Tag Archives: work

Adding fuel to the 4 Burner Theory

The four burner theory, as seen in this video shared below, suggests that we never actually live a balanced life, and if we do, we can never really be successful in any key areas of our lives: Family, Friends, Health, and Work.

The theory suggests that we have a limited amount of energy to distribute to these different burners, and so we need to decide where best to distribute that energy. The video also suggests that we might want to distribute that energy differently at different times in our lives.

I agree with this video in that I have seldom found balance in my life and I’ve often put one of the areas ahead of others, reducing those other areas in time commitment and overall satisfaction. However, this year I’ve also realized something else… we don’t need to accept that the limited amount of energy we have is completely fixed.

Since the start of this year, I have instituted a self-care program that has really changed my ability to give more to all 4 burners, so by giving time to a 5th burner of self-care, I have more to offer. This vlog shared my healthy living goals for 2019.

Does this mean that I’ve suddenly found balance in my life. Absolutely not! I agree with the idea that balance is not fully achievable if we want to excel in different areas of our lives. But I don’t agree that our fuel, our energy levels are fixed. I think we all know this too. Every one of us have had times when we’ve felt down, and low in energy, when trying to be successful in one area means we have nothing left for the other areas of our lives. We’ve also had times when we’ve had high energy levels and things are going great in more than one area of our lives. The question is, are these differences ones that happen to us, or do these differences happen because we create them? This year, I’ve been able to give more of myself in more areas of my life.

By taking the time to listen to audio books, and to write; by exercising more consistently than I have in over 15 years; by reducing my unhealthy snacking; and, by meditating daily for almost 10 months now, I have felt more energized, more level-headed, and more productive in other areas of my life. That said, I’m the first to admit I don’t have everything under control, I’m not perfect, and in fact I’m still my own biggest critic. The start of this calendar year was so crazy at work, I had days I just wanted to run away and move to a remote island. There were weeks where my only communication with my wife were logistical. There were days where 20 minutes on the treadmill started with 40 minutes of procrastination. But as I approach the end of September, the craziest time in the school year, I feel more on top of things than I did a year ago. I’m enjoying my family time more. I’m seeing leaps of improvement in my strength and conditioning. And I’m doing things like this daily post on a Saturday morning, while my family is still sleeping. Sunday morning, when this post goes live, I’ll be having breakfast with a friend.

The reality is that we may never have balance, but if make taking care of ourselves a priority, we have more fuel to add to the other burners in our lives.

Work and Flow

Today was busy, but I never got into a good workflow. It’s the nature of being a principal. I had several meetings, and they all went well: an admin meeting, a parent meeting, a teacher meeting, and several meetings with students… some planned, some not. I had to organize a lunch, and I had to problem solve an issue with secretaries. I had a phone call with a vice principal about a student, and had another student visited to share work his class had done.

Another unplanned meeting with a student and parent after school went really well, but also took away some key time I had scheduled to create a form that I need to share with some online teachers in all our high schools. That form will be completed tonight or tomorrow morning before this is posted. It was the main thing on my ‘to do’ list today. That ‘to do’ list of 7 items was only down to 6 items when I left for the day. I had more unread email at the end of the day than the start of the day. Tomorrow morning the list will only be down to 5 items after I get that form done, the email will be a bit lower.

Some days you can get into a flow and check off things that need to get done, one after the next. Other days can be consumed productively yet productivity is low. The biggest challenge for me is to not let too many days like this pile up.

Email Workflow- A Generic Response

Email can be overwhelming. Here is something I’m thinking of trying. I plan to make this one of my email signatures, so I just have to select the signature, when appropriate, and hit ‘send’… Then move on.

Please help me make it better!

– – – – –

Greetings,

This is a generic email response to your email below. I receive over 150 emails a day. In my role, running 3 schools, I spend a lot of time away from my desk. This is one of my attempts to direct more of my energy towards my students and teachers, and other parts of my job that should matter more than responding to emails.

If you are receiving this email, please know that:

  1. I read your email.
  2. I thought you deserved a response.
  3. I’m not interested in pursuing what you are offering, or following up on this matter beyond this email.
  4. I am not interested in a response to this email.

Please accept this email with the positive intent with which I sent it… an opportunity to politely respond, while also minimizing the onslaught of emails and email conversations that I receive daily.

Regards, Dave.

Think Good Thoughts, Say Good Words, Do Good Deeds. 

– – – – –

Objective: Reduce interactions

• If I don’t respond, I get a follow-up email.

• If I do respond, I get a follow-up response… even a ‘Thank you’ means one more email to look at.

What do you think? Also, what other email strategies work for you?

Holiday in a cup

I just read an article: Vacations won’t help your burnout, which states: “…‪many of us stress out at work as we prepare to take a vacation, only to face a pile of things to do when we return. What’s better? Carving out small slices of relaxation every day.‬”

This reminds me of a conversation I had with a customer, when I worked as a manager.

I was working at a tiny Starbucks on Denman, not far from Davie Street, across from ‘The beaches”, in downtown Vancouver. Two doors down was a shoe repair shop. The cobbler worked 6 days a week, and he came in for a triple-tall latte, 2 times a day.

One day we were chatting about vacations and I said something like, “I’m not trying to lose you as a customer, but do you realize that if you didn’t have your 2 coffees a day, you could have a pretty amazing holiday with your wife and kids each year, for the cost of those coffees?”

He took a sip, held up his personal Starbucks logo mug he always used, and said pointing to the cup, “Dave, this is a holiday in a cup, and I get it twice a day!”

How do you, or can you, create your own daily ‘holiday in a cup’?

The MASTER of LIVING

James-a-michener-master-of-living

This quote seems very Zen Buddhist to me and I think the image goes well with it. I don’t think this is about blending work and play, I think it’s about finding joy in everything you do, and if your work is also a joy, then it isn’t something you clock in and out of. I’m interested in what others think of this quote?

Photo, ‘Behind Buddha’, taken at the Famen Temple near Xi’an, China.