Returning to school after the holidays isn't always easy. In this fortnight's Leadership Reflection, Liz Craig shares why rebuilding routines may be one of the most important steps towards a successful term.
The school musical, Midnight: The Cinderella Musical, was an absolute joy to be a part of. The sheer talent of everyone involved was awe-inspiring. But if I’m being completely honest? It entirely dominated my life for the last few months. My office became a makeshift storage unit, my weekends were swallowed up by prop workshops, and my late nights were spent scrolling for costumes while the show's songs ran on a loop in my head. Any concept of ‘balance’ or good habits went straight out the window.
In a way, that disorienting feeling is exactly what many of our young people are experiencing as they return for Term 3.
While they weren't building stage sets, three weeks of holidays allowed an entirely different routine to take over - sleeping until mid-morning, staying up late, and enjoying the ultimate freedom of eating whatever, whenever. Having endless choices feels liberating in the short term, which makes returning to the rigid structure of school a genuine shock to the system. As our young people struggle to find their footing this week, they might just need a gentle reminder of the bigger picture.
In her book The Strength Switch (2017), Dr Lea Waters notes that “self-control helps us make judicious choices.” It is the mechanism that allows us to resist the short-term urge - like staying up late - when we know it won’t serve us the next day. The good news? Waters reassures us that self-control behaves like a muscle: it can be strengthened with the right kind of use.
Furthermore, social psychologist Wendy Wood (2019) suggests that we shouldn't rely on willpower alone. Instead, the real secret to achieving long-term goals is building productive, automatic habits into our daily routines, taking the heavy lifting away from our motivation.
As we kick off Term 3, it’s time to bring these concepts together. To help our students flourish over the next few weeks, we can encourage them to:
- Spark Motivation: Set two or three realistic, bite-sized goals for the upcoming weeks.
- Flex the Self-Control Muscle: Practice turning up the volume on helpful self-talk while silencing the inner critic.
- Lean on Routine: Focus on rebuilding solid daily habits so productivity becomes automatic.
As for me? I have finally cleared the props out of my office, my weekends are back to being spent with family and friends, and I am strictly turning off my devices after dinner. (Hopefully, eventually, the songs will fade from my head!)
But I have no regrets. In fact, I’m already wondering what the next musical will be... Stay tuned for late 2027 when the big announcement drops!
Liz Craig | Executive Director - Learning Operations
Waters, L. 2017, The Strength Switch: How the New Science of Strength-Based Parenting Helps Your Child and Teen to Flourish, Ebury Australia, Sydney.
Wood, W. 2019, Good Habits, Bad Habits: The Science of Making Positive Changes That Stick, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York.