No Excuses Leadership

10 x 5 x 10

What would your reaction be if I came to your office or classroom door in the middle of the day and said "Take a 10 minute break, I've got you covered"?  Chance are you'd be ecstatic.  You'd have time to grab a cup of coffee, use the restroom, or simply step outside and take a breath.  Now, what would you do if I came to that same door and told you to take the whole week off?  Like most, you'd probably faint.  

Of course, I can't rightfully come to your door and give you a break, nor can I offer you a week long vacation.  I can however encourage you to start making the kinds of choices that give you more of your time back throughout the school year.  It all starts with making a series of small choices that can save you just 10 minutes a day.  Some choices might be:

- Divide and conquer work with your colleagues

- Utilize volunteers in your school wisely

- Avoid social media use during the day

- Close the door to your office for 30 minutes a day and dedicate it strictly to checking email

- Complete the hardest tasks when you have the most energy (usually in the morning)

- Map out your visits to classrooms so they're in close proximity to each other

And the result of choices like these . . .

10 minutes a day times 5 days a week times 10 months a year will maximize your efforts and save you 36 hours of work over the course of a school year.  With an 8 hour work day, that's nearly a week of work!

TAKE ACTION

For starters, journal your daily schedule and look at how you're currently spending your time.  Are there times during the day when you're less productive?  Are you completing tasks that others should be or could be doing instead?  Start by making just one or two small tweaks that have the potential to change your routine and give you more of your time back.

BE BOLD

"You'll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine."

- John Maxwell -