5 Ways to be a more intentional teacher (or leader)

by Courtney Luce

When we think about being intentional in our classroom, we usually think about being intentional about what we are teaching and how we will know the students will learn, that whole idea of becoming consciously competent in our classroom. However, there can be so much more to being intentional than just planning meaningful lessons. Being intentional can also mean planning ahead for how you plan to be on any given day. We can choose how we plan to approach the day as educators; in fact, we should choose. When we don’t, the students or our own emotional state may choose for us, and we all know how that can go.

For instance, if I set an intention before entering my building that “today, I am going to handle situations that arise with patience and joy,” then I am already better equipped to handle a student who is acting out. This intention can give me two beats to think before reacting, as I breathe in and remind myself “patience and joy.” Without a planned intention, my reaction is totally up to how I might be feeling. Sure, I may naturally engage my prefrontal cortex (the decision making site) in my brain, but I may also react from my amygdala (the emotion center). By setting an intention, I am much more likely to react from my decision making center, which is really just better for anyone, especially if I am hangry.

If you are looking to be a more intentional teacher (or even just a more intentional person), here are five things you can do to get started:

1) Write down a list of intentions. Plan ahead. Think about how you would like to act during the week or month or even year, and write it all down. On a daily basis, go to your intentions and pick one to two for that day. If you do this, then step 2, will be much easier. Also, doing this may open your eyes to things your were avoiding. Maybe your patience has worn thin with a particular student, but you tend to blame the student (I use this example because, come on, we’ve all been there). We don’t often have the power to change people, what we can change is our reaction to them. Planning out our intentions and writing them down will give you a chance to reflect on who you have been in your classroom, and where are areas for improvement.

2) Use doorway triggers. In Brendon Burchard’s book, The Power of Habits, he talks about using doorway triggers as a way to be more intentional. Every time he walks through a doorway, he states in his mind an intention for how he wants to be in the room. When you enter your school or enter your classroom or enter the workroom, state your intention for how you plan to be and interact with the people in the room. We all walk through several doorways a day, so this will give you plenty of reminders.

3) Set alarms in your phone. This is another gem from Brendon Burchard that is priceless. Pick key words that you want to remind yourself and then set alarms in your phone with those key words. Each day my phone goes off three times to remind me to bring joy, be present, and bring my “A-game” to those who need it. I set my alarm for times of the day when I know I can look at my phone, before school, during lunch, and right before I read to my kids at night. These are great reminders throughout the day, especially when I forget what my intentional plan was.

4. Keep your intentions positive. It’s hard when we identify our areas for growth to try to keep a positive spin on things. We know we should write on our list “Bring more joy!” but if we aren’t feeling joyful, it’s more likely we might write “Be less of a grouchy jerk-face!” However, negative self-talk, written-talk, negative intentions, don’t really change our outlook. When I see “Bring joy!” on my phone each day, not matter what is happening at the moment I read it or how I might be feeling, I immediately smile. It’s my reminder that joy can be spread, and if I smile, it does actually have the power to change my mood. This a’int hippy-dippy feel-good shmoop. This is science.

5. Teach your students to set intentions. As I mentioned earlier, we don’t often have the power to change people, except when we do. Don’t keep this powerful habit to yourself. Share it with your class. It is becoming more and more well-documented that strong Social and Emotional Learning skills are an essential part of school life. Teaching them to be intentional is a part of self-management and self-awareness (two of the five competencies). It is worth your time; I promise. If you can teach your students some of the techniques above (and how to write intentions, or what an intention is), then you give them the keys to be more healthy in their interactions, to be better goal-setters, and to have more self-regulation.

There is science around setting intentions, and all of the science shows that the simple act of setting intentions makes people more effective. In fact, setting intentions is a key element to goal setting. It is difficult to achieve a goal if we don’t have steps, and setting attentions about how you will be, how you will act or what you will do is essential in this.