Tag Archives: work

Thinking about Retirement

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Tonight I’m going to the Principal’s retirement dinner. A good friend has asked me to do his introduction before he does his retirement speech. I enjoy going to this event and seeing the past retirees. And in all honesty I’ve thought of my own retirement a fair bit recently. While I haven’t picked a date yet, it’s less than five years away… and could be as soon as two.

Whenever I talk to retirees, they always share how busy they are. There is so much to do, places to go, people to see. They are not bored and if they want, there is always work they can get. In fact there are quite a few who end up going back to work for the school district. With the retirement bubble that’s happening and a shortage of teachers, opportunities abound.

And then there is the chance to travel more. I don’t have many regrets in life, but I do wish I travelled more when I was younger, and to me retirement opens up an opportunity to make up for that. I could easily list off 10 countries I’d like to visit sooner rather than later.

The thing that I think about most when it comes to retirement is what my routine will look like. I won’t be waking up at 5am to get my workout and writing in. I will be working out for longer, I will spend more time writing. I will also be cooking more meals and eating a bit more healthy. And I’ll probably work to some extent, although I don’t yet know what that will look like? With my retirement date approaching, you might think I’d have a better handle on what I’d be doing after this, but I think enough opportunities will present themselves.

I’m not someone who gets bored. I don’t spend time wondering what to do next. Retirement for me is about creating more options for myself. I’m not running away from my job, nor am I counting the days to the transition. Rather I’m seeing it as an opportunity to do more and different things.

It’s hard not to think of retirement as I head to this dinner to celebrate the retirement of my colleagues. I look to the future and I see myself enjoying that next phase of my life. But day-to-day I try not to think about it too much. There is still work to be done and joy to be found in my work. I’m grateful to have a job that feels purposeful and meaningful, and one that doesn’t have me counting the days until the next phase of my life.

The Reality of the Job

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I just did a meditation that led to a short nap, and now I’m reflecting on my day ‘off’.

There are some jobs that you never have to take home with you. A Starbucks barista doesn’t have to think about their job when they aren’t working. Even when I was a Starbucks manager, there were many days when my shift was over and I didn’t think much about work until I returned for my next shift… although there were times I ended up working much more than an 8 hour day. However, I didn’t enjoy being a Starbucks manager nearly as much as being a teacher or principal of a school… but those are two very different jobs than the ones at Starbucks. The reality of being in education is that you take the job home with you.

I’ve been sick and away from work most of this week. And for a lot of it, I was truly off. A low-grade but persistent headache, flu symptoms and unpleasant coughing kept me from work, both physically and mentally. But it’s hiring time for next year and a couple positions I posted closed last night. And so today I spent most of the day coughing my way through interviews, catching up  on emails, and making some phone calls. I worked a 6+ hour day, despite it being a sick day. That’s the nature of work sometimes. I’m not complaining. I really rested yesterday and feel a lot better (though I sound a lot worse) today. It would have been nice to take today fully off too, but the reality is that some jobs just aren’t like that… and I chose a job that’s just not like that.

It’s pretty awesome being in a job with so many caring and thoughtful people that are dedicated to their jobs. It inspires me and makes days like this, days where I’m off, but not really off, to appreciate the dedication of others who do the same, don’t complain, and do a fantastic job. Whenever I hear someone complain about teachers having it easy, and having summers off, or any talk like that, it usually comes from one of two places: Either it’s from someone who doesn’t take their work home with them, or it’s from someone who does, but also benefits financially from doing so (working towards commission, a bonus, or getting paid overtime). Meanwhile teachers and principals work many extra unpaid hours and even when not well, despite having hundreds of sick days accumulated… And they put time in on weekends marking, and stay after school to prepare lessons, coach, and run events well into the evenings.

It’s the reality of the job, and it’s done for the love of serving others… Even when we aren’t at 100%.

The good news is that my headache has subsided, and I’m on the mend. I’m going to spend my weekend catching up on some shows I’ve neglected and getting a bit more sleep. I need to give myself the time I need to fully recover, to ensure that I stay healthy for the crazy month ahead.

 

Empty Cup

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The timing was perfect. I was not feeling well and took the day off. Then I saw this later in the day:

There was a bit of work that still had to be done, but I needed this day… and I took it. I think now of all the times I didn’t. I’m not sure I was my best, and it probably showed. We can’t be at our best when our own cup is empty.

Block and Move to Junk

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I might have shared a similar rant before, but I had to deal with this a few times last week and I hope at least one person in sales will learn from this.

If you cold email me with a product or service when we have had no relationship beforehand, that’s a cold call, it’s a virtual knock on a strangers email door. I find it annoying. I understand it’s hard to get your product in front of people and while I don’t like it much, I tolerate it.

However, when you then follow up with an email saying, “I haven’t heard back from you…” Well now that’s just rude. I don’t owe you anything for taking my unsolicited time to look at and maybe even read your first message. You didn’t hear from me because I’m not interested. How many thousands of ‘I haven’t heard back from you’ emails do you have to send to get a positive response? I bet it’s astronomically low. I bet your time would have been better used elsewhere.

