I am in the process on working on a new book, Autopilot: Practical Productivity for School Leaders (working title). While my target audience is school leadership, district administrators, instructional coaches, and others in leadership positions, I think that many of the strategies shared in the book can help all educators.
As many educators have already returned to the classroom, and many more are getting ready to start next week, I wanted to share a few reminders to conduct a productivity reboot as you start your year:
Don’t Take on Too Much. Sometimes as educators, we try to take on the world while setting ourselves up for a mountain of work that probably doesn’t need to be done. Take on only the essential, and get rid of the rest. Don’t make extra work for yourself.
Overcome Perfectionism. Sometimes, good enough is good enough. You might spend hours looking for the perfect opening hook for your next lesson, when there is a perfectly acceptable opening that is just fine. Don’t get caught up in trying to make everything perfect. Remember that instruction and learning are constant works in progress.
Create Your To-Don’t List. While you may be really good at tackling your To-Do list, you may want to create a To-Don’t list. Avoid some of those unproductive and unnecessary routines and processes that you continue to live by. Write down all of the things you want to avoid doing this year (Hello Procrastination!), and get rid of the things that are holding you down. Live by your To-Don’t list this year instead.
Leave White Space in Your Schedule. Your schedule is probably already filled up. As you plan things for the year, leave empty blocks of time in your schedule. Emergencies happen. We are constantly asked to put out fires. Leave space for when everything goes wrong, and you need some extra time. In the worst case scenario, your schedule is not still slammed. In the best case scenario, you’ve just given yourself the gift of extra time.
Turn It Off. I like to tell myself before I close my office door each night, it will all be there tomorrow. I have a specific shutdown ritual (checking email, sending out any last minute replies, listing my tasks for tomorrow, and putting my notebook away in a drawer) before I leave the school. This ritual, along with repeating it will all be there tomorrow helps me to mentally focus my energy elsewhere at the end of the day. Turn it off. It will definitely be there tomorrow.
Reboot your productivity practices as you start the year. You’ll streamline your work, feel less overwhelmed, and make more time for the meaningful.
Rich