Sheila-Smiths-Time-Management-Project

For this time management project, I engaged in several tasks to increase my personal reflection of the use of my time while at work.. Secondly, I conducted a miniature literature review

Time Management Project Sheila B Smith Virginia Commonwealth University

EDLP 708

Time Management While time is finite, how to spend one’s time is not Humans are very creative with how they spend their time; some cram as much in as they can, some mix in time for both work and play, while others have perfected the art of wasting time To be a successful school leader, I must use my time wisely as the responsibilities and tasks are many while the time is limited I tend to think of the school year as 180 days, 9.5 months, or 36 Mondays This helps remind me that there are only so many opportunities to make a difference in the learning lives of our students Managing my time to maximize these learning opportunities is an important and valuable skill for me to master For this time management project, I engaged in several tasks to increase my personal reflection of the use of my time while at work I began with consideration of my

personal professional goals in relation to what I remember my job description to be, which I have not seen in 12 years I then compared this informal job description with the actual one and determined there are tasks that have become second nature I came to the realization that I have come to believe that my responsibilities are completed in isolation Secondly, I conducted a miniature literature review on topics related to time management that interested me; how to deal with unplanned events and interruptions, restructuring my time to better impact student learning, and suggestions for putting energy into the right tasks at the right time The third activity I completed for this project was to interview a practicing administrator while focusing on

questions related to the articles read on time management Then, I kept a record of how I spent

my time as a middle school principal for two separate weeks, and summarized my reflections related to my professional goals and job description Finally, I created a plan of action to include

implementation of strategies learned through this project

Professional Goals in Relation to My Informal Job Description

I am a veteran educator having worked twenty-nine years in public schools I spent fourteen years as a middle school teacher and am in my fifteenth year as an administrator Each school year brings opportunities for renewal and review; new students, sometimes new staff members, and always new strategies for maximizing learning for students My professional goals as a middle school principal include serving as an instructional leader and human resource manager, school facilities manager, disciplinarian responsible for safety, and serving as a liaison between the School Board, school, and community

As an instructional leader and human resource manager my goals include:

• Hiring and retaining highly effective teachers and support staff ,

• Serving as a resource to teachers,

• Supporting teachers professional development needs,

• Ensuring that all staff follow School Board policies and procedures,

• Assuring alignment between what is taught, written, and assessed by observing

instruction, providing timely feedback, and ensuring professional development to address staff weaknesses,

• Collaborating with local instructional leaders to ensure the availability of a viable

curriculum,

• Creating a master schedule that facilitates student access to rigorous course selections

while providing opportunities for both targeted enrichment and remediation,

• Monitoring the creation of assessments for student learning,

• Communicating with all stakeholders the importance of effective instruction,

• Ensuring preservation of instructional time by minimizing interruptions,

• Providing a safe and caring learning environment,

• Responding to crisis and concerns with a level head and effective problem solving,

• Determining long and short term goals for improvement

As a facilities manager my goals are:

• Maintaining the upkeep of the building and grounds to include preventative maintenance, cleanliness, concerns for safety, and timely responses to emergencies,

• Maintaining open communication with contracted custodial service,

• Ensuring acquisition and maintenance of furniture appropriate to learning,

As a disciplinarian responsible for safety my goals are:

• Enforcing and informing all stakeholders of the county policies related to student and

adult behavior,

• Creating, informing, and enforcing school policies in alignment with county policies

related to student and adult behavior,

• Administering consequences in a fair and equitable manner as established by School

Board policy when rules and policies are broken,

• Providing supports for staff who struggle with classroom management and discipline,

As a liaison between the School Board, School and Community my goals are:

• Communicating a shared vision and support of student learning

Comparisons between My Informal and Formal Job Description

There are many similarities between my informal and formal job descriptions Both document my responsibilities as an instructional leader, facilities manager, disciplinarian and liaison between the School Board, my school and community The formal job description was more detailed and included an overall expectation of my working with others and not in

isolation Examples include, “works with others to maintain atmosphere conducive to learning,”

