My summer break was very intentional, far away, family filled and focused. I publicly admit I did avoid my inbox for a solid two weeks. For the first time in my senior leadership life, I took a proper holiday. In the event of an emergency, my close colleagues knew how to personally connect. I wasn't completely off the grid, but close enough to feel a significant shift in my being. Not once in two weeks was I asked what I did professionally, and all of my decisions revolved around my family, old friends and how we would spend out time together. Then the holiday ended and rather than carrying the heavy end of vacation vibe, I am setting a new direction. Here’s a quick spin of my top five insights, gleaned while artfully avoiding email.

1. You are more than your job.

While your professional identity is a core part of how you see yourself in the world, there is a deeper layer of living that demands attention and care. Stepping back from your professional self allows perspective to return, helping you see the work ahead with fresh eyes and renewed patience. When you are tethered to your cell phone, apple watch, and laptop, finding personal space isn't happening. Breaks are needed and for serial multitaskers, like myself, and breaks demand digital disconnection. We know based on current research that constant connectivity can lead to cognitive overload. We also know that emotional and mental clarity go hand in hand. A good break sparks new questions and new directions. Personal growth doesn't happen when you are exhausted. With less noise, you relearn how to listen again, to tune in with your own thoughts and to hear other's voices more clearly. Through stillness, joy returns, and your sense of professional purpose comes into sharper focus.

There is an intensity in educational leadership that few truly understand. It is hard to describe the complex dimensions of our day-to-day work. According to Copilot, "educational leadership in the public school system is a high-stakes, high-impact endeavour, equal parts intellectual rigour, emotional resilience, and moral clarity." Copilot proceeds to give a pretty solid description of the emotional and human demands, ethical and moral pressures alongside of complex problem solving, systems thinking, vision under pressure and non-stop urgency in educational leadership. This descriptor illuminates the unrelenting pace alongside of the fact much of the work is invisible. Relationship building, crisis management, and quiet mentoring form the core of the often unseen and unspoken work of educational leaders.

Navigating your best professional self requires an awareness of your own values and who you are beyond your job. While personal and professional values should align symbiotically, our personal and professional lives still need space to breathe. Public education demands leaders who are able to align their value set with the tools of the heart and mind in order to craft learning environments where students and staff thrive. This summer, through long hikes with friends and candid conversations with family, I found myself revisiting my past, how I was raised, and the experiences that shaped who I am today. These honest, unguarded moments with trusted individuals offered clarity and perspective. They enabled me to reflect more deeply on both the past and present, prompting a meaningful shift in my thinking about how I will navigate the journey ahead.

2. Burn out sneaks up.

In the fast pace of educational leadership burnout is not a personal failure, it’s a signal. Burnout is a silent leadership killer, signalling that the pace, pressure, and expectations may be out of sync with sustainability. It sneaks up on individuals when the pressure is on and stays on. In educational leadership setting boundaries on your personal and professional time may not be realistic at all times. Let's be honest, there are countless situations in education where the demands of our work require going above and beyond, and that is ok, long hours and complex tasks are part of the commitment to support student well being and educational success. While this is the work in a human centred profession it can't be the 24-7, every single day of the school year reality. Thinking broadly about "your time" versus "our time" requires intentional, strategic thought to ensure an unhealthy blur between personal and professional lives doesn't creep in and take control.

Leadership longevity matters and requires self awareness, clear boundaries and trust in others. Remembering that things keep moving even when you are not at the centre is also super important in educational leadership. If you have built a strong team and have been intentional in quietly mentoring your key leaders, then delegation works, so trust it and let your team do the work they are skilled and capable of doing when you are not around. You can't carry everything, nor should you. Sometimes leaders pride themselves on their broad shoulders and their ability to hold it all. Be aware of hubris, it is a dangerous leadership trait that silently sneaks into play for many. Don't take a chance on it letting it slip into your leadership practice, nothing good long term comes from the being the keeper of all.

3. Time doesn't wait.

Time doesn't wait for you, it just keeps moving. Time also won't remind you of your why until it may be too late. Personal health matters and relationships cannot be placed on the later to-do list. Rethinking routines and repositioning 9-5 is important for educational leaders. Sleep, nutrition, exercise, mental and physical health cannot be after thoughts once the work day is done. Finding new rhythms in the modern work day are not niceties but necessities for educational leaders.

Not everything is urgent. Not everything requires a right now, immediate response and that is ok. It doesn't mean that you are slacking off or shirking responsibility. It also doesn't mean that certain things are not important or deserving of time and intellectual deliberation. It means that you are being thoughtful about your investment of personal and professional energy. There is power in the pause, strategic breaks fuel longevity and sustainability in leadership. Pressing the proverbial pause button allows you the time and space to reconnect with curiousity, compassion and deeper consideration. It also allows for more complex contemplation ensuring that your leadership best self is stepping into play making careful, impactful decisions.

