It’s getting dark out, the days are shorter, and I’m moving a bit slower. The holidays are approaching, bringing changes in routines and schedules, and every day it feels harder to keep up with my habits. I tend to let things go around this time of year, overwhelmed with all the “to do’s,” the events, and the energy shifts.
“That meditation can wait until tomorrow,” I said to myself. Then tomorrow came… and the meditation time slid right past. Same with my exercise. Same with my daily grounding.
Sometimes I convince myself a break from structure is the reset I need. A day off. A moment to breathe. And honestly? Sometimes that’s true. But when one day turns into three, and three turns into a week, it has the opposite effect. I freeze. Nothing gets done. My brain feels scattered and heavy. Instead of feeling relaxed, I feel unproductive and chaotic.
This is not a feeling I enjoy.
And interestingly… when I do less, I get less done. But when I return to my routines, I get more done and feel better doing it.
This can happen in the classroom just as easily as at home. And keeping routines and structures tight is more important now than ever.
The first counselor I worked with always brought it back to the students and reminded me, “Kristy, if you feel this way, imagine how the students feel. They are feeling it ten times more than you.”
Students are going through the same seasonal shifts, tired, dysregulated, sleep schedules off, families preparing for time off, and homes may be feeling unpredictable or chaotic. When life at home gets unstable, students need stability in their school day even more.
This time of year, some classrooms can subtly shift from structured to “winging it” and the kids feel this instability and confusion. This is when behaviors return or show up out of nowhere. The unpredictability is uncertain.
Routines tell students: “You’re safe. You know what happens next. You don’t have to guess.”
Re-teaching routines mid-year isn’t a sign of failure. It’s a sign of leadership. It communicates: “Our classroom works best when we know the rhythm. Let’s get back to it together.”
What can you do this week to return to your routine?
Take a moment and visualize your day from the moment you walk into the classroom, the students arrival, academic demands, transitions, electives, lunch, and packing up to go home.
Where have you strayed in your routines?
Where can you re-establish your rhythm?
Once you have your answer, make a visual note and put it on your desk, a simple reminder to go back to routine.
You have the answers.
You know what needs to be done.
Sometimes you just need a reset.
And it takes courage to recognize the energy has shifted… and even more courage to bring it back to baseline.
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” — Aristotle