Last Friday, school was closed for students and teachers. Several snow days were built into the schedule, and because we didn’t use all of them, the district decided to tack an extra day onto the holiday weekend. As a twelve month employee, I did not have the day off. I could have used a vacation day, and considered doing so, but I looked at the list of items in my notebook that needed to be completed, and decided to go in.
It was just me and the custodians, and it was glorious.
No student discipline issues. No teacher questions to answer. No unexpected fires to put out. No arrival or dismissal or extra duties to cover due to a staff absence.
I simply sat at my desk and completed all of the work that I don’t normally have a chance to finish. No interruptions. No distractions. It was glorious.
I slowly enjoyed some breakfast while I worked. The phone only rang once, and no one walked into my office to interrupt my tasks or my thoughts. I checked off item after item, and actually for once, worked to proactively prepare a few weeks in advance, rather than constantly reacting and playing “catch-up.”
It was glorious.
I’ve decided that school administrators should get one of these days at least once a month if not more frequently.
Let’s call them No Distraction Days and let’s begin building them into our schedule on a regular basis.
No distraction days. Who’s with me?
Rich