Most afternoons, I find myself stuck at least once: in a lesson plan, a stack of (digitally submitted) essays, a writer's puzzle, a problem of practice I can't solve.
Now there are rare times when I find it best to push through when I'm stuck.
But more frequently, I find that it's better to take a walk.
I set a timer for half of the time I want to spend — if I want a ten minute walk, then I set it for five minutes — and I grab my keycard and my coat. I leave my classroom, leave my school, and walk to the nearest patch of woods. As I'm going, I either
- A) think on my present problem,* or
- B) try to think on nothing at all.
When my timer goes off, I turn around and walk back to my building and my classroom.
I find that a twenty minute walk is more than 2x as restorative as a ten minute one, but a ten minute walk is virtually always more productive than none at all.**
I'm making a course to help us do things like this intelligently. How do we monitor our inner realms, proactively guarding them against burnout and overwhelm, effectively cultivating within them the sustained will to do our work effectively and healthily? How do we make work behave so that we've got the life space to explore more than the occasional tip or tactic like the one in today's post? These are the questions we'll explore in the course.
I'll be releasing the course in early 2021, but with limited spots. Be the first to hear by signing up here.
*Cal Newport talks at length about walking as a productive meditation (i.e., solving difficult problems) in his book Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World.
**What I almost always end up doing when I don't take the restorative walk is wandering into an infinity pool like YouTube or the news or Twitter. The fruits of these? Anxiety, frustration, annoyance, laziness. Walks are better.
Alba says
I have trapped myself in the infinity pool you describe more now than ever before. I’m seeking an escape from everything but end up even more embroiled in it. Your entries always come at moments when I need reminders or am looking for solutions. Walking is exercise for the body but it is also a time to just be and to free ourselves from our daily to dos. Thank you Dave, for putting yourself out there. It helps me to know I’m not the only one encountering these challenges!
Dave Stuart Jr. says
Alba, thank you for sharing this. One anti-infinity pool day at a time, we’ll get there 🙂
teachingismyjam2020 says
Your posts always leave me refreshed. 🙂 Thank you for all you do. You have truly been instrumental to evolving my teaching practice for the last six years.
Dave Stuart Jr. says
I am so grateful for that. Thank you for the words of a friend.
Julie Ferrero Marker says
I believe a TED Talk I watched called it the “YouTube spiral.” On another note, while our kids just went remote, I can’t tell you how many teachers are taking a walk through the hallways when they have any sort of break. I find myself selecting a different route every day but always stopping at an upstairs window (my room is one of many that have no window) that overlooks the base of the Laurel Highlands. How refreshing! We all need our walk in the woods or walk around the building to clear our heads and get ready for another day.
Dave Stuart Jr. says
Wow, those Laurel Highlands look gorgeous, Julie. I am jealous 🙂