The Overlooked Work of Maintenance

Since getting back home, I have spent much of my summer tackling the kinds of jobs that teachers often put off until they finally have a break. I have been organizing cupboards, sorting out the bathroom, cleaning up files, and refurbishing a pair of deck chairs.

It started with my computer.

I sat down intending to clean it up and do some basic maintenance. My MacBook Air is more than ten years old, so I wanted to organize files, remove what I no longer needed, and help it run a little more smoothly. Instead, I discovered that the operating system could no longer be updated. The computer still works, but applications are beginning to move beyond what it can support. What I thought was a tidying problem turned out to be something larger.

Eventually, it will need to be replaced. For now, I will have to keep it going until I am in a position to upgrade.

As I worked, I began thinking about the other jobs I had been doing around the house. Although they looked different, they all involved noticing friction in a system and deciding whether it needed a small adjustment, a temporary workaround, or a larger change.

The bathroom had been functioning, but its organization frustrated me. My partner had not really noticed a problem because he was not experiencing the same small inconveniences. I moved a few things and changed how some items were stored. Now we will see how the new system works for both of us and adjust it if needed.

A few small changes to reduce the friction in a system that was barely holding it together.

A conversation about our deck chairs led me to ask questions about the kitchen too. I realized that my partner did not really understand the organizational system I had created. It made sense to me because I had designed it, but the logic was not obvious to him.

Suddenly, some of my frustration about items not being where I expected made more sense. A system cannot be judged only by whether it works for its creator. It also has to make sense to the people expected to use it.

We have only lived together for a couple of years, so we are still learning each other’s habits and systems. In some ways, it is not so different from being new to a school. Long-time staff may understand the unwritten logic behind routines, while someone new is left trying to work out where information lives and how things are supposed to happen.

I have experienced both sides of that. I have joined a school where very little was written down, and I constantly felt as though I was in the dark. I have also joined a school where systems were clearly laid out. I did not know everything, but I knew where to look and whom to ask.

A good system does not require everyone to know everything. It helps people know what to do next.

The deck chairs offered another lesson. We both knew they needed more than a quick clean, but it had been a challenging time and we were not ready to take on the larger job. We agreed on a temporary workaround and planned to return to them in the summer.

The refurbishment required more effort initially, but now we no longer need the workaround. The larger investment has made the chairs better and easier to manage in the long run.

Refurbished chair on the left: The larger repair took more work initially, but removed the need for the temporary workaround.

Somewhere between cleaning my computer, reorganizing the bathroom, and working on the chairs, I realized that I had spent much of my summer doing the same kind of maintenance I see teachers doing throughout the school year.

Teachers are constantly maintaining systems.

They adjust routines, reorganize resources, translate broad expectations into workable processes, and create temporary patches when a larger solution is not yet possible. Much of that work is easy to overlook because the system appears to keep functioning.

As a coach, I may be more able to notice this because I often occupy an observer role. I hear similar frustrations across classrooms and see teachers sharing the same patches or adapting the same processes.

Sometimes a workaround is simply an appropriate individual adjustment. But when several teachers need the same workaround, it may be telling us something important.

Workarounds are not only fixes. They are feedback.

If multiple people are finding ways around the same process, the issue is probably no longer about one person’s preference. It may mean that the official system does not match the reality of the work. Temporary solutions are not necessarily bad. The chairs had to wait, and my computer will have to keep going for a little longer. The difference is that we recognized the larger issue and made a plan to sort it.

Problems begin when temporary workarounds are never revisited and quietly become permanent expectations. Teachers may become frustrated by the extra effort, while trust in the system, and eventually in the people responsible for it, begins to weaken.

I know leaders already have more to do than they have time for, but perhaps systems need more intentional check-ins. At the end of the year, it may be worth asking what worked, what caused friction, and what teachers regularly had to work around. Possible changes can then be tested with people who will offer honest feedback.

Once a system is introduced, teachers also need an easy way to respond when an issue occurs. A short form asking what happened, what workaround was used, and what might help could make patterns easier to notice and address. The goal is not to create a perfect system. It is to create one that is understandable, practical, and easy enough to follow.

People often choose the path of least resistance, but that does not mean they do not care. Teachers frequently create workarounds precisely because they care and want to keep things running.

This summer work has reminded me how much I care about systems. It has also reminded me that a system is not successful simply because it works for the person who designed it.

Systems need attention, feedback, and occasional repair. That work may not be flashy, but whether it happens in a classroom, a kitchen, or on a pair of deck chairs, it is often what keeps everything else running.

The maintenance itself can take time and effort, but it does not have to be all work. Refurbishing the chairs gave us a chance to tackle something together, have a bit of fun, and cool off from the summer heat with a little beach time and vitamin sea.

Maintenance matters, but so does making time to recharge.