We are one month in from creating our New Year’s Resolutions. Some of us may have come up with our one word to anchor us in this new year, some inspired by Gretchen Rubin and created 25 in 25 lists, and some of us may have tried to put our goals in the start/stop/continue/consider buckets. Now that it is February, how is it going? Well, if you are like most folks, many of those well-intended, optimistic goals and aspirations may not be as closely followed as they were in those early weeks of January.
In the article, “The Psychology Behind Why New Year’s Resolutions Fail” by Dr. Cynthia Vinney, she says it’s often because the goals we set are a bit too big or too lofty. Vinney quotes psychologist Terri Bly as she says, “Where we go wrong with New Year’s resolutions is there’s this idea that it’s supposed to be some big, sweeping change. [But] as humans we’re not wired to make big, sweeping changes.”
If science is saying we should get small when it comes to permanent positive change, let’s look at our lives in a smaller way and see how it could evolve our New Year’s Resolutions.
This month’s invitation is a small shift in thought and is inspired by Dr. Neil Gupta. I met Neil at the Teach Better conference a few years ago, and our paths have continued to cross in a variety of ways over the years. Professionally, Dr. Gupta is the Superintendent of Oakwood Schools and you can learn more about his professional accomplishments and resources at farthertogether.org. Personally, Neil is just a really good guy and I have a lot of respect for him.
I like to follow Neil’s work and see what he is up to in Oakwood. Recently, he was interviewed by Follet Library, and was asked a really interesting question: “If you had five extra minutes in your day, what would you do with them?”
Five Extra Minutes?
Five extra minutes in your day. That’s just 0.35% of our day. It’s not much time in the grand scheme of things, but it’s a wildly interesting thought, isn’t it? Neil’s instant response was as a Superintendent, he’d spend those extra five minutes in classrooms connecting with students and staff.
Watching this quick sound byte really got me thinking. If you had 5 extra minutes in your day, what would you do? I’d guess our answers would range from do a little exercise, read to my kid at night, try to make a homemade meal, check in with students more often, take time for something creative, read, disconnect, have a conversation, or just slow down to be more present. Whatever your answer is regarding what you would do with your additional 5 minutes, we can use that as information to help us discern our next right thing.
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How are we currently spending our time? Or more importantly, how are we investing our time? If you had a glorious extra 5 minutes, what would you want to invest in?
Neil’s answer proved that he wants to invest in people, and my extra 5 minutes would be invested in a similar way. If I had 5 more minutes in my day, I’d connect with others and try to strengthen a personal or professional relationship, which is my main goal in 2025; to strengthen existing relationships that make a difference to my head or heart.
That’s our invitation this month: If you had an extra 5 minutes in your day, what would you do? Since we know we won’t magically accrue 5 extra minutes, our invitation as rational optimists is to use your answer to that question as important information. Your answer is telling you what’s important in your life. It’s telling you where to slow down and be present. Let your answer help prioritize the minutes you actually have to include something that would help strengthen your body, spirit, mind, or heart.
- Want to read to your kid at night? Set a timer so you are overtly reminded to create the time and conditions to do so.
- More exercise? Look at your weekly and daily rhythms to see when you could realistically schedule time to move your body or add the time to something you’re already doing.
- Looking to connect with your students? Could those five minutes be invested greeting students at the door?
- Capacity for creativity? If it’s not realistic to spend just five minutes a day, consider batching your time for a quieter night or weekend day when you could have sustained time to find your flow.
5 minutes is 0.35% of your day. It’s so small! But if we leverage that tiny amount of time to lean into our people, work, or causes we care deeply about, it has the potential to increase our daily happiness consistently, which can lead to permanent, positive change.
A good life is an accumulation of good days. These accumulated good days turn into good weeks, months, and years. Lets’ follow the advice of psychologists and use these big New Years Resolutions failures as an opportunity to go small. Really small.
Let’s not just spend our time. Let’s invest in the things that matter. 5 minutes at a time.
Small Shifts, BIG Gifts!
Give it a try! What is your answer to, “What would you do if you had five extra minutes in your day?” Let your answer help you prioritize how you invest your time at school or at home. Let your answer be a signal to what your head or heart need to feel as steady, grounded, and content as possible.
About Suzanne Dailey
Suzanne Dailey is a proud member of the Teach Better Family! She is an instructional coach in the Central Bucks School District where she has the honor and joy of working with elementary teachers and students in 15 buildings. Suzanne is Nationally Board Certified, a Fellow of the National Writing Project, and has a master’s degree in Reading. She is dedicated to nurturing and developing the whole child and teacher. Suzanne lives in Doylestown, Pennsylvania with her husband and two children.
Check out the Teach Happier Podcast here!
