Remember Why You Love Your Job?

Thanks to its partnership with publisher Eye on Education, EducationWorld is pleased to present these tips from Pete Hall, author of Lead On! Motivational Lessons for School Leaders. Hall offers school leaders seven ideas to help them remember why they love their job, and how to make it fun again.

Tell a joke!
Do you have a sense of humor? Sometimes, a good remedy for our malaise is some good, old-fashioned, light-hearted fun. If you have a good sense of humor, quit stifling it. Tell some jokes. If you're not comfortable coming up with your own jokes, ask a colleague to share some jokes. Put them in the school newsletter. Tell them over the P.A. system. (Write them on a "graffiti board" in the staff restroom if they're not child-friendly.) Laughter is the best medicine, after all, and we could use a dose or two.

Create some fun, special days at the school.
Children (and adults!) love dress-up days - you know, those days with a novel theme. Encourage school, team, or community spirit by scheduling Funny Hat Day, Wrong Shoe Day, or Superhero Day. You'll be amazed at the results, especially if there's some sort of contest attached to it.

Celebrate positive accomplishments.
Start each staff meeting (or any other get-together) with good news. Clap. Recognize all the good things that are happening out there. Toot some horns, for crying out loud! Loudly bellow some shout-outs for deserving deeds. Acknowledge the students and their feats publicly, privately, in assemblies, or in phone calls to parents. Let's start sharing the good stuff.

Plan some giveaways.
Recruit local merchants and businesses to partner in goodie giveaways. Even if it's small - like a free coffee, a month's supply of free dry-cleaning, a replica rodeo belt buckle, or a Mini Cooper - a little treat handed out to an unsuspecting individual can make the recipient's week. The businesses will appreciate being included, too, so it's a win-win.

Practice random acts of zany behavior.
Go on the playground and play with the children. Wear something unorthodox. Dance. Lead an assembly from the school rooftop or atop a fire engine. Borrow a wig. Or better yet, borrow a handful of different wigs and change them throughout the day. Keep your staff on their toes, give them something to discuss rather than grumble about (you can control the topic du jour!), and generate some enthusiasm. Then, wait. It's likely that other staff members will follow suit.

Make a list of what you love about your work.
Recalibrate your mission. Ask your staff to do the same. Jot those items on a 3x5 card and keep it in your pocket, your wallet, or pinned to the corkboard by your desk. When we isolate what we enjoy, and when we focus on the good parts, we're more likely to continue to enjoy them. Love and happiness beget more love and happiness. It's a wonderful cycle.

Take care of yourself.
Eat broccoli. Exercise. Get enough sleep. Take your vitamins. Pet your dog. Drink enough water. Practice yoga. Spend time with friends. Take up a non-principalship-related hobby. Do the activities that you enjoy. You'll find yourself having a lot more fun engaging in those activities when you dedicate yourself to them. And, in turn, you'll find that the happiness within spreads to your work-related duties and to everything else.

Want more?

Read Pete Hall's EducationWorld columns.

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