To quote Canadian rockers Trooper, ‘We’re here for a good time, not a long time.’ How you choose to spend that time is entirely up to you. While we all have commitments and obligations, the degree of presence and prioritization is ultimately a personal responsibility. We’ve all got obligations but being present and choosing what matters is up to you. You’re in charge of how you spend your time. I am learning that modern working environments require more flexibility and fluidity, every day can't look or feel the same, learning to adapt is part of the journey. Regenerative professional cultures thrive on pace resetting and knowing when to pause or pass the baton. Time is finite and leaving this life with regrets is not something I am keen on. So why wait for more time to eventually come your way? Why not allow yourself to rethink how you are spending your time and why not ask the hard questions about what really matters most?

4. Do different.

I am learning that doing differently is up to me. If I want to reset the balance of time, then I need to make that happen and model that change. To my colleagues who have been the recipients of my early morning emails I am committing to doing different, and to doing a better job of watching the clock. Just because I'm "up and at it" at an ungodly hour, doesn't mean that you need to hit the ground running at the crack of dawn. I apologize for hitting your start button before the sun comes up. This new school year I'm going to do different. Schedule send is going to be my new friend as I commit to being more respectful of personal and professional time for both myself and others.

While I have always tried my best to make sure that each week I am actively in and out of our schools and classrooms, there have been weeks when meetings have consumed the majority of my time. These short stretches, while always focused on improving student learning and educational achievement, leave me feeling a little lost. Learning in classrooms, schools and out in our community are the anchors to educational leadership and administration. This is where the joy lives in our system and it is important that district leaders are active participants in student learning. I'm excited about the new school year and to doing different as I renew my commitment to being more present and connected across my family of schools, with the intention of ensuring that student experiences and district leadership perspectives are meaningfully aligned.

5. Kindness is never wasted.

I experienced countless moments of incredible kindness and generousity this past summer. There is something powerful about spending time with people who have known you since your childhood and school days. The comfort of old friendships are like no other, where words don't need to be said to understand one another. There is deep emotional safety in reconnections with old, dear friends whose shared experiences have shaped our current selves. I am incredibly grateful for these gifts of kindness and time this past summer.

Sadly, I also witnessed some moments of troubling, unkind adult behaviour, from aggressive road rage to language that lacked respect and civility. These experiences left me unsettled, confused and disturbed by how quickly interactions can escalate to a point of cruelty and human harshness. I often wonder what compels acts of unkindness, and how people can treat one another with such indignity. I’m aware that my words may sound trite, and in the shadow of the world’s complex struggles, parts of this reflective spin might seem inconsequential or even preachy. But in my mind, kindness is everything.

Kindness costs nothing and it affirms our shared humanity. From saying thank you to slowing down to hold the door for someone, acts of kindness are a quiet rebellion against callousness and apathy. No acts of kindness are ever wasted. They all make a difference and have an impact in ways that we may never be aware of. I didn't need to avoid my inbox to realize this but I did need to slow down to come full circle and reposition it's importance in my life. When things are moving too fast, humans can easily slip into an insular, self centred space and pace where targets and goals are met, conditions and expectations are lined up, agendas are organized and completed, while real compassionate human connections take a hit.

My break has left me realizing that kindness is fragile and it really can quickly slip away when the speed of life takes over. I've always been the person who remembers birthdays, who writes thank you or "just because" cards. This past year, there were moments when I slipped, only realizing afterward that I had forgotten someone or something that truly mattered. When you step away from every “ping,” you begin to see what’s been unintentionally missed or quietly neglected. This summer offered me that awareness, not from a place of guilt, but from a space where better choices and deeper kindness can be recentred in the journey ahead this school year.

Kindness matters in classrooms, in board rooms, in communities and in our day-to-day lives. The good news about kindness is that is a contagion, a positive one. Slow down to watch what happens when you say hi to the person passing you on your seawall or neighbourhood walk, when you hold the door for the person behind you or when you wave to let that person merge in front of you in busy traffic. Kindness is one of the most powerful forces for human connection, healing and progress. It is an integral part of educational leadership, it’s what makes accountability humane and keeps us on point. The world needs more kindness, let's bring it.

Sometimes things have to slow down before they speed up. We all need to feel still waters so that we can use calm as a catalyst for change and improvement. This is the space where energy meets intention. Not everything needs to be fast moving, loud and full to be powerful. It is ironic that in avoiding my inbox, I wound up reconnecting with myself. I learned that avoiding my inbox wasn't actually avoidance, it was a return. A return to both my past and my present. And maybe, that's the best way to begin again.