Results of the Experiment

"Dad, you don't usually eat with us in the morning."

My experiment was a success!


Regular readers of this blog will remember my previous post was about balance and finding that balance with our jobs and our personal lives.  Specifically, I wrote about being over-connected to cell phones, email, texts, etc.   You can read that post here.

I committed to an experiment a little over a week ago:

• No school email/Twitter/Facebook once I'm home.
• No cell phone at church.
• No email or texting...during dinner or other family activities.
• No iPad near our bedroom.

I knew I was on the right track when on the very first morning of the experiment our two middle school-aged daughters commented that I didn't usually eat breakfast with them.  My normal habit had been to check email while I was getting ready for the day and then eat a granola bar while I was driving to work.  My daughters immediately noticed that I had time to eat with them!  What a gift...

What other changes did I notice?

• Although I commented in my blog I would not share my experiement with my family, I did share it with my wife.  I found I needed the support. 
• I "slipped-up" a couple of times.  When I did, I felt I had let myself and my family down.  Even more, there wasn't really any email that was so pressing I couldn't have handled it in the morning.
• There were more positive/encouraging comments either online or in person about this blog than I had received in a long time. 
• Readers seemed to really appreciate my, "Efficient does not always mean effective." statement. 
• On average, I receive about 45 emails from the time I leave my school at night until I return in the morning.  I was able to respond to or process those emails in about 20 uninterrupted minutes before our official day started.
• I was pleased that I did not send any emails to my staff at late hours of the night.  In response, I did not receive any urgent emails from any staff members either.
• I did find I had more time to do important but little things like talk with my wife.  I went for a couple additional, long walks.  Our daughters and I even played frisbee one afternoon.
• Ironically, I became a little frustrated (albeit silently) when my wife had long hours at work or our daughters were busy balancing their homework with other family commitments.
• It was very evident to me when a colleague would send a note late at night or at odd times. 

What did I learn?

• I am more empathetic for other people who are struggling to find balance.
• Finding balance in our lives is a pressing issue for many of us.
• The temptation to check email on our tablets or smart phones is really strong...really strong.
• Balance is a team effort, and it's not always going to be perfect.
• Ultimately, finding that balance is up to each of us...individually.

I plan to continue my hopes of not being over-connected with technology.  In exchange, I want to work extra-hard to be super-connected with our family.  Is it perfect?  Absolutely not.  Will there be times it's better or worse?  Of course.  Do I probably need reminders every once in awhile when I'm swaying?  Sadly, yes!

Our school teaches students to be proactive.  When I ask even our youngest students what that means, they usually respond they should make good choices and that they are in charge of themselves.  Like all good lessons, teachers (even principals) should learn from their students!


PS:   To be fair, I was not always connected with work. It's play-off baseball season right now, and I intend to be relatively connected to the Detroit Tigers. Technology, of course, has made this easier and easier. (The MLB app makes it entirely too easy to "watch" baseball anywhere!) My problem is clicking from the Tigers to my email. Just one little "peak" can turn into a problem.   I promise my problem will end when the Tigers win the World Series...please. :)