Taming the To-Do List

Article Author name(s): Joann Rooney
Title of article: Taming the To-Do List
Title of journal: Educational Leadership
Date of publication: February 2011
Volume of the journal: 68
Issue number of the journal: 5
Article Page numbers: pp. 86-87

http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational_leadership/feb11/vol68/num05/Taming_the_To-Do_List.aspx

Key Points: Pervasive Busyness is a big problem for principles at schools across the nation. Multiple agendas from central and state offices place conflicting demands on principals. Too many non-essential meetings take time away from direct communication with teachers, students and parents. Principles must juggle multiple new initiatives instead of taking time for in-depth focus on any one area of emphasis. Administrators place much focus on paperwork and due dates that have little to no relationship to student learning, and are rather political necessities. Random or unexpected interruptions often take large chunks of time from a principles schedule, leading them to work excessively long weekly hours. This applies when there is a crisis situation or major student concern, which often can take up entire days to deal with.
The cure for this “pervasive busyness” is to set priorities and stick to them. This means that administrators need to learn to say “no” when necessary, be efficient at delegating tasks and must self-reflect on how their time is spent and how it can be better allotted. Stay connected to students my making effort to visit classrooms and connect with students. Delegate tasks to those trusted employees by sending them to non-essential meetings, for example. Also, make policy very clear so that teachers will be able to enforce rules among students without needing administrator assistance.
While the goal is to streamline efficiency, there are some essentials that should not be left by the wayside. Continue to learn by building a learning community with other administrators and always staying ahead of the learning. Slow down- running faster that necessary leads to poor decisions, mistakes, and forgetfulness—and ultimately wastes time. Build relationships that bring success and meaning to your work.

Relevance: This is interesting because it provides some insight as to the struggles administrator’s face, as opposed to only focusing on all of the requirements placed on teachers. It’s important to reflect that the entire system is burdened, and the current state of education is likely the result of the “trickle down effect”.