- \n
- Offer a \u201cgroup check-in” session for students to talk about current assignments, upcoming assessments, or general management of their course workload <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Try walking office hours<\/a> if chatting about general course material. This trend has resulted in more honest and productive conversations and when possible, a good dose of Vitamin D. \u00a0
\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\nStart a Micro-Reflection Habit <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
In our recent ACUE Faculty Showcase, several faculty enrolled in the Effective Teaching Certification mentioned how valuable the\u00a0module reflections were. Try incorporating a 30-second reflection into your workday to write about or record: \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"Illustration](\"https:\/\/blogs.uscupstate.edu\/tip\/wp-content\/uploads\/libre-clip-art-M0RUcuXCqsI-unsplash-1024x1024.png\")
<\/figure>\nOne teaching, research, service, or leadership moment that went well. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One \u00a0teaching, research, service, or leadership moment you\u2019d like to tweak moving forward.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Creating a habit of micro-reflection<\/a> can lead\u00a0to meaningful professional growth without feeling like \u201cone more big thing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Host a “One Small Thing” Gathering<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Early in the fall semester, the CAIFS Ambassadors<\/a> decided they\u2019d like to encourage colleagues to try \u201cone small thing\u201d to introduce new tools or practices into their teaching. If you\u2019re interested in talking with others about trying out the AI tools in Blackboard, exploring Ally accessibility scores together, or an active learning strategy that really motivated your students, invite a few colleagues to a winter picnic or coffee shop to share some ideas. Whatever you chat about, gathering and connections<\/a> are always a powerful antidote to winter isolation and blues. \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Curate a “Winter Inspiration Folder”<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
If you\u2019re feeling crafty this winter, create a physical or digital folder where you collect small sparks of inspiration \u2013 an article that excites you, a great quote from your course reviews, a screenshot of some valuable feedback, a lesson or strategy you\u2019d really like to try, or a research project you\u2019d like to begin. Tuck it away and then pull it out when you\u2019re looking for a pick-me-up and need a burst of professional sunlight. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Create a Gentle Boundary for the New Year<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Choose one small boundary to protect your well-being and energy when you return for spring 2026. For example: \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- \n
- No new lecture\/video\/powerpoint building on (day of the week).\u00a0
<\/li>\n\n\n\n - No emails after (time of day). \u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Pause and reflect before saying \u201cyes\u201d to a new commitment. \u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Designate a meeting-free afternoon to protect your focus and reduce cognitive overload.
\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n - Set a target number of committees or projects you\u2019ll serve on this spring and try to stick to it. \u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>
![\"A](\"https:\/\/blogs.uscupstate.edu\/tip\/wp-content\/uploads\/yagmur-cetin-kg5T29q30VI-unsplash-640x1024.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nWith a few well-placed practices to anticipate the spring, winter can become a quieter, more reflective time that supports both your well-being and your long-term growth as an educator. If you try one of these practices \u2013 and make it your own \u2013 I’d love to hear how it goes. However you spend your winter break, we are wishing you all a restful, restorative holiday filled with the space and time to breathe, reset, and return refreshed. \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
And just like that, Fall 2025 is drawing to a close. Over the past semester, you\u2019ve published articles, presented at national and international conferences, completed\u2014or begun\u2014the ACUE Effective Teaching Certification, experimented with GenAI, made your courses more accessible, and shared your ideas and expertise with students and colleagues\u2014all helping to make USC Upstate a more … Continue reading 5 Practices for Winter Well-Being<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":2229,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[42,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-facultydev","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.uscupstate.edu\/tip\/wp-content\/uploads\/libre-clip-art-M0RUcuXCqsI-unsplash-scaled.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uscupstate.edu\/tip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uscupstate.edu\/tip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uscupstate.edu\/tip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uscupstate.edu\/tip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uscupstate.edu\/tip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2228"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uscupstate.edu\/tip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2228\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2234,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uscupstate.edu\/tip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2228\/revisions\/2234"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uscupstate.edu\/tip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uscupstate.edu\/tip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uscupstate.edu\/tip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uscupstate.edu\/tip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
- Designate a meeting-free afternoon to protect your focus and reduce cognitive overload.
- Pause and reflect before saying \u201cyes\u201d to a new commitment. \u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- No new lecture\/video\/powerpoint building on (day of the week).\u00a0
- Try walking office hours<\/a> if chatting about general course material. This trend has resulted in more honest and productive conversations and when possible, a good dose of Vitamin D. \u00a0