The real measure of any time management technique is whether or not it helps you neglect the right things.”
― Oliver Burkeman, Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals
This week, I partnered with another systems coach to consider the best way to roll out an upcoming workshop for leaders.
In addition to both of us being new to our positions, we also had in common the fact that we were principals prior to our current roles.
Our mutual experiences gave us pause as we considered the data prework we were asking leaders to complete for the workshop. She noted:
“I am not sure all our principals are going to have time to complete this task. People who have not been principals do not understand what it’s like. I remember coming in one morning, and I had nine students waiting for me outside my office!”
I nodded, laughing. “How is that possible – school hadn’t even started yet!” We spent the rest of our time brainstorming ways to reduce obstacles for our site-based colleagues to follow up on our forthcoming request.
We Cannot Create Time
When I talk with administrators, specialists, and directors about their current challenges, the topic of time often comes up.
“I don’t have enough time to engage in coaching conversations. I barely get lunch.”
“I am putting out fires. Time to connect with teachers around their practice disappears.”
“Even when I get into classrooms, half the time I get called out for some emergency.”
I can genuinely say, “I get it.” I can also say that we have some choice in how we spend our time.
No one is given more or less time than anyone else. Yes, we have different contexts. One school may have more or less resources than another. Students’ needs vary from one building to the next. But when someone says, “I don’t have time”, this is a misconception.
In his book 4000 Weeks: Time Management for Mortals, journalist Oliver Burkeman points out that we are all given a similar limited amount of time. (The title alludes to the number of weeks the average person has on this planet.)
Burkeman notes that many of our actions are attempts to gain control over our time - an impossible task.
“Procrastination, distraction, commitment-phobia, clearing the decks, and taking on too many projects at once are all ways to trying to maintain the illusion that you’re in charge of things.” (p. 220)
If you question this statement, look at how much time you spend on your phone or computer checking email and social media. I have; it can be disappointing.
We cannot create time. We have what we have. The challenge is in how we decide to use it.
Committing to Our Priorities
In my 16 years as a school leader, I found it futile to simply schedule my priorities at work in a calendar and then expect myself to accomplish them. Earlier in my career, I would create a recurring event for instructional walks, an hour a day. Invariably, I would find myself moving that block of time back or even deleting it some days due to student discipline or unexpected building issues.
Here, I offer a more comprehensive approach to committing to what we value most and following through on our commitments.
#1 - Do a calendar audit.
If you keep all your appointments and activities in your digital calendar, this should be straightforward. If not, start this practice. (Some people call this “time-boxing”; here is a primer.) Then categorize how you spend your time into three areas:
Management – responding to building issues and maintaining operations, both expected and unanticipated events.
Leadership – making decisions that further the goals of the school, for example leadership team meetings.
Innovation – engaging in instructional-focused activities such as coaching conversations.
What percentage of your time is devoted to management? If it is over 50%, I have learned that the other aspects of my position – leadership, innovation – get pushed out of my schedule.
#2 – Question and then change one part of your management responsibilities.
In my last year as a building administrator in a previous school, I was coming in on Saturdays to take care of attendance work, such as organizing student absence letters.
Transitioning to a new position, along with not wanting to continue to ruin my weekends, I decided to automate attendance through our student information system. After devoting some time to setting up the letter templates, all we had to do was run a report and print off the mail merged letters.
What area in your work is ripe for disruption? For example, how could you create a reflection protocol for students when they are sent to the office that would buy you some time and allow you to finish a project you started?
#3 – Ask for help.
Surprisingly, this strategy is often the hardest for leaders. I think the idea of the school leaders as the sole person responsible for building operations is cultivated in unhealthy ways. It reduces our willingness to enlist support for our work, even when someone else could do a better job.
For example, shortly after accepting my last leadership position, I was informed that part of my responsibilities was organizing the last-day-of-school activities for the students.
“Why?” I asked this person. They shrugged. “The principal has always done it. Last year, your predecessor set up a bouncy house.”
I knew two things: it hadn’t always been this way, and I understood my strengths and weaknesses well enough to know that organizing a bouncy house was not in my wheelhouse.
So I asked our physical education teacher if he would want to help me in this project. He did and facilitated a field day. There were twenty stations of different games and activities. High school volunteers were recruited and had as much as fun as our kids. My new role was sitting on top of the dunk tank and razzing kids that they couldn’t throw a strike (until they did).
#4 – When something new calls your attention, find the time first.
This is a strategy I learned for managing my personal budget. When my wife and I get paid, I organize all our dollars into different categories, such as “groceries” and “water bill”. When we want to buy something that doesn’t have enough money in that category, we must either a) find the money in another category and move it over, or b) say no to the purchase.
The same strategy can be used when managing your time. If someone wants to set up a meeting with you, and your schedule is full for the day they want to meet, you have two options:
1. Move something you had previously scheduled to a later time or day.
2. Politely decline and offer other dates that work better for you.
Assuming you are time boxing in your calendar, this process forces you to make a decision regarding your priorities. We should feel that pressure and embrace the uncomfortableness of choosing one thing over another. Over time, the process of finding the time first protects what you value most in your work.
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To Sum it Up…
Below are the key takeaways for protecting your limited time to engage in instructional leadership activities that further your school goals.
We all have the same amount of time. Even if our contexts our different, our challenges are consistent across schools.
We don’t know how we spend our time until we examine how we use it. Calendar audits and time boxing provide clarity on how much attention we devote to management, leadership, and innovation.
Take one small step toward reclaiming some of our time for our priorities. For example, look at how you might leverage technologies to automate linear tasks.
No one will control our time unless we let them. Question past practices and seek out assistance in projects from others who are better positioned to complete them.
When new requests of your time come your way, find the time first. People will respect your commitment to your priorities and may even emulate what you are modeling.
What part of this post resonated with you the most? Please share your insights with other readers, as well as any strategies you have for making the most of your time.
I coach individuals and teams around a variety of educational topics, including time management, data analysis, and strategic planning. Reach out if you would like to learn more.
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