“Advises the office of Human Resources staffing needs,” and “Works with other school and division administrators to provide for horizontal and vertical articulation of programs with unity.” Details left out of the informal job description which were in the formal job description included providing supervision of students at extracurricular events, developing appropriate procedures for attendance and health of students, organizing and supervising matters related to student registration and orientation, working with advisory groups such as Social Services and the PTO, administering a school budget and utilizing available funds, involving myself in professional enrichment to keep abreast of developments in middle school education,

maintaining relationships with the community by facilitating use of the school building and grounds, and addressing complaints and resolving problems These details and inconsistencies

are not surprising to me as I am involved with all of these practices on a daily basis as a

principal I suppose I did not mention those in my informal job description as I do not feel I need improvements in those areas and is not something which is talked about during my

evaluations

The formal job description included knowledge, skills, and abilities required of a middle school principal These include:

• Demonstrates leadership qualities and personal characteristics necessary for

working effectively with students, parents, teachers, administrators and the

community,

• Reads, analyzes, and interprets general business periodicals, professional

journals, technical procedures, and governmental regulations,

• Writes reports, business correspondence, and procedure manuals, as needed,

• Effectively presents information and responds to questions from groups, staff,

parents and the general public,

• Defines problems, collects data, analyzes data, establishes facts, and draws valid

conclusions,

• Interprets an extensive variety of technical instructions in mathematical or

diagram form and deals with several abstract and concrete variables,

• Applies knowledge of current research and theories in specific fields,

• Establishes and maintains effective working relationships with students, staff and the community,

• Communicates clearly and concisely both in oral and written form

The knowledge, skills, and abilities are qualifiers for the tasks expected of a principal and are used to evaluate the performance of principals annually These should serve as guidelines for how the list of essential job functions are to be accomplished The goals and job description I provided informally were just a list of tasks, which did not include the conditions My next step

in self assessment will to make goals, which include more than just completing tasks but to what

level of effectiveness I desire for improvement

Mini Literature Review of Scholarly Articles on Time Management

Embracing the Ambiguity

Bresciani, Duncan, and Cao (2010) provided suggestions to their colleagues for dealing with unplanned events in hopes they could model effective holistic thinking for their struggling students

Twelve strategies were offered requiring the user to choose how to spend their time: 1) Schedule time for your health and happiness first

2) Determine what is most important to you and make time for it For example, if being home when your children get off the bus is important to you, schedule all other events around that so you can be there

3) Find out if your values conflict with your bosses values so you can plan how they will mesh 4) Be resilient and reflective in case priorities need to change

5) Schedule in extra time for transitions, interruptions, and emergencies

6) Breathe deeply to relax

7) Use only positive thoughts and words

8) Don’t do work for students which they should do themselves

9) Only attend meetings where an agenda exists

10) Use the good found in one role to support the weaknesses in another role

11) “Take time to celebrate” (Bresciani, Duncan and Cao, 2010, p 21).

12) Give your full attention to your priorities – be in the moment

The authors suggested it is not possible to find balance by managing one’s time in

defined chunks determined by roles Instead, the authors encourage the adoption of a holistic view of one’s self to free up time, relieve stress, and increase effectiveness

Recognizing Leaders’ Time

Walker (2010) conducted research on restructuring principal’s time and the impact on student learning Walker (2010) began with a literature review and summarized that “research suggests that leader influence, direct and indirect, is critical for student learning” (p 215) The author detailed the recent additional responsibilities and increase in hours per week for a

principal to serve as an instructional leader while remaining the school manager Research cited indicated principals only spend an average of 30% of their workweek on instruction and the rest

on managerial tasks Walker (2010) reported on a 2002, Wallace Foundation project called

“Alternative Administrative Study” (p 215), which looked at what caused a principal to put instruction on the back burner This project created a new position titled School Administration Manager or SAM and assumed managerial tasks, freeing up the principal to spend more time with teachers and students on instruction After three years with the SAM position in Iowa schools, principals spent on average forty percentage points more of their time one instruction; either observing teaching or working with students on instruction “The Wallace Foundation supports the program in 300 schools in nine states” (p 216) School districts interested in this project have three models to choose from with three requirements The project delineates the responsibilities for the SAM and the principal so the principal can focus more on instruction

