STRONG Teacher Newsletter

Just 90 Seconds

Mid-January exhaustion is real. Here's the 90-second rule that helps teachers overcome task inertia and start moving forward—one small step at a time.

Photo by Aron Visuals / Unsplash

Here's a quote, a resource, and an affirmation to help power you through the rest of the week.

"You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step."
— Martin Luther King Jr.

This Week's Resource: The 90-Second Rule

Mid-January has a way of making everything feel harder than it should.

You sit down to plan that lesson. You stare at the blank document. You think about all the things that need to happen—differentiation, assessment alignment, student engagement strategies. Your brain screams "too much," and you click over to check your email instead.

This isn't laziness. It's what psychologists call task inertia.

The brain resists new tasks because starting requires cognitive resources—deciding where to begin, overcoming uncertainty, and setting intentions. Once you cross that initial barrier, momentum builds naturally. But that first moment? That's the hardest part.

Here's the hack: Commit to just 90 seconds.

That's it. Tell yourself you'll work on the task for 90 seconds. Not the full lesson plan. Not the entire grading pile. Just 90 seconds.

This tiny commitment lowers what researchers call "activation energy"—the mental effort needed to switch from intention to action. It breaks the mental block. And here's what happens: once you start, you'll often keep going. The hardest part isn't the work itself. It's starting.

Try it this week:

Open that document and type one sentence. (90 seconds)
Pull out three papers to grade. (90 seconds)
Write down one step for tomorrow's lesson. (90 seconds)

You're not trying to finish. You're just trying to start.

Mid-January doesn't require you to see the whole staircase. Just take the first 90-second step.

This week's affirmation:

I am enough, even on the days when it doesn't feel like it.

P.S. If you're feeling the weight of mid-January, you're not alone. Inside The STRONG Teacher's Lounge, teachers are sharing what's actually working (and what's not) to get through this season.