As a teacher, you never know exactly what to expect when you come back from Christmas break. Will the students still be in vacation mode? Will they have forgotten everything they learned in the first half of the school year?

When we went back to school on Jan. 3rd, I’m happy to report that my students dove right in. They came ready for tests and were purposeful as they worked on their goals. I kept thinking about the verse in Nehemiah: “…the people had a mind to work.” (Neh. 4:6c) My students have embodied that in 2022!

How is your year going so far? I don’t really make New Year’s resolutions, but I do feel like January is a great time to evaluate how things are working as I get back into routine after the holidays. Everything is always so crazy in December! January is about focusing and settling in, and perhaps making some changes if they seem warranted.

This year I wanted to add more exercise into my routine. I usually do pretty good getting in a 20-minute workout in the afternoon, but I wanted to see if I could add 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes before bed. These shorter workouts are low-impact with planks, squats, stretches, etc. More like a gentle wake-up or wind-down depending on what time of day it is.

Here’s a random fact about me: I’m not a morning person or a night owl. I’m pretty much a “normal operating hours” kind of person. Exercising before school has never been appealing to me. But I thought I’d give it a try, and I figured I could exchange the 10 minutes I normally spend scrolling social media for doing something productive. As it turns out, I have actually really enjoyed this change!

In the mornings I wake up, spend some time in prayer and Bible reading, then I turn on worship music, set my timer, and go through my exercises. Then I keep the music playing while I move straight into fixing my hair and getting dressed. Even though it’s only 10 minutes of activity, I’ve found it helps me be more present as I go about the rest of my morning, and I feel more spry throughout the day. When I was talking about this with a friend, she pointed out of course I would see benefits—it’s an investment in myself physically, mentally, and spiritually. That’s a great way to look at it!

When thinking about my students and their mind to work, I realized that this specific change also represents my own mind to work. I wanted to make a change, even if it was seemingly a small one, and since I have, I’ve seen good results. It’s only 10 minutes, but it’s improved my life more significantly than I expected.

Can you think of any changes you’d like to see happen in your life? Is there a small step you could take that would move you toward a goal? Even small changes can have a big impact, and when you stack small changes together, you can see new and beautiful habits emerge. These changes don’t have to start January 1st. They can be made any time throughout the year.

What’s something you’ve set your mind to recently that has made your life better?