An Inside Job

For many of us as educators, the “new year” started with our first day back at school and in our routines.

We just finished our second week of school in the new year, and I’ve been thinking about the concept of “friction points.” This concept has been floating around on social media but essentially, minimizing friction points means reducing things that get in the way of the habits we are trying to build.

Laying our clothes out before we go to bed might make it more likely that we get out the door on time. Packing our workout bag before bed might make it more likely we go to the gym after work the next day. Meal prepping on the weekends might make it more likely that we eat nourishing foods during the week. You get the point.

I try to make healthy choices as convenient as possible because the more convenient and accessible it is, the more likely I will stick with it. This does mean, however, that there will be trade offs. Making my morning smoothie at night to expedite my morning routine is convenient, but the smoothie doesn’t taste quite as fresh. Eating the same meals for lunch and dinner gets boring, but it does make it faster and less mentally taxing to prep and pack it away in the fridge.

Even so, we can’t completely eliminate friction, so when times get tough or schedules get hectic, we are really tested.

I have been tested these past two weeks. I chose to give up caffeine for a couple of weeks. If you work with me, sorry, I know you’ve had to hear about it, and I’m sure it’s getting annoying. This post is not about any kind of dangers of caffeine of even the benefits which I’ve heard there are many.

As someone who has always been a little anxious, it’s been an opportunity to see how I feel without it. The first 4 days were rough in the late afternoon. I had a terrible headache every day that I could not shake. Also, I struggled to sleep soundly during that first week which was tough especially on a week with an evening board meeting. But maybe most challenging was the ritualistic aspect and of coffee for me. The way coffee can be communal. I enjoy bringing coffee to meetings (which I still did for others) or stopping for a coffee on my way to the gym as a little pick me up. Without coffee, it was just me trying to pick myself up.

And I did it.

I will say that this past week has been much better. I’ve always been a good sleeper (sorry to brag but it’s true, haha) but my sleep has been deeper. I know this because I’ve been dreaming more and remembering my dreams which is an indication of REM sleep. I also feel overall more relaxed and at peace, even during intense situations and conversations.

So, I don’t know what I will do longer term but for now, I might stick with this a little longer.

I’m writing this to share that maybe that thing we are afraid to do or think we can’t do or that thing that feels inconvenient might be exactly what we need. When we remove the friction points and stay the course on a commitment we made, especially one that is about our wellbeing, we remind ourselves that there is more to us and this life than our work. We remind ourselves are we are human beings not human doings.

Maybe the best way to make the work feel different is to start feeling different in the work. It’s an inside job. That’s a hard truth but an empowering one if we decide to see it that way.

As I say in Legacy of Learning, there’s a lot in our profession that we can’t control and yet there is a lot that’s within our control that would make a positive impact too.

We can start by looking at how we show up not only for others. But for ourselves.