Towards the end of summer, my school began preparing to open virtually. We had to reconfigure nearly every element of running a school and the task was daunting. Being part of a charter network, many of our instructions come from a head office, but as the time grew closer it was frustrating to not receive as much direction as we needed. One of my coworkers and I noticed, however, that in this dearth of information one set of instructions we received from corporate was particularly detailed. We received a great amount of specifics for how the students would socially distance themselves in the restroom – particularly through a system of three hooks outside the bathroom door that designated how many people were in the room already. There were memo’s about the hooks, meetings about the hooks, printed materials about the hooks. We didn’t know how to do attendance, to do small group work, to manage student involvement – but we had all this info about these silly three hooks.
My coworker and I laughed about this at first, the absurdity of the situation on top of months of pandemic-related issues felt right for the times. But as we discussed it further, the three hooks became something more. Both of us recounted instances where we had felt overwhelmed with work and the amount of tasks assigned to us. Instead of attacking the to-do pile, however, we both had distracted ourselves with something small that could be checked off the list easier. I spent a whole day working on a bulletin board design for outside of my office, when that was clearly not the first thing I should be doing in a virtual school model. But having something small to do, that I could accomplish in a short time period, and wasn’t mentally intensive, allowed me to approach my significantly larger pile of tasks with a sense of accomplishment and fresh energy. While I was putting up that bulletin board, for example, my mind was thinking of my projects, and I mentally prioritized my list and came up with a plan of action.
Now, each time one of us feels overwhelmed or discouraged by the work in front of us, we say the phrase “three hooks” to each other and instantly that person knows how we’re feeling. They may suggest something they need help with, or just sympathetically laugh and give the other person some space. This has become a signal between us that is laden with heavier meaning, and a little levity in the face of an extremely stressful time.
I’ve used this analogy with my college counseling students as well – who are facing an overwhelming amount of tasks to do, essays to write, and applications to complete. I encourage them to take a break from college stuff at least once a week, but more than that, to have fun with their family or friends (virtually), to bake cookies, or play outside on a swing-set. I believe in doing something small to get yourself going, and to allow your mind to rest before approaching the rest of your to-do list. You need to let loose and let your mind unfocus for a while.
Three hooks.
“coat hook” by jasleen_kaur is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
