want you to do the
bulk of the planning, but youhave to protect your core energy
for what matters most.
Heidi (13:41):
I want to recognize that I understand that disappointing
people does not come naturallyto a lot of people, and by
Emily (13:46):
Yeah.
Heidi (13:48):
It will probably feel uncomfortable, but try reminding
people, I mean women.
yourself that saying no to anoutside expectation means you
get to say yes to your studentsneeds and your own well being.
Every time, good enough is stillgood.
Emily (14:04):
Which brings us to our final strategy for your October
reset, and that is to focus onconsistency over perfection.
Going back to our gardeningmetaphor, plants don't need
fireworks to grow. In fact, thatsounds like a hazard.
Heidi (14:18):
Yes.
Emily (14:18):
They need steady sunlight and water, and classrooms are
the same.
Heidi (14:23):
This is huge for teachers, because we tend to
have grand visions, and socialmedia definitely hasn't helped
this. But putting too mucheffort into having
Instagram-worthy organizationand perfectly optimized routines
and lessons that have studentshanging on every word is how
teachers burn out.
Emily (14:40):
So instead of striving for the most beautiful
classroom, maximizing everymoment or orchestrating a daily
dog and pony show, just show upconsistently where it matters.
Make sure students have whatthey need, leave space for
connection and reset, and teachthe standards in engaging but
low prep ways. That's what makesthe difference for you and your
students.
Heidi (15:00):
I think about this with things like grading. I know the
expectation from youradministration might be that you
grade every assignment, but it'sbetter for everyone if you're
consistent about only assessingthe work that can inform your
teaching, and you can giveeverything else a pass or a fail
and call that graded.
Emily (15:17):
Yeah, your students benefit more from steady,
consistent effort than fromextraordinary, sporadic effort.
Heidi (15:24):
The nice thing is that you are the one who gets to
decide what works for yourclassroom and your life. That
doesn't mean you have to cuteverything down to bare bones
and just do the minimum, butrather look at this as an
opportunity to clear out whatdoesn't serve you so you have
room to inject more joy intoyour day.
Emily (15:41):
A sustainable teacher life isn't just about doing less
work, it's about adding fuel towhat lights you up. Think about
the things you love aboutteaching. Maybe that is the
perfectly coordinated bins orbig over the top lessons. If
that's for you, then find waysto make that manageable.
Heidi (15:57):
But if what you love about teaching is quiet moments
with your students, sharing afunny new book, or watching a
student learn something new,find ways to slow down and be
present in those experiences.
Emily (16:08):
Sometimes it's not about adding something new, it's about
making sure we recognize thegood stuff that's already
happening.
Heidi (16:14):
And there is so much good stuff. Ultimately, the goal is
to create something you canmaintain, a happy little garden
that you can tend withoutburning yourself out.
Emily (16:25):
Okay, so I'm going to recap our five strategies for
the October reset. First, giveyourself permission to feel the
crash. Second, identify what'sgrowing and what's just taking
up space. Third, build in microrecoveries. Fourth, protect your
energy, and finally, focus onconsistency over perfection.
Heidi (16:43):
The beautiful thing about October is that you still have
time to adjust. Your classroomroutines aren't set in stone
yet, your students are stilllearning what to expect from
you. So this is actually theperfect time to make changes.
Emily (16:57):
And remember, this isn't about doing less or caring less.
It's about doing things in a waythat is sustainable, so you can
actually make it to June feelinggood about your year.
Heidi (17:06):
We would love to hear all about how you are handling your
October reset. Come share withus in the Teacher Approved
Facebook group.
Emily (17:14):
Now for our Teacher Approved Tip of the Week, where
we share an actionable tip tohelp you elevate what matters
and simplify the rest. Thisweek's teacher approved tip is
to create your October energytrio. Tell us more about it,
Heidi.
Heidi (17:27):
Well, I love this tip. First of all, it sounds like an
appetizer sampler, whicheveryone loves those.
Emily (17:33):
They'd probably be all pumpkin based if it's October.
Heidi (17:35):
But the good thing about this tip is it's creating your
own personal energy managementsystem, and it only takes about
10 minutes to set up, but it canmake a real difference in how
sustainable your days feel.Think of it like having a
toolkit ready to go when youneed it most. So here's how it
works. First, choose one energygainer, something that actually
(17:57):
brings life back into your day.We're looking for something that
genuinely makes you feel morealive or connected to why you
love teaching.
Emily (18:04):
That could be something like reading aloud to your
students, playing music duringtransitions, or buying yourself
fresh flowers once a week. Thekey is that it has to be
something that taps into whattruly energizes you, not just
something you think you shouldenjoy.
Heidi (18:18):
After you choose your energy gainer, choose one energy
saver, something that you'regoing to streamline or let go
for now, maybe it's switchingfrom elaborate bulletin board
displays to simple functionalones. Or maybe it's giving
yourself permission to use thesame math warm up routine for
two weeks instead of planningsomething new every day.
