Maximizing Performance: Time Management for Leaders

How often does it seem that the clock is our
 greatest foe in trying to accomplish our goals?

After 25+ years in education, the last nineteen in educational administration, it would seem that time management would be the least of my worries; something conquered long ago. The truth is that like most others I know, I struggle to accomplish all that I plan to get done in a day.

In education, we have formal annual PDPs (Personalized Development Plans) with goals assigned by our supervisor or Board of Education and we have personal goals that we set for ourselves. Though never required by a supervisor or by the Board of Education I am fortunate to serve, the one goal that has seemingly been perennially present is the goal of improving my time management skills. I add it to my PDP each year knowing I need to improve in this area. I have read countless books on the subject and have searched for the time management silver bullet throughout my career.

After all of that time and work, I am still no expert on the subject. I know only one thing for sure, there is no silver bullet! No one approach works for every person in every situation. Instead, it seems, successful leaders have multiple strategies. I have shared ten great strategies below. Perhaps one, or more, will help you accomplish your goals. I am purposefully and intentionally employing them as well and they seem to be making a difference in my work productivity. 

Start Early

Consider arriving before the majority of the staff you work with. Close your door and plan your day. Work on paperwork and email until they arrive. Once the staff begins arriving, open your door and head out into your day, ready to go.

CAUTION: Don’t fall victim to the trap of hiding behind your door. Problems don’t disappear because you do. You miss out on opportunities to impact the performance of the school or your organization when you are alone in your office too often and you will hurt your relationships with colleagues and staff. For educators, arrival and dismissal are critical times for quick, yet meaningful interactions with students.

Take Time to Plan

Time invested in planning is never wasted. It truly is an investment that pays off throughout the day. Planning allows you to prioritize the tasks on your to-do list and reflect on your goals. Maintaining a planner, digital or paper, where you have written out your personal and professional goals helps you focus on what is important. Too often, we allow what is urgent to trump what is important.

Do It Now

When a parent (or a client) contacts you with an issue, resolve it right away. Their concerns get larger and uglier when they think that they are not being addressed. Never put off an angry stakeholder. Fix it and forget it or they will start calling their friends and your boss. Suddenly, instead of just having the initial problem, now you have a public relations problem because your reputation is going down in a hurry.

When you tackle an issue promptly, you give the impression that you are on top of things.

Digitize Your To-Do List

Leaders always have multiple tasks in process. It can be easy to forget something as your attention is drawn to something else. It can also be easy to forget that it is time to accomplish an annual or monthly task. Having a to-do list is an old-fashioned strategy that pays off. However, this "old" strategy receives new life and new power when you digitize your task list. Digital task lists can send you visual and audio reminders. Some will automatically populate to your calendar.

Choose one with the features that you want that works for you. Examples include Digital Post-It Notes that allow you to place a digital post-it note on your computer screen. Google Mail (gmail) contains a “Tasks” tool that uses a pop-up screen to list your tasks and allows you to mark them off as they are completed. There is also free software like Toodledo.com with many, many features.

Handle It Once

Handle paperwork and email only once. You should touch each piece of paper only one time. When you do:

•Respond and complete any task it requires, or

•File it, or

•Delegate it to someone else.

Don’t allow paperwork of email to pile up! We know that more of each is always on the way. Schedule a consistent time daily to answer email and paperwork, but not during people time! An old boss used to say that mornings and nights were for paperwork and days were for people. Investing time in people is the best investment we can make.

Stick to Your Calendar

Schedule your time and stick to your schedule. For educational leaders, if it is important to be in classrooms (and it is), schedule the time you will visit classrooms. It is to easy to put off important tasks if they are not scheduled.

Consider sharing your calendar with a secretary/administrative assistant and allow them to schedule/input meetings for you. Ask them to help hold you accountable to your schedule. A quick reminder from a teammate that you are supposed to be headed out to your next activity will get you away from all of the time leaches that can congregate in offices.

Conduct “Stand Up” Meetings

Consider meeting with groups standing up. Have only one or two items on the agenda. Talk, think, and move on. Focus on the topic, hear the information, offer suggestions, and get back to work. This does not replace all of your meetings, but it will make many of them unnecessary. Principals may want to ask all of the teachers on a particular grade level to meet them in the hallway between classes for a quick stand-up meeting that will wipe away the need for a meeting after school and keep teachers involved and informed. 

Upgrade Your Email 

For some reason many of the most popular email services do not include a “send later” feature. This option allows you to reply to emails and send new emails at any time of day or night, but emails won’t arrive in recipients’ inboxes until the time you have chosen. If you tend to work at night, sending a late-night email may cause your staff to think they also have to reply during a time you would rather they be focusing on and enjoying their personal lives with friends and family. I used rightinbox.com to upgrade my gmail and it has worked very well.

Focus Your Efforts

Before investing time in a new initiative or the latest professional development fad, begin by reviewing your actual needs as shown by metrics you trust. Knowing what we need to improve allows us to "seek out and implement only that which the evidence points to as the most effective actions and initiatives we can find. These critical determinations must be followed by a campaign of highly focused, unabashed repetition; review; and practice. Mastery and consistent implementation—not mere exposure or training—must become our new goal" (Monday Morning Leadership, David Cottrell)

Set Meeting Expectations

Having clear expectations for staff meetings saves time and shows that you value your colleagues by not wasting their time. These are the expectations we have set:

• Start and end your meetings on time.
• Be on time to meetings (in your seat, ready to roll.)
• Question meetings that have always occurred to ensure they are still productive and needed.
• Read through every hand-out. Click on every link.
• Ask questions when you do not understand.
• Suggest topics before meeting. Schedule follow-up meetings if needed.
• Have lots of timekeepers.
• Force presenters to ask the group for more time if they are in danger of going beyond their allotted time.
• Presenters should always value the time of the participants.

References

These ideas are not my own. I have listed references below and apologize if something I have previously read has slipped into my writing without being cited.

•—“Beat the Clock,” Principal, March/April 2013

•—“Making Email Work for You,” Principal, January/February 2017

•—“Time Saving Teacher Evaluation Solutions,” Principal, January/February 2014

•—“The Power of Focus,” Principal, March/April 2017

•—Monday Morning Leadership by David Cottrell, Cornerstone, 2016