Welcome back!

I hope you all had a wonderful break and are feeling recharged. I've only seen the one broken bone so most of us seem to have physically survived! It is an adjustment coming back into school routine. Please remember to give yourself and your loved ones extra grace as you start to readjust. I know my little family have been noticeably tired already. They really thrive off a routine of calm and quiet after school and we're just reformatting that but it does take time to get back into the swing of things.

I just read a really interesting article by the Harvard Business Review which you can access here: https://hbr.org/2007/10/manage-your-energy-not-your-time. It was written in 2007 but the content seems equally as relevant today as it is about managing your energy. They reference quite a few studies in which they have proven that managing energy, rather than focusing on time management, has a much greater impact on productivity. I think this is very relevant to families. Part of work, and in extension school success, is actually managing energy. Do you have a way to manage the energy of your home? Do you come home exhausted? Do you skip lunch? I thought it was so interesting that by simply taking two quick walks during a workday, having lunch and going to bed earlier one managing director was able to lose significant weight, increase his performance at work and increase his presence at home. What power a few small changes can make.

Last year my family and I made one small change that has now turned into a routine. It has had a huge impact on our energy levels. We always have protein and carbohydrates in the morning; bacon and eggs, scrambled eggs with turkey, french toast (bread dipped in whisked egg and pan fired with honey), or healthy pancakes (one banana and two eggs mashed with a fork and fried with some honey). We start our day this way and it has made a huge difference to us. I used to have a piece of toast in the car! I used to feed my kids and then I would think of myself. Which basically meant as I walked out the door. Whoops! The craziest thing about this is I no longer notice the mid-morning crash. I make it to lunch without the grouchy attitude or reduced capacity. Simply because I have begun to value myself and have prioritised starting the day well for the whole family. 

"To recharge themselves, individuals need to recognize the costs of energy-depleting behaviors and then take responsibility for changing them, regardless of the circumstances they’re facing."Burnout: Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time" by Toby Schwartz and Catherine McCarthy

I hope this encourages and builds you up! Remember the little things make a big difference. Start small and stay consistent!

Chappy Astrid