A Shift Worth Making
Dear Parents,
Making the shift from a paper calendar and planner to a digital version wasn’t easy for me. I’m actually still holding on to my old paper version. It’s like a security blanket providing an assurance that I’ve got it all covered, even though things inevitably get left off of it and it ends up not much help after all.
To-do lists are another thing I‘m figuring out. Post-it notes are a frequent depository of thoughts that pop into my mind. The back of my old paper calendar is the other place I write things, and most recently, a moleskine planner that was gifted to my husband that he didn’t want.
I was sharing with a friend about my situation: “I haven’t quite figured out how to keep track of everything.”
Her response: “I have just the thing for you.”
It was a month or so later that she told me she had a gift for me. “An early birthday present,” she said. It was a Monk Manual. And I confess: it sat unopened until just recently. Too busy to figure out how to make my current system of online calendar, paper calendar, post-it notes, and moleskin journal work, I was convinced I certainly could not figure out how to make that one work either.
It was a text from my friend that prompted me to open it. “How do you like the Monk Manual?” Time to find out.
It was wrapped in plastic (I guess to keep it nice). When I opened it up, I wasn’t just dumped into calendar pages, list pages, bullet-point pages, and blank ones: there were a few pages of writing at the beginning with an introduction. So I read it.
The creator of the journal, Steven Lawson, shared a little about the unlikely inspiration for his planner-monks. He wrote, “Monks are the most productive people in the world. They know that productivity isn’t about doing more things, it’s doing the most important things well.”
Without going into the specifics about how people are supposed to use this planner (and there are many, including online video tutorials!), there are some themes that are worth sharing:
Less is more
Major on the majors
Reflection is key
As we gear up for the holiday season, we all know how we will be presented with many opportunities to do a lot of things, spend a lot of money, and eat a lot of food. It all makes me think back to the Monk Manual…
“The key to living a full life is to focus on what’s most important.”
So the decision becomes, what is most important?
Our 7th graders study the book of Nehemiah during Bible class. In the book, after the main character hears about the state of the wall around Jerusalem, the question of what’s most important becomes easy for Nehemiah—rebuild the wall.
For me at school, the most important things (and thankfully the things that bring me the most delight) are supporting teachers in their practice of Charlotte Mason’s philosophy and encouraging parents in the rearing of their children and the building of a healthy home atmosphere. Working in Ambleside’s butterfly garden, supporting the forward momentum of our library project, and vacuuming the floor mat in the back stairwell are also good things for me to do, but definitely not the most important. Good but not critical.
The most important focus here is the children.
What is most important to you and your family? Time together out in nature, healthy meals around the dinner table, the annual trip to Grandma’s house? What about the pulls on your pocketbook? The extensive Christmas lists, fancy vacations, and charities near and far?
I highly encourage you – before the holiday season gets fully underway – to stop and prioritize the calls on you, your time, and your money – and decide what is the most important.
With an ever fuller heart,
Gratefully,
Krise Nowak, M.Ed.
Head of School