Mindfulness for NQTs: Reset

This one has been covered slightly within the other posts so far and will no doubt appear in other posts during the month. I make no excuses or apologies for that repetition as reset is key and needs to be repeated in action as much as is needed. It does deserve its own post.

A reset can be something as simple as taking a moment to focus on your breath and reset in that moment at various times where you take the space to separate out 2 moments or situations. A longer reset can be when you go through the door to your classroom and from  2 classes or different subjects or from a lesson to a break and then back. In that moment you can take time to focus on your breath, say a word or sentence to allow the longer reset and to focus on something in particular.

You can also choose to reset during an evening or weekend by making sure you do something you enjoy and which gives you energy or allows you to relax for whatever you need at that point. No matter how much preparation or marking you have to do, taking time to reset will be more beneficial then just focussing on your work all evening or for the majority of the weekend. Doing a task or sitting there doing nothing gives you a break to come back fresher and perhaps more creative or simply ready to look at things differently. 

You can also lead the students in this so that they can also have breaks during the day to allow them to reset between lessons/ subjects and as they move around the school. It will help them take moments to consider their work and deal with any emotions, thoughts and feelings that arise. This is important for most times and especially as students return after the pandemic. 

So take time to reset. If reading these posts in August when they are published, you may wish to take time now to work how which parts of your life you'll maintain once you start your NQT year and build in treats/ reset times for the first half term. Having something to look forward to can be a good reset in itself as you bring your mind into a positive vibration.