It's daylight robbery (Hammond Gamble)

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A recent James Clear question was: What is getting too much of my time right now? What is getting too little?

It's a really good focusing question.

At this point of the term (final week of Term 2) the answer is easy peasy - too much admin time, too little time to get into classes and observe via ten-minute walk-throughs.

A look in my school diary is revealing - recent days filled with meetings, preparation for delivering a 9-hour course to students, interviewing candidates for jobs, reading and writing reports, dealing with discipline matters, supervising in the Learning Centre....

I have had to squeeze in visits to classrooms around all of those other things that make up my job. And time is tight. And I have run out of time.

That's just the reality. 

There was nothing in there that I could put off, or decide not to do.

Ninja break

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Here are some recent things I've heard that have left an impression on me:

 “It’s impossible to listen and react at the same time". When you actually listen instead of waiting your turn to speak, people feel heard. And you actually learn what they’re trying to tell you. It’s a win/win - Alex Hillman

"No one can do two things at once" - Henry Mitchell (Sales manager at Markham).

"Take Ninja breaks" - Henry again.

" On your first day in a new job you need to remember that you are nobody" - UK Brethren business owner.

"Who wants to employ a smart Alec?" - Director at Motus when I asked him why Humility was one of four values on their wall.

In the mornin you go gunnin' for the man who stole your water (Steely Dan)

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Recently, at morning tea in the staffroom, we were discussing to do lists and my aversion to them.

Instead, I subscribe to the 'touch it only once' policy. That is, confront the email/task/incoming and either: throw it away, file it, delegate it, or action it.

I aim to do this but sometimes the task remains uncompleted, or an email ends up as sitting in my inbox 'pending' later action (I hate those ones).

I have reports to check this weekend and I'm keen to complete that task asap. I'm at the mercy of my senior teachers though and I don't want the task to consume my weekend or hang over my head.

In an article about unfinished tasks that I read just now, psychologists Oliver Weigelt and Christine Syrek back me up on this. It's not rocket science - but they discovered that 'leaving assignments unfinished over the weekend causes people to ruminate on the unfinished tasks, which leads to difficulty switching off from work'.

The researchers found that spending a little time over the weekend finishing tasks or preparing for the following week could prevent rumination and stress. Describing it as “closure”, they noted that ticking a task off the list then made it easier for people to enjoy their remaining time off.

As it happened, I was really tired after two days in Gisborne so I had Saturday off. Unfortunately, the uncompleted task was on my mind as predicted and then Sunday became a catch-up day. 

Which worked out well because I was able to start Monday reasonably up-to-date.

Bureaucracy is the death of any achievement (Albert Einstein)

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The battle with bureaucracy that is rife in teaching is currently doing my head in.

Bureaucracy, as in: excessively complicated administrative procedure.

According to an article I read, "Physiological measurements of emotions (e.g., facial coding, electrodermal activity, heart rate) from 136 participants in a laboratory study show that bureaucratic red tape evokes significant negative emotional responses, especially confusion, frustration, and anger".

Mmmm hmmm.

Pick up a flat rock, skip it across Green River (Creedence Clearwater Revival)

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What to do when you're swamped.

This is different to being busy. Everyone is busy, all the time. 

Swamped is when the work has piled up through no fault of your own and it seems a daunting prospect getting it all done. In fact, it's often difficult knowing where to start.

As one of my colleagues said to me recently, "My to do list is really full, and I have no time to do it".

James Clear says this: "The myth is that there isn't enough time. There is plenty of time. There isn't enough focus with the time you have. You win by directing your attention toward better things."

So, what to do?

Here's what I do (we're all different but one of these strategies may work for you too).

Mind set. Ignore the huge, overflowing pile of stuff and pick one thing that can be done quickly. Do it. Pick the next quick win. Do it. Repeat. Pretty soon you'll be like me and have enough space to do a blog post about being swamped! The extra bonus for this method is that the big things no longer look so big.

James Clear says this: "The person who focuses on one task and sees it through to completion—even if they work in a somewhat slow or outdated manner—beats the endless optimizer who jumps from tool to tool and always hopes a new piece of technology will help them finish what they start."

Less is more. A bit of mind set, but after the quick win, pause. Go for a walk outside and clear your head (warning - don't just go to the staff room and grab a quick coffee - there are dangers lurking there - plenty of lovely people wanting to put another monkey on your back - then you are instantly pulled back in, making instant decisions about how to deflect or answer questions). 

Or - just go outside for a walk. It's refreshing, it clears the head, and gives clarity and perspective (there's always more to do - the work is like Newman's mail - it keeps coming and coming. It NEVER STOPS!!!!)

Find a good quiet spot without distractions and hunker down to kill off as much as possible. This one is my last resort really, because on site there is nowhere to completely get away and concentrate. In those moments of interruption it's best to just breathe and remember Brene Brown's maxim - everyone is doing the best they can.

Go to it team!

Why can't we be like storybook children? (Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood)

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Feeling pretty good after a recent trip north to support one of my campuses. 

Having worked there five years ago means that I know some of the staff, and all of the senior students. That's a real advantage.

It was pretty easy to pick up where I left off with those students - it also helps that I am there briefly, for two days, and then head back to the Hawke's Bay. It's different when you're there every day!

I loved working with a few students on their English essays, visiting the vibrant primary school, being in the Learning Centre for a while, meeting new staff who weren't on site during my last visit, and working with the Campus Principal.

Getting the relationships right is so key to working with people. I'm very thankful that I have my mother's natural joy of meeting people, and my father engendered great loyalty from those he managed, as well as making lifelong friendships with those he worked with. I had some great teachers and examples to draw upon.

Next up for me is a return to my home campus for a week and then a trip to another of my Noth East campuses. Looking forward to it already.