La Rentrée and the Job of Stimulating the Mind
Now in second year in Belgium, I now have an appreciate for ‘’la rentrêe.” In the francophone world, la rentrée is more than the end of the summer holidays. It’s a cultural reset. It’s a moment when new routines are built, books are opened and we collectively reorient ourselves after the pause of summer. Children return to classrooms, professionals step back into projects, and bookshops overflow with new releases.
What fascinates me is how ritualized this transition has become. Unlike New Year’s resolutions, which often feel forced, la rentrée arrives naturally, a season for fresh starts.
Reading as My Rentrée Ritual
This year, I made the rentrée my excuse to dive deeper into reading, starting with the Greek classics. There’s something grounding about revisiting ancient thinkers at a moment of personal reset.
The Greeks weren’t simply telling stories; they were framing questions that still guide us today. What does it mean to live well? How do we balance power and responsibility? What does it mean to act with courage in the face of uncertainty? How does one practice the art of rhetoric, or put another way, how does one spot it from afar?
These are not just philosophical curiosities; they are enduring mental models. They help us interpret complexity and orient our choices, whether we’re navigating personal decisions or leading organizations.
A Jobs to Be Done Lens
Looking at la rentrée through the lens of Jobs to Be Done, the concept takes on even more meaning.
For children, the “job” of la rentrée is to return to structure, routine, and learning.
For professionals, the job is to reset priorities, re-energize, and bring focus to the next season of work.
For me, the job this year was simple: stimulate my mind in a way I hadn’t before.
In a world of constant distraction, picking up Homer and the Greek tragedians felt like the right tool for that job. Where a quick article or a podcast might scratch the surface, the classics forced me to slow down, reflect, and reframe.
That’s the beauty of Jobs to Be Done as a mental model. It reminds us to ask: What am I really hiring this moment, this book, this ritual to do for me?
Broader Relevance
Of course, la rentrée is not just personal — it has professional echoes as well. It’s the perfect moment to reflect on the mental models we’re carrying into our work.
Are we still looking at our challenges with frameworks that no longer serve us? I started a brand new one. Actually several.
Are we “hiring” our tools, processes, or even meetings to do jobs they were never meant to do? Speaking for myself, I started using new tools in place of ones that felt clunky and rooted in the past.
Are we giving ourselves the time and space to stimulate our thinking, rather than just react to the next urgent task? I’ve put myself on a news diet to help me stay focused.
La rentrée gives us permission to ask these questions, with perhaps a little less cultural baggage than New Year resolutions. Just as children sharpen their pencils and buy new notebooks, we too can sharpen our thinking and revisit the frameworks guiding our choices.
For me, la rentrée has been about curiosity and intellectual stimulation, looking for ways to recharge the mind and bring fresh perspective into the months ahead.
I’m curious: What “job” are you hiring your rentrée to do this year?