Before and After

Prior to my decision to step back from full time year round teaching, my morning routine was entirely based on getting ready for the train. I would usually get up before the 6am alarm, make myself a cup of tea in my biggest cup, because I never had time for two cups, make Janet’s packed lunch, a routine we have had since we started living together, get Janet up to make mine, get washed and dressed and often jog for the train because I was pressed for time! Looking back, it was a very intense start to the day and definitely didn’t do anything for my ability to relax!

What about now? Well, I get up when I get up and only set an alarm if something important is happening. My waking up time seems to have settled down at around 6.45 am although on occasions I have slept in past 7.30! When I get up I make myself a cup of tea in a normal sized cup – my Hufflepuff cup is my morning cup now – as I know I have time for at least two more. I then settle down to read a chapter or two of whatever book I am on. That discipline has been helped immeasurably by the fact that I have a strict block on my phone until 7.30am. Reading a physical book while drinking a cup of tea is a very much better start to my day than scrolling! I will make drinks for my wife and daughter during the first hour, and will wake Janet up at around 7.15. Often I will go back to reading especially if the book is really gripping me. Sometimes I will do a couple of music challenges on Twitter but they are more usually delayed until I have a bit more inclination to go online. My online time has plummeted overall, but actually it’s very similar in the first hour of the day as I had no time to check anything other than the Southeastern app to make sure my train was on time, and when I got on the train I got my book out and read it for the entire duration of the journey.

That’s the before and after and I think I can say that the after wins out in every possible way. It’s better for my mental, physical and emotional health and I feel much more connected to my own life now than I did for the 35 years of teaching.