Steve Francis – Happy Schools

Struggling to Disconnect – Try Box Breathing

October 3, 2024

In today’s fast-paced world, the concept of “busy” has taken on new dimensions. With the constant influx of emails, notifications and social media updates, many people find themselves perpetually engaged, unable to switch off even when they need to. The line between work and personal life has blurred and many people find it difficult to switch off. As a result, the modern mind is in a near-constant state of activity, under load and struggling to find moments of peace. The Challenge of Disconnecting The digital age, while offering unparalleled connectivity and convenience, has also brought about a significant challenge: the inability to disconnect. Whether it’s the pressure to respond to work emails after hours or the allure of endless scrolling…

60 000 Thoughts per Day

September 26, 2024

Steve Francis

Resilience

Scientists say that we have over 60 000 thoughts each day. That is a scary, huge number! However, what is even scarier is thinking about which thoughts we listen to without even realising it and which ones we let fade off, out of our minds just as quickly as they arrived. I like using the analogy of our minds being like a busy train station. Our brain is the station and our thoughts are the trains coming in and out. Thousands of trains pass through the station on a daily basis and most of the time we jump on board the first train that goes past without even being aware of where it is going. We don’t think too much…

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

September 19, 2024

Steve Francis

Teamwork

I’m not awesome at using spreadsheets and it’s not a significant part of my role. Is it helpful for me to spend hours trying to be ‘good’ at spreadsheets? It could be, but I can probably guess that I would be frustrated at least 80% of the time. I would have some serious self-doubt and self-loathing going on and I would be feeling down about myself when I realise how much I actually don’t know but really wish I did. So why bother? I know an amazing person at school who would gladly help me with any spreadsheet questions I have. When I leave his office, I always feel wonderful and proud of myself knowing I have been productive and…

Top 5 Reasons Why Some People I Work With Are So Difficult

September 12, 2024

Steve Francis

Teamwork

Whenever I speak in workplaces about difficult managers and co-workers, there is always one question that always comes up… ‘How do we get rid of difficult people?‘ But I think a more important question to ask is, ‘Why are they so difficult?’ If you believe that the answer to that question is that they are … “100% pure evil!”, “They cannot help it” or “They are beyond help”, it will certainly affect the way you interact with that person and possibly make a bad situation much, much worse. Here are my top five, less-sinister explanations for difficult people at work. Although these explanations do not excuse their behaviour, they certainly can help you see their behaviour in a kinder light…

Feeling Overwhelmed – Simplify Things

September 5, 2024

Steve Francis

Resilience

At times we can try to be all things, to all people. However, this can be to the detriment of our own well-being. The following strategies, inspired by author Kelly Exeter, are intended to help you slow down and bring some calmness to your life whenever you are feeling at risk of becoming over-whelmed. Reduce the Number of Decisions You Need to Make Decision making is incredibly tiring. Staff in schools make hundreds, if not thousands of decisions each day. The pure volume of decisions that we make leads to cognitive fatigue. Establishing routines and pre-planning are great strategies for reducing the number of decisions we have to make each day (or at least reducing the number of decisions that…

Why Would You Want to Work in Schools?

August 29, 2024

Steve Francis

Resilience

During my career, the status of the teaching profession has declined. A generation or two ago parents generally were more supportive of teachers. In times gone by, when issues arose parents were more likely to back and support teachers than immediately jump to the defense of their children and ‘attack’ or question the teacher’s judgement. The cartoon depicting an angry parent questioning a teacher about a student’s grades, that is found in many staffrooms, is an illustration of this shift. There are many factors contributing to this change in status. These include increased stress levels of parents, the competitive nature of an aspirational society and how busy and time poor most people feel. People under stress are quick to blame…

Watch For SPEED BUMPS

March 18, 2015

Steve Francis

Resilience

Things rarely go according to plan. Nearly everything you do is vulnerable to interruptions, unforeseeable changes or problems that can disrupt time frames, budgets or resources. However, these ‘speed bumps’ can actually assist in getting through your day more efficiently and effectively if embraced the right way. I am an optimistic person by nature but at times a series of events on a particular day can seem to be too well punctuated with disasters. At one point I asked myself if ‘anything else could go wrong’? Well, you know what they say…’be careful what you wish for’, sure enough more things went wrong. I began to wonder if there was someone out there secretly testing if I could apply the…

Use Encouraging Language

March 18, 2015

Steve Francis

Communication

November is undoubtedly a busy month in schools. End of year events and accumulated fatigue can lead to short fuses and an even shorter supply of patience. This can lead to short, sharp responses that damage relationships. Making a concerted eﬀort to use encouraging language can make a signiﬁcant diﬀerence to the school climate. Encouragement builds wellbeing. It expects the best for the other person. The language of encouragement is open to all. It is easy to learn. You can start right away. Give a compliment – You “look, are, give, make __ ” fill-in your own word to give a sincere compliment to those you work with everyday. Praise an action – Praise you earn is powerful, crammed full…

Time Management Reminders

March 18, 2015

Steve Francis

Efficiency

One of the scarcest commodities in schools these days is time. Each of us only has 24 hours per day and 7 days per week. It’s been like that forever! These tips for time management aren’t new. Their effectiveness is governed by how disciplined we are in applying them. They are listed here as reminders. Keep Your Desk Clean – The surface of your desk needs to be uncluttered and should only house the current items you need. Treat desk space like valuable real estate. Use a TO-DO list – it’s a major time saver if you use it well to prioritise. Take time at the end of each day to write out your list for the following day in…

Teaching is 9 to 3!?!

March 17, 2015

Steve Francis

Engagement

Sadly many in the community only see the “9 to 3” part of the day in which teachers (and other staff in schools) work. They don’t see the myriad of other commitments that school staff make. Everyone thinks they know what teachers and staff in schools do – after all everybody went to school, as a student! However we all know working in schools is far more than 9 to 3! Working in schools means waking in the middle of the night and worrying about the real reason ‘Billy was upset today!’ Working in schools means staying late to coach a team Working in schools means going on camp and sleeping with one eye open waiting for someone who needs…

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