Emily (18:36):
This might be something you'll do every day all year,
but if you're struggling, focuson something to help you through
just the next few weeks. Thegoal is to free up energy during
this transition time so you canfocus on what matters most. You
can always add complexity backlater, when you're feeling more
grounded.
Heidi (18:51):
And the third part of our energy trio is to choose one
energy transformer. This is asimple ritual that helps you
soften transitions throughoutyour day. This could be a mantra
you repeat when you unlock yourclassroom door in the morning,
or playing a specific song whileyou tidy up your desk at the end
of the day.
Emily (19:08):
That car sitting that we talked about earlier is a
perfect example of an energytransformer. Think about a
transition that's draining foryou and create a buffer zone
that helps you shift from onedemand to the next with a little
more grace.
Heidi (19:21):
Write these down where you'll see them, because when
you're having a tough day, it'sreally easy to forget that you
Emily (19:24):
And here's the beautiful part, once you start paying
have these tools available.Having them visible reminds you
that you have choices about howyou spend and restore your energy.
attention to what actually givesyou energy versus what drains
it, you'll get better at makingthose kinds of choices naturally
throughout your day.
Heidi (19:43):
So here's your challenge. Take a few minutes this week to
identify your energy trio—onething that fills your tank, one
thing you're going to simplify,and one ritual that helps you
transition more smoothly. YourOctober self will definitely
thank you.
Alright, to wrap up the show. Weare sharing what we're giving
extra credit to this week.Emily, what gets your extra
(20:06):
credit?
Emily (20:06):
I'm giving extra credit to the book Atmosphere by Taylor
Jenkins Reid. So I really knewvery little going into this book
other than that it was set inthe early 1980s space program.
But if anybody, if you haven'theard anything about this, maybe
just go into it that way, ofjust just knowing sort of the
setting. And it really did blowme away, like I had heard really
good things about it, but Iwasn't sure what I was gonna
think. But oh yeah, I loved itso much. And of course, it's
(20:29):
getting tons of buzz. So I willjust add my voice to say that
everyone should add it to theirTBR if they haven't.
Heidi (20:36):
She writes such unique settings, and they're all so
varied.
Emily (20:40):
Yes, and I feel like I have no interest in tennis, and
I loved Carrie Soto is back, andI maybe have a little more
interest in space, but evenstill, I don't know that it's
like something I'm super into,but I was completely engrossed
in the whole thing. And there'sso much more to the story than
just the fact that the maincharacters are astronauts.
Well, I'll have to add it to mylist. What are you giving us
(21:04):
credit to this week, Heidi?
Heidi (21:05):
Well, I'm also giving extra credit to a book. This is
the Ornithologist Field Guide tolove by India Holton.
Emily (21:11):
Ooh.
Heidi (21:13):
It sounds like a dry, dusty textbook, but it is not,
it is very funny. So it's setin, like, 1880s I think London,
1870s, 1880s, something likethat. And it follows two rivals
to lovers, academics Devin andBeth, who are trying to win the
birder of the year competition.It's normal Victorian London,
(21:33):
except they have magical birds,so it's just kind of a weird
little touch. And so the worldof birding in this London is
cutthroat, to say the least. Sothey're having all these hijinks
of people out to sabotage them.And of course, they have to go
on the road to find this onespecial bird. And they get to a
small town and there's only oneroom left at the inn.
Emily (21:56):
I love that trope.
Heidi (21:57):
And guess what happens.
Emily (21:58):
Do they have to share a bed?
Heidi (22:00):
Oh no, there are seven beds.
Emily (22:02):
Oh!
Heidi (22:04):
So if you think that's funny, you would like this book.
Emily (22:08):
I think I'm gonna like it.
Heidi (22:09):
It just takes all the little tropes and turns them on
their head. It's very funny.There was a line where she says,
like her mind let out a thoughtshe didn't know it was holding.
So it takes all of the normalthings and just puts a funny
little spin on it. It was veryfunny.
Emily (22:25):
Our romance readers will get those references.
Heidi (22:29):
Well, that is it for today's episode. Try out our
strategies for the Octoberreset, and don't forget our
teacher approved tip forrecharging your energy.
Emily (22:37):
We are cheering you on as you transition from planting
season to tending season. And ifyou enjoyed this episode, please
consider giving us a five starrating and review.
Heidi (22:48):
We hope you enjoyed this episode of teacher approved. I'm
Heidi.
Emily (22:52):
And I'm Emily. Thank you for listening. Be sure to follow
or subscribe in your podcast appso that you never miss an
episode.
Heidi (22:59):
You can connect with us and other teachers in the
Teacher Approved Facebook group.We'll see you here next week.
Bye for now.
Emily (23:05):
Bye.
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