Wellbeing in the New Year

I came across this post on LinkedIn a few months ago. I come back to it every once in a while, and think, maybe I can do this next week. Well, since New Year’s is a time for new beginnings and resolutions, why not now!

It seems like a simple concept, that we can split our days into 8-hour chunks – 8 for work, 8 for sleep, and 8 for “everything else.” The author recommends “protecting your time like it’s your most valuable asset.” I hadn’t thought about it that way when I first read this but have come to understand that time is my most valuable asset and likely yours if you think about it. Some of you may have seen the video that has been circulating about your life as the equivalent of a jar of jellybeans, if you haven’t, you might want to start there for inspiration before reading this.

Now that you are fully inspired, let’s think about the 8/8/8 rule and some tips for how you might apply it to your life.

If you feel like you are struggling, focus on one 8-hour chunk at a time. Master that one and then move on to the others. I would recommend starting with sleep as it is foundational for everything we do.

Some ideas to improve your sleep – no caffeine after 2pm, write down tomorrow’s top 3 tasks before going to bed, and get some sunlight (even rainy-day sunlight), exercise, or fresh air for at least 30 minutes every day.

For 8 hours of focused work choose your 2-3 most important tasks to complete each day. Try blocking your calendar in 90-minutes chunks. Turn off notifications from other sources and protect your deep work time.

Many of our readers are classroom teachers, so the workday may feel a little less of your own to manage. That being said, bring the idea of deep work to your classrooms. Allow yourself and your students to get lost in a discussion, a story, a project, even if it's only for 15 or 20 minutes.

For the “other” 8 hours, which are probably the things we value most – Family, Health, Faith – try and learn to protect this time. While we all have times when the workday creeps into our personal life, try to make it the exception rather than the norm.

As noted in the graph, the 8 hours for “everything else” is where we care for our whole selves – health (both physical and mental) and find meaning in life beyond our work. This is probably the trickiest one for many of us.

The point of this post is not to blame or shame, how we spend our free time is our own and is personal. The point of this for me was the potential that I had some time in my day that maybe wasn’t being used how I wanted it to be. So try and focus on this as an opportunity, a place to grow and challenge yourself to use your time and protect it as the precious resource that it is. Would love to hear your thoughts and feedback!

Sharron Russell Senior Educational Psychologist – Salford Educational Psychology Service

Credit to Chris Donnelly How the 8+8+8 Rule can improve your life | Chris Donnelly posted on the topic | LinkedIn (requested permission Jan 5, 2026)