Welcome to The Flourishing Teacher's Field Guide.

We hope you’re having a lovely January and finding some time for yourself amid all the demands of the start of term.

This week, we're exploring how tiny changes can create powerful transformations in your wellbeing. If you're exhausted from the constant cycle of starting over in your life and work, this one's for you.

Let's jump in...

The Starting Over Syndrome

I used to think change meant massive action.

Complete lifestyle overhauls. Hour-long meditation sessions. Total email boundaries.

And when these big changes inevitably failed, I'd feel worse than when I started. 

Chatting to my stressed-out, over-worked colleagues who were all busy looking for the shortcuts that would allow them to live a happier life, I realised I wasn’t alone in feeling that way.

What I didn't realize was that by trying to change everything at once, I was actually setting myself up for failure.

Stanford's Behavior Design Lab research shows that attempting large-scale changes results in an 88% failure rate. But when people start with tiny changes? Success rates jump to 80%.

As we explored in last week's issue, sustainable change isn't about willpower. But it's not about massive action, either.

The secret? It's about thinking smaller.

Much smaller.

3 Science-Based Ways To Build Lasting Micro-Habits

1. The Two-Minute Rule

Research from Stanford's Behavior Design Lab (2023) shows that starting with tiny actions leads to an 80% success rate, compared to just 20% with larger changes. 

And let’s face it… doing less to achieve more sounds ideal when you’re a busy teacher.

Try these micro-habits and watch them build:

• Instead of tackling a complete reorganisation of your classroom storage, tidy one drawer during lunch. Or half a drawer. Or one cluttered surface. And build consistently from there.

• Rather than try to meditate on a daily basis or build a brand new wellbeing routine from scratch, just start by taking three mindful breaths between lessons. And then four. You’ll be amazed how quickly you can build a valuable practice.

• Instead of trying to transform your work-life balance over a single weekend, start by packing up five minutes earlier in the evenings. Spend 10 minutes one evening engaged in a new hobby, and let it grow.

The key is making each action so small it seems almost ridiculous. I can guarantee that if you let these micro-habits build, the outcome will be transformative.

2. Habit Stacking

The Journal of Applied Psychology (2022) demonstrates that habits stacked onto existing routines have an 80% higher success rate than those started in isolation. 

In other words, if you build one successful habit and stack another one on top, it compounds the positive impacts, giving you even more value to celebrate.

Make it work in your classroom:

• After taking the register, visualise the first 30 seconds of the lesson being engaging, positive and successful. Then, once that habit’s established, stack your next habit by take three deep breaths before you start engaging with your learners.

• After writing the date, purposefully create tension in your spine and shoulders, and then enjoy a full release that resets that tension. Once you’re in the habit of doing that, add taking a drink of water from your favourite bottle.

• After dismissing the class, stand and stretch. Then, once that’s established, add a moment of reflection of the positives from the lesson you just taught.

Studies show this approach works because it uses your brain's natural tendency to build patterns. And when we build positive patterns, we start to thrive.

3. Success Cycling

However you approach developing better habits as a teacher or, more importantly, as a person, you can’t do everything at once. As teachers, we’re used to having to achieve the impossible, but when it comes to our own wellbeing, it doesn’t have to be that way.

We can take it gradually…

Dr Caroline Webb's research reveals that breaking down important changes into incremental challenges increases habit formation success by 70%.

Let’s imagine you had a goal of consistently leaving work a bit earlier every day. You could start unsustainably, leave half an hour earlier for a couple of days and mess up your work/life balance, or you could build a success cycle…

Building your success cycle:

• Week 1: Leave 5 minutes earlier one day

• Week 2: Leave 5 minutes earlier two days

• Week 3: Leave 5 minutes earlier three days

Making It Work In Your Teaching Day

The beauty of micro-habits is that they fit into even the busiest teaching schedule. The key is consistency over intensity.

Remember… progress isn't measured in giant leaps. It's built through tiny steps taken consistently.

What Are You Waiting For?

We believe that teachers achieve extraordinary things under challenging circumstances and that we all deserve to be valued, supported and celebrated.

That's what this newsletter is all about.

If you haven't subscribed yet, why not join the Marigold community? You'll get weekly strategies for sustaining your wellbeing, avoiding burnout and flourishing as a person, not just a teacher.

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Get Exclusive Access To Our Free Online Course…

As valued subscribers, we’re delighted to offer you free lifetime access to our short course in teacher wellbeing. It’s just part of the value you get from being a member of the Marigold community.

Our five lessons introduce you to some essential elements of teacher wellbeing:

• How to compartmentalise your life and work

• How to manage your work/life balance

• How to boost your productivity and efficiency

• How to get the support you need

• How to build a positive mindset

Click the link below and start getting value from the course now!

Thank You For Everything

Starting small doesn't mean thinking small. 

Every tiny step you take toward better wellbeing ripples out to affect your students, your colleagues, and your whole teaching community.

So if no one else says it today, thank you for having the courage to start again. That's not weakness - it's wisdom.

Here’s a quick recap of some micro-habit magic…

Remember, you're more than your marking, your lesson observations and your planning.

You're you. And that's all you need to be.