On Friday, I got a call from someone who had sent me an email and a follow up. The only reason it got through my secretary is because the product name had the word ‘class’ in it, my secretary thought the voice sounded like a student, and I said to put it through instead of asking her to take a message like I usually do. When he started in with, “Hi, I’m [Name] from [Company], I’m not sure if you’ve had a chance to look at my last 2 emails…” I was already done. I was actually politer than I needed to be and started into a routine I’ve gotten pretty good at. I start with ‘We’ve gone through a lot of changes in the last while and I’m not interested in adding anything new at this time… and I go on for about 10 more seconds on double speed and end with, ‘I wish you all the best but we really are not interested, thanks, bye’. And I hang up even if the person has time to respond.

No, if I didn’t respond to your first email then I’m not interested in your product or even a free trial. A follow up email won’t help. A follow up email then phone call is doubly obnoxious. In fact, you can be sure of two things. First, I don’t want to work with you even if your product is great. And second, I won’t see a third email from you because I’ve blocked you and moved your email to junk. If enough of us did that after second unsolicited cold-call emails, that company email address might even find itself on the wrong side of spam filters… and I’m ok with that because if their first email wasn’t spam to begin with, their second email was definitely was.

Barometric Pressure Headaches

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Yesterday there was a drop in barometric pressure. I know this because I felt it in my head. Since I was a teenager I’ve been susceptible to getting headaches due to barometric pressure changes. That said, they really don’t happen often, and I am still surprised by them. I don’t think to blame the weather for the low grade headache that I develop from a drop in atmospheric pressure.

Yesterday morning I was at my desk and the pain grew as I tried to look at my computer screen. I needed to give my eyes a break and as I walked out of my office I mentioned to my secretaries that I had a headache. One of my secretaries instantly replied, “I feel it too, it’s the weather.” And only hearing this and looking out the window at the grey skies helped me realize what I was dealing with. Even though I don’t get a lot of headaches, it just seems odd to me that this happens and so I don’t draw conclusions or throw blame on a weather change for how I feel.

Looking at the historical data now, there was indeed a big drop in pressure yesterday.

Of all the skills and abilities I could possibly have, detecting atmospheric pressure drops with a headache is not one I can say I’m grateful for. I felt ‘off’ the whole day, and left work not convinced I’d be up to going to work today.

But it’s a new day, there is a rising barometer in the forecast, and I am headache free after a good night’s sleep. Yesterday was a blip, (or perhaps a better word is dip), and I will be blissfully ignorant of the barometer until the next big drop. And if I’m true to form, I’ll draw the conclusion that the weather is the cause of my headache well after I should have made the connection. It just seems like a really weird place to throw blame.

Being vs Doing

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I was listening to a guided meditation, and it mentioned that how we live in the world is more focused on doing rather than being.

This made me think about the multitude of tasks we do on autopilot, and how we aren’t always fully present when we do them. It made me think about my work day and how much of it is spent focused on tasks, and not at all on the experience.

Doing is an external experience focused on productivity and achievement. Being is intrinsic, it emphasizes awareness, mindfulness, and the value of life. Doing is all about chasing goals and getting stuff done, it’s what moves us ahead and lets us make things happen. But being… That’s about soaking in the moment, really living it up, and savoring life’s journey as it happens.

This isn’t an either/or thing, but I feel like we, I feel like I, could benefit from being more… More present, more aware, more in the moment. Whole days can go by where I’m task oriented, focused on what needs to be done, and not aware or appreciative of my experience. It’s really about valuing the life we have as it unfolds, rather than just checking off boxes of tasks and achievements mindlessly.

If we are too busy only doing, are we allowing ourselves the opportunity to value and appreciate this wonderful life we are living? Are we living at all, or just moving from task to task, like mindless robots. I laugh a lot more when I’m being and not just doing. I connect with people more meaningfully. I find joy in the tasks that I do. Being is an awareness that sits above the things we do, and it changes a life of activity for the sake of activity, to one where we can find meaning, and joy, throughout our day, and on days yet to come.

Seizing Moments

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Yesterday I had the opportunity to have lunch with my admin team. Now when I say that I’m talking about 3 ‘teammates’ that do not work in the same building as me. So when we can get together and enjoy a meal it’s a special moment. The moment was made that much more special because two of the three people I met are moving on… one to a new position, and the other one retiring. Then, after work, I connected with some other administrators for a wellness gathering. It was wonderful to spend that time connecting with colleagues that I don’t always see during my typical work week. And when I came home, my wife and I had a wonderful evening together. We both seem to have a little more energy than we usually do on a Friday night. It was a fun night of laughter and conversation.

This morning I did the Coquitlam crunch with my buddy, and while it was cold and early, and we were the only ones in the parking lot, it was a ‘seize the moment kind’ of opportunity. This was our 120th Crunch since we started 3 years ago in January 2020. My buddy suggested that the title of this post should be “Just Do It”, and that was the initial plan, but my thoughts go a little beyond that this afternoon.