The SAM position may provide a viable solution for helping principals to focus more of their time on instruction

Time Management and Task Trap

Pani (2012) conducted a research project on the use of time by managers Data was collected and analyzed related to interviews, shadowing of four managers, and literature reviews

In this article, Pani (2012) emphasized the reality that time is a nonrenewable resource which can

be handled better after analysis and implementing unique strategies Time management is defined as “the act or process of planning and exercising conscious control over the amount of time spent on specific activities, especially to increase effectiveness, efficiency or productivity” (p 14) Evidence of time management which is done well included getting more done while avoiding the negative impact of poor time management on one’s health, productivity, and family relations

Topics discussed in this article related to time management included the following:

1) Lists of ways managers waste their times: unclear objectives, poor or lack of information, procrastination, interruptions, telephone, no planning, meetings, incompetent personnel, no delegation, no priorities, poor organization, fatigue, socializing, poor fitness, lack of

concentration, and not being able to say no

2) Myth about time and work: working long hours doesn’t equal getting more done

3) Steps to be taken to manage time more effectively: Begin by recording how your time is spent, decide percent of day you want to spend on each category, set daily goals, evaluate and analyze frequently, stop time wasters

Pani (2012) argued that time can be better managed by “planning, allocating, setting goals, delegation, analysis of time spent, monitoring, organizing, scheduling, and prioritizing” (p 15)

Calling Time Out on Work Interruptions

Huppke (2012) wrote this article for the Chicago Tribune imploring that we get a handle

on interruptions and distractions at work now, before technology completely controls our lives Research referenced in this article indicated that 45% of workers last only 15 minutes before being interrupted Half of the 500 businessmen surveyed admitted they waste one hour on distractions daily with 60% involving the use of computers or cell phones on some form of communication not related to work The author contended distractions are not only caused by others interrupting us but we also interrupt ourselves This article argued the human ego gets in the way of our ability to maintain attention to task The author dispelled beliefs related to

humans thinking they can be more productive by multitasking Research indicated there is loss

of time when having to refocus on a task The second ego trip is related to human belief in self-importance; they feel they must respond immediately to emails or texts due to others not being able to function without their input, attention, or thoughts

6 Ways to Use Less Energy to Get More Done

Porter 2014) compared a work day to a marathon, and like a runner, we need to prepare and pace ourselves The author cited benefits of better memory, being able to pay better

attention, and ease of movement between tasks for those who focus on only one thing at a time Strategies given to avoid distractions included prioritizing tasks by doing the important tasks first, leaving emails for later in the day and blocking off two hours a day as ‘no-interruption’ periods of time

The author shared six recommendations from Energy Project CEO Tony Schwartz who works with Fortune 500 companies on time management Schwarts demanded that breaks are taken from work every 90 minutes, which agrees with the natural body rhythms

1) Focus on the positive: Focusing on negatives wastes energy Worrying about mistakes and what went wrong is not productive

2) Save the easiest task for last: Hard tasks should be completed first while you have energy and when you are more likely to avoid distractions

3) Work in short stents: Large tasks leave us feeling that there is not end Breaking the task into smaller chunks makes the task more manageable and less daunting

4) Build in routines: We stay focused during routines Making rest and renewal part of the daily routine will increase productivity

5) Get sleep: Each person requires a different amount of sleep for optimal performance

Analyze how you feel when you wake up to determine if you got enough rest Sleep the length

of time which makes you feel your best

6) Conduct frequent self-monitoring: It is recommended you periodically during the work day check your energy level Determine on a scale from 1 to 10, how much energy you have Take a break if you rate your energy level 5 or below

Administrator Interview

I interviewed my supervisor, who is the Executive Director of Secondary Education and Leadership For the purposed of this paper I will call him EDSEL He has served as a high and middle school administrator prior to assuming this current position I was interested in

interviewing him as I assumed he would have valuable time management strategies in place to share since he has a position promoted a step above my own and because he once walked in my shoes I obtained and altered some of the interview questions asked from Ngwabi (2014) who wrote them for small businesses The selected questions related to the articles read for the