Motivation Comes and Goes
We often think of motivation as a quality that people either have or they don’t. You’re either a motivated person, or you’re not. “Oh, you run?” I’m sometimes asked. “That’s amazing. I’m just not that motivated.”
Runners know better. (So do teachers…we’ll get to that later.) No one is motivated all the time. Motivation comes and goes. Some days I can’t wait to get outside and hit the road or the trail. Some days I dread it. Most days are somewhere in between.
There are times that are pretty predictable though. My motivation shoots up when I sign up for a race and start mapping out a plan for how to get there. Here’s an example of one I created to guide my training for the Old Port Half Marathon in Portland, Maine:
Plans like this keep me focused and motivated for quite a while. Sure, some days are tougher than others. Winter runs can be a slog. It’s 12 degrees and windy and you have to watch your footing so as not to slip on all the ice and slush. There will be a day in May when the temperature spikes and the humidity builds, and I’d prefer to skip a run. There will also be beautiful days where I’ll want to run twice. Or I’ll create a new running playlist that will give me some extra energy. But for the most, I’ll be steadily motivated while training for a big race.
I can also predict when I’ll have a big dip in motivation—right after the big event. Whether I do well or not, I can count on struggling to get out the door for a couple of weeks. I lose my mojo for a while. There’s a predictable and natural let-down.
Motivation in the Classroom
Don’t you see this same thing with your motivation for teaching and your students’ motivation for learning? At the beginning of the school year, we’re all pretty fired up. Before the holidays, we’re all dragging. Many of us (kids and teachers alike) lose steam as summer vacation approaches. High school seniors can have senioritis all year long, but it often becomes acute after college acceptance letters start rolling in. You might even see this after a big test or a class project. You and your students work and train and focus on something big, and then when it’s over, it’s natural to need to rest and reset.
So, how do you keep yourself and your students going, especially when the going gets tough? First, let’s explore what not to do.
Don’t Rely on Willpower
Willpower is notoriously fickle, and it fades when we’re tired. (For a fascinating deep-dive into this topic, check out Willpower by Roy Baumeister and John Teirney.) This helps explain why if I run before lunch, I rarely have a hard time getting out the door. But if I wait until later in the day—say, right before dinner, I’m much more likely to bail out. Willpower fades not just when we’re physically tired, but when we’re cognitively or emotionally drained. Sitting through a work meeting, where we have to pay attention and have tough conversations with colleagues can deplete our willpower, making it easier to snack on junky foods, skip a workout, or forgo planning well for tomorrow’s math lesson.
When setting goals, we need to have more than “I’ll just make myself do it” as a plan for following through. Now now let’s explore some practical ideas of what to do.
Do Hard Stuff Early
If willpower drops as they day goes on, it makes sense to do stuff that requires a lot of willpower early. If you’re doing two workouts in a day, one hard and the other easy, save the easy one for later. I often used this strategy in the classroom when I had control of my schedule. I’d put math and writing in the morning. Both of these subjects often require more mental energy and struggle than others. Independent reading was something my students loved and most of that time was supposed to be spent in “just-right” books (at a conversational pace in running terms). That worked well in the hour before lunch. Read aloud was a good easy recovery subject after lunch. Science and social studies, which were often active, collaborative, and project-based were a great way to end the day.
In a single class period, you might use this same principal. Have students do more of the heavy cognitive lifting early on and save easier tasks for the second half of the period.
You can apply this idea to your own work as well. If you’re putting in some planning and teacher work time in the evening or on a Saturday, do the parts that require lots of cognitive effort first. Then clear emails or clean the classroom when you’re tired.
Develop Routines to Keep You Going
When I was a new teacher, I was so worried about getting into ruts. Now, as a veteran teacher, I have a different perspective. Ruts aren’t bad, as long as you’re in good ruts. (This is an idea I explore in great depth in Rekindle Your Professional Fire: Powerful Habits for Becoming a More Well-Balanced Teacher.)
For many years, I had a great exercise routine as a classroom teacher. I swam every morning before school. I’d get up early, make some tea, and head the pool. Once I established this routine, I didn’t think about it. I didn’t have to make myself swim each morning, it’s just what I did. In fact, since my toiletries were in my swim bag, it would have been hard not to swim. I’d have to go fish my razor, shaving cream, and deodorant out of my swim bag. It felt easier to just head to the pool.
I had some routines that kept me on track in the classroom as well. Each morning when I got to school, I’d start by writing the schedule for the day on a mini dry erase board on the wall. This helped me wrap my head around the big picture of the day. Then, I’d write a morning message to my students. Writing the schedule first helped me think about what I wanted to say to kids about the day in the message. Then, I’d plan my morning meeting. Again, writing the schedule first got me thinking about which activities I might use in the meeting to help get kids ready for what we were doing that day in writing, math, or other subjects.
Routines are good for your students too. For example, during a writing period, you might have a routine of 5 minutes of silent writing before students can confer with each other or you. That can help them get into the groove of writing.
Adjust Expectations to Get Through Rough Patches
After I’ve spent months building up to a big run, my mileage is pretty high (for me). A short and easy run might be 5 or 6 miles. When my motivation predictably drops after the race, a little voice in my head starts to whisper (if you’re not going to run at least 6 miles, it’s not worth it). This is ridiculous. Just a few months ago, a short and easy run was 3 or 4 miles. So after a big race, I need to adjust expectations. Running 3 miles is way better than not running.
The same is true in the classroom. After preparing for a big math event, perhaps a test or a culminating project, kids will come back for math exhausted and worn down. To try to push through with the next big concept through a challenging lesson is to risk having kids shut down entirely. But it’s better to run 3 miles than to not run. Perhaps the day after a big math event, it would be better to play some familiar math games that let kids review and relax. Or, do you have some fun math videos that tease at the next concept?
Set the Next Goal
Once you’ve had a chance to recover from the big event (race, test, showcase, concert, etc.), it’s time to set a new goal. It might be another similar race or event. You’ve finished the spring half marathon—find one in the fall. You’ve finished the class short story writing anthology, next up you’ll create a poetry anthology. Or maybe it’s time for a different goal. You’ve run several half marathons—what about a trail race? You’ve already written a couple of class anthologies this year. Perhaps a public poetry slam would be a new fun culminating event.
So, motivation comes and goes. It’s nothing to feel guilty about. It’s a normal ebb and flow. Recognize it and embrace it and find ways to keep moving forward.
To read more reflections about what running can remind us about teaching and learning, click here. You can connect with me on Strava here.
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