Prioritize what matters most?!
I can hear the response, “We can’t. There are too many urgent demands. Covid has us all on our heels. We’re underwater.” I know Principals are teaching grade 3, unplugging toilets, and supervising bussing contracts gone awry, sometimes all in the same day. Right now, Principals and school leaders are wearing many hats and putting out many fires. Many feel it is impossible.
Facing Impossible Things
What do I do when I face impossible things?
I ask myself, “What is the next right step?”
Truly, I make it simple.
Every time I travel to Africa, at some point during the trip, I hear my Ugandan colleagues say one of two phrases,
“Do you know how to eat an elephant? One bite at a time.”
OR
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
Amidst the idioms, the wisdom of millennia of indigeneity travel to my soul from a people who have endured in a harsh and unforgiving world.
I am encouraged. Take a bite. Just one step.
A Focus Tool
A tool that helps me focus is the Eisenhower Matrix. President Eisenhower developed this tool to prioritize the tasks of the Presidency.
What is an example of something in each quadrant of your matrix? Here is another post to get you thinking.
EdLeaders are phenomenal at the Important and Urgent in Quadrant I. We are “Do-ers.” As an example, we know when a learner is suffering, we move urgently to support them as much as we can, so learning can happen. We know how to attend to Quadrant 1 tasks and they feel good because they have an immediate impact.
One thing I think we’re challenged with is how to make enough time for Quadrant II, the Important but not Urgent.
In order to make time for Quadrant II, what I found, is I must shift items from one box to another. For instance, during my 15 years of school leadership, I began to identify team members who could deescalate and address parent concerns much more effectively than I did. After teachers, my Team Leads began to handle 90% of parent concerns. I did very little. The Team Leads were initially simply given release time to support teachers and families in creating powerful solutions to student concerns.
I could have easily justified handling all parent concerns myself because they were important and urgent tasks. But, over time, I realized that I could delegate those tasks effectively.
In my experience, my best and highest contribution was spending more time in the “Plan” quadrant. This quadrant focuses on long-term goals and big-picture endeavors. Work in this quadrant allows you to address system-level issues of policy, culture, instructional programming, etc. Your school needs your leadership in this quadrant, even amidst Covid, possibly, especially amidst Covid!
A Big Focus Goal
Cal Newport writes a compelling treatise in his book Deep Work – Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World. After reading his book, I worked my weekly schedule around creating 60-120min of deep work in quadrant 2 per day. This would include tasks like key communications, long-range planning, executing with my Board of Directors, working on systems to improve our school community (i.e. special education flow chart, discipline matrix, coaching protocol, or team experience).
A Simple Priorities Challenge
Here is a simple challenge.
- Print or create a matrix on a blank piece of paper.
- Write down 1-3 things you have in each quadrant today.
- Add one action item to your to-do list for each quadrant.
Today, mine reads as follows:
Get clear. Focus on what matters most. Shift.
Additional Support
If you need support, please reach out for a Clarity Coaching package. I guarantee it will help you save time and energy.
Your work is infinitely important.
Yours in service,
Karine
PS In January, I’m offering a small group coaching experience called Time Management Bootcamp to support EdLeaders to orient your calendar around what matters most. Please reach out to me (karine@learnforward.ca) to get on the waiting list. Space is limited.