"Gotta minute?" How school leaders can take control of their attent...

Guide

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A previous version of this guide was originally published in Choice Literacy.

In one school in which I was observing students and their teacher working on personal narratives, I received a call from the office. “Matt, a parent is here and would like to speak with you.” I put away my notebook and pen and walked out of the classroom.

Why do we allow others to drive our daily actions?

• Nonacademic tasks often take precedence over our role as an instructional leader.

• Daily fires that “need” to be put out can replace our essential work.

• The constant stream of emails and text messages tug at our limited attention spans.

It’s because of me. I allow others to set my agenda and control my attention. In fact, I may be reinforcing it with my own behaviors.

For example, I still struggle to set parameters about checking email. I will sometimes treat it like a to-do list instead of checking it two or three times a day as scheduled. By responding to people’s messages throughout the day, I teach others that they will get a quick response from me.

And even when we are in our office, focused on something important but not urgent, our days can be disrupted with “Gotta minute?”. We don’t want to be rude, so we respond with “Of course…”

The result: A cornucopia of paperwork in my bag to take home and complete.

Next are some strategies I have used to get better about controlling my attention and aligning my actions with my top priorities.

(Almost) No White Space on My Digital Calendar

Maia Heyck-Merlin, author of The Together Leader: Get Organized for Your Success - and Sanity! (Jossey-Bass, 2015) encourages leaders to make a daily and a weekly schedule of events, similar to a teacher’s lesson plans.

If we leave open times, the author contends, others tend to see these as opportunities to pop in and ask general questions or share their frustrations. 

My digital calendar is first populated with appointments to visit classrooms on a daily basis. Personal commitments, such as health and family, are also prioritized.

Image: Screenshot of what my calendar looks like when I start scheduling

Next is the general order of events I schedule after my priorities.

• Staff meetings and scheduled professional learning community sessions

• Periods of time when I will be visible in common areas of the school, such as arrival and dismissal.

• “Focus time” to read professionally (yes, read!) and share my key takeaways in my weekly staff newsletter.

  https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_56,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F205c5233-5fe0-4609-98cd-cda9d7d3c17c_256x256.png" width="28" height="28" class="CToWUd" data-bit="iit" />Read by Example

  How to write a weekly staff newsletter that at least 80% of teacher...

  I’m off in March, but I wanted to share this exclusive guide with full subscribers on how to write a staff newsletter. Note the bonus newsletter template linked at the bottom of this post. If you know a literacy leader who would benefit from this guide and…

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  14 days ago · Matt Renwick

I do allow some white space in my calendar for transitions between events. I also keep some time free for my assistant to schedule appointments with a parent or visitor.

Mutual Understanding with Assistant

As a school leader, I understand that I have to be available when emergencies arise.

But what is a true emergency?

In my experience, the vast majority of requests for my attention can be addressed at a later time. This is why it’s recommended sitting down with your assistant and developing a mutual understanding of when to be called away from priorities.

Here is our current list of emergencies:

• A student injury on the playground that requires my attention

• An important call from the superintendent or a board member

• An upset visitor in the office

• A major student behavior infraction that needs to be addressed now

This last issues seems to be the most disruptive to many leaders’ days.

Now I have copies of “think sheets” available that office staff and teachers can give to these students to complete.

Students are asked to write out a full description of the incident, and then answer the following four questions (adapted from a colleague):

1. What did you want?

2. What were you doing?

3. Did it help or hurt you?

4. What is your plan going forward?

This written reflection buys me time. It also conveys to the student(s) and to the person who referred the student(s) to the office who is in control of the situation.

Bonus: Below is a template of the think sheet.

Think Sheet Template

We also discuss limiting the use of the public address system to only once or twice a day at scheduled times. If an emergency does arise while in classrooms, I have a walkie talkie on me (set at low volume).

Clearly Communicate Intentions

I am not going to put these plans in action without letting the school know about what I am doing and why.

At a staff meeting, I share my intentions and the benefits, especially for them.

“If my door is open, come on in. You won’t have to guess if I am working on something time-sensitive. If it’s closed and the sign says I am in a meeting, please find someone else to help you in the meantime if possible. This will allow me to be in classrooms and build positive relationships with you and our students, as well as develop a stronger understanding of the instructional pulse of the school.”

Clearly communicating this process should avoid complaints later.

Leverage Technology When Necessary

To reduce confusion and questions, consider creating some type of school wiki or digital community space.

I have used Google Sites in the past. This website creator allows you to create several pages, each with a specific purpose, such as:

• Professional learning community notes

• Instructional leadership team agendas and minutes

• Child study team requests

• How-to videos for using different digital tools. 

Google apps such as Docs, Sheets, Slides, YouTube videos and Forms can all be embedded within Google Sites. 

I have since transitioned to Coda (coda.io). It is a more robust digital doc tool, for example allowing for integrations with other applications.

Image: Screenshot of our school wiki in Coda

I have learned that the one thing we have control over during our school day is not necessarily our time, but how we respond to our context and situations.

By first prioritizing what’s most important, being flexible yet judicious about allowing other requests to capture my attention, and setting up systems to support self-managment, I am more present in classrooms and can grow my capacity as an instructional leader.