My end of year message to students and staff

 

Howdy all 👋

This is my final week of work for 2020, so I’ll be bringing the Student Health and Wellbeing blog to a close this Friday (18th Dec).

I will however be coming back for 2021 and the blog will kick off again on the 11th Jan.

I just want to say thank you to my colleagues, to the staff around the university that I work with and to all the students I’ve met and taught and learned from this year.

I want to give a specific blog shout out to Lauren (from Disability Services) and Serena (Dietetics student) who have become regular contributors to the blog this year

I consider myself very fortunate to do the work I do. I get to write, teach, develop and deliver wellbeing programs that I hope help people navigate the inevitable challenges of life.

And 2020 has thrown up some very interesting challenges 😷.

Through it all I’ve seen so many staff and students display incredible resilience and kindness. Flinders is a strong community that I am proud to be a part of.

I have 3 weeks of rest and recuperation ahead of me. I’ll be following some of my own advice and embedding a few self-care and wellbeing activities, particularly yoga (hello Bad Yogi) and meditation (hello Waking Up).

I’ll also be doing a mix of garden and technology projects 🌳 🖥️   I’m not one to sit still for long, but I look forward to a slower pace than the year as a whole.

A rest period is important. We have big plans next year – more programs, more content, more wellbeing, more of everything to be honest. Without appropriate rest, I won’t be in the headspace necessary to push myself.

So I encourage you, if it is possible, to do your best to find some way to rejuvenate over this holiday period. I realise many of you will be working and using the time away from studies to earn some money to get other things done. But even committing to just one rejuvenation-esque activity during the holiday period might be all it takes to recharge the mojo batteries 🔋

Whilst I have some recommendations for the things you could do (see our self-care document), in truth, each person needs to find those activities that truly recharge them. And it isn’t always obvious. For example, I sometimes think spending more time watching TV and ‘switching off’ will cause me to recharge, but that really isn’t the case. Usually it is little projects, different from what I get to work on during the busy year, that help put me back into a motivated mindset.

So my wish for you, dear reader, during this holiday period, is that you find the activity (ies) that truly help you recharge and actually find time to engage in them.

And I look forward to meeting up with you all again next year for another crack at this crazy rollercoaster ride we call life.

Take Care

Dr G

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