This summer, I took 2 whole weeks off from work. I didn't check email, I stayed off social media for the most part, I did a lot of golfing (poorly), I hung out with my family and ushered my first child off to college, and I honestly made a concerted effort to not work or think about what was waiting for me at work. It was the first time in a 20 year career in education that I actually did this for an extended period of time and I am glad I did so because it gave me a new perspective. When I did finally get back to work, I had an inbox full of emails that I needed to attend to, but unlike other years, I did not feel guilty about not addressing them sooner. I wasn't filled with stress or anxiety because I knew that I would address each issue in a timely manner now that I was back to work. What is crazy about this scenario is that this is the exact opposite of how I have felt throughout my career and I can only attribute it to a new found perspective. That perspective was that I finally took the time to fill up my own bucket so I could serve others. I took the break I deserved not only for myself, but for the people I am charged to lead. In technology terms, I cleared my cache and did a factory reset so I could perform at my optimum level. In layman's terms, I finally practiced what I have been preaching.
I have always prided myself on being the type of leader that didn't ask people to do things that I wouldn't do myself. What I realized, however, is that over the course of my career, I always asked my colleagues to take a break over the summer and come back rested and rejuvenated to serve kids, but I didn't take the advice myself and continued to work and push forward because I thought that was what I was supposed to do as a leader. After all, I have more contracted days and a high school really never shuts down, so the principal has to be working to make sure that everything gets done. That's the rule right? WRONG! Everyone needs a break, so everyone should take it. It only took me 20 years in education to finally figure it out, but I guess everyone learns at their own pace.
Now that the school year has started, I have often reflected on my time away from work and how I might be able to carry it forward. The school year is full of pre-defined breaks, but they sometimes feel like they are ages apart, so it is necessary to capitalize on the time in different ways in order to do some micro-resets. For me, I'm going to do my best to take a 30-minute lunch each day where I actually sit down to eat and collect my thoughts. I'm going to utilize the amazing functions of my smartwatch and take breathing breaks at least 3 times per day. I'm going to do my daily 5K walks. Finally, I am going to utilize the pause inbox feature on my email each day that I leave work so emails don't show up until the following morning. If I can do this, my bucket won't go empty as quickly as it usually does and I can practice the self care needed to do this job.
If I'm being honest with myself, I will absolutely fall short on these goals, but I'm aiming for 80% proficiency. I know I am not being graded, but as Wayne Gretzky said, "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take." As a leader, I know I need to model the actions that I am seeking for others, so it is time to start practicing what I preach wholeheartedly.
#Onward #Forge
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