Take care of myself--These two practices are more hopes than actual practice.
-Sleep--I recently read that that adults need at least 7 hours of sleep. This is an area where I regularly fail. Waking up between 4:30 and 5:00 on work days makes getting 7 hours of sleep difficult if I want to spend time with my wife after my daughter goes to bed. All of the research here is clear that more sleep makes you more productive, able to manage your emotions, reduce stress, etc. As this exit becomes more fast paced and closer to an end, I'm setting a goal of 7 hours of sleep. We'll see how it goes.
--Calm--Over the past few weeks I started incorporating Calm, a Meditation App, into my regular practice. I have come to learn that mediation as a practice to all me to stay present. It teaches you to pay attention to your emotions and recognize how you are feeling. Instead of shutting out my feelings, which has been a life long practice, I am working on accepting these feelings and learning to work through them. I recently learned of other leaders using mediation as a way to help them stay present as they take on the difficulties of leadership--decision making, difficult conversations, and managing many moving parts. While I have only been able to incorporate 5 minutes of meditation into my daily practice, Calm provides you with shorter and longer practices.
-Sleep--I recently read that that adults need at least 7 hours of sleep. This is an area where I regularly fail. Waking up between 4:30 and 5:00 on work days makes getting 7 hours of sleep difficult if I want to spend time with my wife after my daughter goes to bed. All of the research here is clear that more sleep makes you more productive, able to manage your emotions, reduce stress, etc. As this exit becomes more fast paced and closer to an end, I'm setting a goal of 7 hours of sleep. We'll see how it goes.
--Calm--Over the past few weeks I started incorporating Calm, a Meditation App, into my regular practice. I have come to learn that mediation as a practice to all me to stay present. It teaches you to pay attention to your emotions and recognize how you are feeling. Instead of shutting out my feelings, which has been a life long practice, I am working on accepting these feelings and learning to work through them. I recently learned of other leaders using mediation as a way to help them stay present as they take on the difficulties of leadership--decision making, difficult conversations, and managing many moving parts. While I have only been able to incorporate 5 minutes of meditation into my daily practice, Calm provides you with shorter and longer practices.
Laugh--It's been said that laughter leads to a healthier life and there is no greater place to laugh than at school.
--Continuing to get into the classroom has helped me to continue to observe the amazing teaching and learning that goes on at BHS. Furthermore, by being in classrooms I observe the spontaneous fun and excitement that regularly occurs in our classes. Also, this Spring I plan to join our students in some of the last memorable and momentous events such as the Senior whale watch which will be fun, energizing and....wet! Additionally, continuing to attend events such as prom will give me an opportunity to celebrate and say good bye to our seniors.
--Continuing to get into the classroom has helped me to continue to observe the amazing teaching and learning that goes on at BHS. Furthermore, by being in classrooms I observe the spontaneous fun and excitement that regularly occurs in our classes. Also, this Spring I plan to join our students in some of the last memorable and momentous events such as the Senior whale watch which will be fun, energizing and....wet! Additionally, continuing to attend events such as prom will give me an opportunity to celebrate and say good bye to our seniors.
Celebrate--principal transition can be stressful and uneasy for students and staff. The best way I can support our community is to remind and reinforce the greatest aspects of our school: the amazing students and talented staff. The other day I thanked and celebrated with our seniors during their last class meeting. their leadership this year has helped our school have a successful year. Furthermore, I have continued to go into classrooms and celebrate the great strategies that teachers are using in the class. Additionally, I have been meeting with program leaders and department heads to discuss the progress that they have made over the last four years as well as their vision for years to come.
These strategies have also helped me to attempt to lead mindfully--feeling present in my decision making and acknowledging the stress to transition. Since I have incorporated these practices the past few weeks, I have walked the hallways feeling present and energized. While these strategies have been good for my transition, they have also helped me to enjoy and celebrate that last few months at BHS. There are many stressful and challenging aspects of the exit process, but I want to enjoy these last few months and celebrate with BHS's greatest strength--the people.
