Three Reasons We Do Things The Hard Way

 

“When we’re accustomed to doing things the hard way it’s like being blinded by the glare coming off the water”--Greg McKeown in “Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most”

 Does the glare blind you? Do you keep up the same routine tasks because you can’t quite see the big picture?  

 As instructors responsible for teaching our youth, we want to do things the right way. Most of us have not thought about it, but in the book quoted above, the author claims that we are confusing “the hard way” with “the right way.”  

 Why do we do that?

 These three misconceptions, or illusions our brains like to believe, give us a glimpse at the underlying causes.

1. There is a subconscious belief that doing things the right way means hard work and long work hours. Given that basic assumption, we never consider the idea that we can get the same outcome (which is the goal, right?) with much less effort.
2. Another way the brain tricks us is the idea that “we can’t afford to” do something that would make life easier. This belief ignores the vital idea that our time is valuable. The hours we spend grinding it out week after week have a cost. Could you choose to use your budget in a way that allows you to spend where you don’t think you can? Or would it be worth going to a few local businesses and asking for help, in exchange for a sponsorship, maybe? Or even worth spending less on that daily latte? We tend to see everything as either/or, and usually, many options allow us to reach our goal.
3. Finally, changing the way we do something requires us to learn new technology (assuming this is the opportunity to make things easier). You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. There are tons of solutions involving tech that can streamline your activities. Still, any tech we are unfamiliar with feels intimidating. However, all good apps and programs have lots of information on the web (Google?), in their knowledgebase of articles, and often have customer service that will walk you through getting past the unknowns. Good companies want to help you succeed, take advantage of the framework they make available.

If we aren’t thoughtful and purposeful, our brain will keep telling us to do things “the hard way.”

 

 What tasks or processes take up too much of your time that you could streamline?

Mileage Club hits 250,000 miles!

Listen to Amy Nieuwenhuis (Teacher and Mileage Club Leader) tell us about her Mileage Club reaching a huge Milestone.

How a Visual Reminder of Their Accomplishments Keeps Her Students Motivated

An Interview with a Second Grade Teacher and Run Club Leader

Motivating Students to Do Their Very Best Every Day

An Interview with PE Instructors from Shady Hill Elementary in Florida 

Motivation and Habit Formation

I met a young middle school teacher a few months ago who wants to be successful. She has visions of her students coming back to visit her after they graduate high school and thanking her for the impact she made on their lives. Unfortunately, her day to day teaching experience makes her feel ineffective and frustrated. More and more of her students are disinterested, and sometimes even disobedient. To be a great instructor you need students who listen and desire to learn.

The solution to this problem is not new but requires planning, purpose, and some discipline. Successful students cultivate some or all of the habits that almost all successful people have: THEY EXERCISE, READ, SHOW UP (ATTENDANCE), AND EAT HEALTHY FOODS. The more habits students cultivate from this list, the more successful they will be.

A proven way to help create such “successful habits” is to create goals and then reward students when they attain the desired behavior. Teachers across the country find this works very well, and research bears this out.

That’s why we created the #1 selling award for run clubs, Toe Tokens® – colorful, plastic feet that kids love to collect.  Kids run miles and love it J, so they can get a Toe Token. 

Due to the success of Mileage Club®, and because of requests from teachers, we quickly followed up with awards for reading, attendance, and nutrition – which is also helping kids reach their goals.

 

Here is how it works:

1. Develop a plan to create routine activities around the desired goals for your classroom.
2. Layout the prescribed activities based on your goals and circumstances.
3. Following the idea of cue-habit-rewards made popular recently by Charles Duhigg (2012) and  now James Clear (2018), you then create:
1. A cue that tells the student when it is time to begin the habit/activity.
2. Clear instructions on what the activity consists of, without uncertainty.
3. An incentive plan to reward students at fixed intervals.
4. Design a system to measure progress.
5. Celebrate the goals met by distributing the awards earned.

Let’s look at how this works with Mileage Club (run club):

 

1.  Goal - my students will exercise more to increase their learning readiness and improve their health and mood.

 

• Create a program that allows every student to participate. 
• Allow each student to feel accomplished.

 

2.  Prescribed Activity – Start a running/walking club (Mileage Club).

• Create a course/track for the Mileage Club. (Our example will be a ¼ mile course around the playground.)
• Students run two times a week during recess (with an optional third day on Friday).
• Provide 20 minutes for each run.

3.  Cue - the recess bell.

• On Tuesday and Thursday, the students move around the track at whatever pace they can.
• Music can be played during this time to create a fun atmosphere.
• Incentive plan- every 5 miles (20 laps), a student earns a Toe Token.

 4.  Measuring – laps and total mileage will be tracked with the EZ Scan tracking software. 

5.  Celebration – awards day every Friday.

• On Friday, at lunch, all students who earned awards receive their Toe Tokens.
• A lanyard is also provided with the first Toe Token so a student can display their awards.
• Students who desire to run more may do so on Friday.

This goal/reward method has worked for decades across the country for run clubs, as well as reading plans, and behavior programs. Such programs are easy to create and implement. And, they help students create those necessary “successful habits.”

Stop being frustrated with your current efforts and start making a massive difference in your students' lives - just like you dreamed about in college - with Mileage Club, EZ Scan, and Toe Tokens! Fitness Finders has decades of experience to help you begin today.

References:

The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg from 2012

Atomic Habits by James Clear from 2018