After our walk and coffee shop social, I went home and said bye to my wife and helped her pack the car to head over to the island to visit her parents. Then my daughter called and asked for a ride because she spent an anniversary night out with her boyfriend and they were heading home from downtown. After dropping her boyfriend at his house, my daughter and I decided to go and enjoy a sushi lunch at a wonderful restaurant. I can’t express how wonderful it is to have grown-up kids who still look forward to a meal with their father (and yes, especially when he’s paying).

Now I am sitting in my hot tub, penning my ideas using voice to text, and even enjoying a little visit for my cat.

Visits with colleagues, chats with my wife, walks with friends, meals with family, and hot tubs on a cold winter day, these are all small little moments individually… But weave them together, and they make for an absolutely wonderful life.

We sometimes go headlong into work, and bury ourselves in busyness, not realizing that we don’t have to put everything on hold until our next vacation, or gathering with family or friends. Tiny moments, planned, and unplanned, are the moments we need to seek and enjoy.

Mixed emotions

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It’s the last day of the winter break. Tomorrow everyone heads back to school. I always find the last couple days before heading back a bit of a reset. The rush of the holidays is over, and my willingness to start something new is extremely low. In the last couple days I’ve watched more television with my wife than I have the rest of the 2 weeks of the break.

That said, I’m not begrudging the return to work. I’m excited about starting up again. I’m looking forward to seeing students in the building and hearing about their holidays. I’m already thinking about things I want to accomplish this term.

Part of me would love to have another week off, and part of me can’t wait to get back to a regular schedule. It’s a mixed feeling and one that sits heaviest on me on the day before I head back. I don’t always know how to balance the different emotions I feel on this day. I kind of just drift through the day, wondering if I should spend time catching up on things like email, or doing something… anything… that says ‘you are still on holidays – enjoy!’

Inevitably, I end up doing ‘not enough’ of either. In actuality, that’s not true, but that’s the emotional rollercoaster I go through every last day of an extended break.

4 day weekend

We went away for the 4-day weekend. We took the ferry Thursday night after work, headed to Vancouver island, and came back Monday. We spent 3 nights in Victoria visiting my daughter and a night in Nanaimo visiting my wife’s parents.

I’m amazed how long this break felt. It was wonderful to get away for this little holiday. I feel like I’ve had a real break. I feel fresh and ready to start the week… and it’s a short week!

If I were to redesign the school year, I’d make the summer shorter and make every other weekend a 4-day weekend. Instead of a set 4-day week, with the same day off every week, like every Friday, I’d run a long weekend like this one we just had, with Monday and Friday off, then I’d run a regular 2-day weekend, then I’d run another 4-day weekend. Each week would only be 4 days long, but the weekends would alternate between 2 days and 4 days off, rather than repeated 3-day weekends.

I’d give up on a long summer holiday to run a schedule like this. 2-3 times a year these extended weekends could be scheduled school events like field trips with students, for things like visiting the capital or camping. Or maybe just the 2-day weekend, where students have 10 straight days of school with a special event in the middle.

But more than that, I think I’d be refuelled and ready for anything after a bi-monthly 4-day weekend. And I wouldn’t be surprised if this wasn’t better for students too. While this is unlikely to happen, I’d just like to say that I’m thankful for this break and I’m ready to jump back in and have a great week at school.

4-day work weeks

An interesting article, ‘Employees are so sick of the five-day workweek that most would take a pay cut to make a four-day week happen‘, by Ryan Hogg, states: “In the battle for a four-day workweek employees seem ready to put their money where their mouth is—they’ll take a pay cut if it means having an extra day of free time.”

At a time when inflation and cost of living is extremely high, people would rather sacrifice money for time. This isn’t about a lack of ambition or drive, it’s about wanting balance. It’s about prioritizing wellbeing over profit.

The article continued: “Last year, the U.K. piloted the world’s biggest-ever four-day week trial, made up of more than 60 companies and nearly 3,000 employees. Most businesses maintained or improved their productivity, while the trial also revealed that quit rates among staff plummeted.

Of the businesses involved in the survey, the majority chose to continue with the scheme.“

It can work.

I read another article, which I can’t find to source right now, and it was mentioning how many big companies are struggling with high absenteeism, with employees taking more sick time than they ever have before. Employees are taking days off in far greater quantities than my generation and our parent’s generation ever did, and these absences are costing companies far more than expected. Apparently this isn’t just an issue if people being sicker, but rather employees taking more time for ‘mental health days’. Essentially just taking a break from the grind of a 5- day work week. A shorter week could work to reduce this.

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I think the 4-day week could work for schools too. Add one hour to each of the 4 remaining school days and you’ve got 2/3’s of the missing school day covered. Add 30 more daily minutes of collaborative/prep time and teachers would be working the same hours, and embedding some needed prep time to their schedules. Same hours of work, close to the same number of hours of class, and so not even a reason to reduce pay.

Doing this, students and teachers would have 4-day weeks and 3-day weekends. I wonder what that would do to student absenteeism? I wonder how well students would perform? This year our senior PE classes start an hour early, and we haven’t noticed an issue with students struggling through a longer school day.

It could be piloted in a high school, but probably not the younger grades because it would be challenging to arrange for child care/supervision on the weekday that students don’t have school. I’d be happy to volunteer my school to try it out… I wonder what teachers, students, and parents would think of this?