You might be surprised to learn that award-winning maths teacher and YouTube star Eddie Woo is an introvert, but he says, "[it's] less about being outgoing or shy, and more about where you get your energy from."
Living in north-west Sydney with his wife and three children, Eddie shares how he recharges after school, plus what helps him find time for his many extracurricular activities.
Unwind with... is a weekly column that explores the simple ways people take care of themselves.
My favourite way to unwind is…
I'm never going to have massive biceps, but I can run long distances and find it restorative for my mind. However, I do feel selfish when I go for a run, because I leave my wife alone for hours to deal with our three children! So it's a treat when I can find the time.
Depending on my mood, I'll listen to a podcast, an audiobook, or one time I ran 15 kilometres listening to Africa by Toto on repeat!
To switch off digitally, I…
I have to be quite deliberate about not letting my phone take over my life. Books are a really good remedy for that because you're forced to stop and pay attention to one thing. I also like to write at the same time to better understand what I'm reading.
I realise this is odd, but I genuinely love thinking about things. I will put my headphones on and listen to a playlist I made with instrumental and orchestral music, then work on a particular problem or puzzle and the world around me disappears for a while.
A fun thing I do that's free is…
Just talking! My kids are learning all this cool stuff at school, so when we are in the car we will talk about what everyone got up to that day and what they're learning. I find that's a better space than at the dinner table because my kids are pretty slow eaters so if we talk over dinner, then they never finish!
We also love to play board games, but having extended periods of time to do that tends to only happen in school holidays.
I'm currently loving…
I listen to a lot of podcasts in the design, science, storytelling, economics categories. Radiolab and 99% Invisible are two favourites.
I've also become a news junkie. Like a lot of people after the 2016 US election, I thought to myself, what on Earth is going on? I started listening to The Daily podcast by The New York Times, and I also love The Party Room with Fran Kelly and Patricia Karvelas on The ABC.
My go-to meal is…
We've got a lot of allergies in my family so we have very simple meals that everyone can eat.
I'm super nostalgic about the food my mum used to cook. She died of lung cancer when I was 18 years old and my sister took it upon herself to create a cookbook from everything Mum used to make, which has been wonderful.
A favourite is popiah — a fresh spring roll dish that is prepared beforehand in sections and then combined together as a meal when you're sitting together with family and loved ones.
My approach to meditation is…
Writing is also how I like to pray or meditate. I know the word meditation has a lot of different connotations to people, but from a Christian standpoint, meditation is about filling your mind with truths and reflecting on what they mean.
For me, it's a way to occupy my mind in a way that's deliberate and purposeful, rather than rushing into the day-to-day overload.
To create balance in a notoriously demanding profession…
I have the wonderful privilege of being able to do a bunch of different things on a part-time basis, such as write books, host TV shows and my YouTube channel.
I don't do anything alone. Everything I get to do, I do in collaboration with other people and sharing the work is how I have the opportunity to contribute to a wide range of different things.
A piece of advice I often turn to...
I've received so much great advice over the years, which is great because I believe life is too short to only learn from your own mistakes. So maybe that's my advice — learn from others.
Unwind with... is produced by Madeleine Dore, a writer, interviewer and author of I Didn't Do The Thing Today.