THE BIG ROCKS

Time Management for Principals

Covey, 1989 pg.161

“The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.”

What are the Big Rocks?

Big Rocks for any principalshould be the actions that drive student achievement.

10 Big Rocks for Principals

Mission Giving staff members and students a clear sense of

direction Climate

Making the school a safe place that runs smoothly Alignment

Meshing curriculum and assessments with state standards

Resources Getting teachers the tools they need to be

successful Instruction

Nurturing the best possible teaching in every classroom

Hiring Using every vacancy to bring in excellent teachers

Interim Assessments Using data to continuously improve teaching

Collaboration Fostering constant sharing of ideas and resources

Results Keeping supervision, professional development and

teams focused on outcomes Parents

Maximizing family support to students’ education

Making it all work can be tough

The Jar ActivityNot an original idea but a terrific visual aid to bring the point home to truly prioritize to make room for those Big Rocks!

The Empty Jar

The glass jar in the demonstration is the amount of time available in a typical work week.

No matter who you are, what you do, your status, your fame, your power…we all have the same size jar meaning we all have the same amount of time in any given day or week or month.

First fill that jar with Big Rocks that matter the most.

The Big Rocks

The Big Rocks are those activities that matter most in our lives.

They have the most profound consequences, either good or bad, that result from their completion or non-completion.

In terms of our work in schools, these Big Rocks drive student achievement.

The Pebbles

The pebbles are the little things that may add up to be something significant at some point down the line, but if we miss one or two, no big deal.

The Sand

The sand represents all the non-essential things that tend to fill up our days and our work lives.

Sand represents wasteful, non-value-producing activities that fill up our jar and prevent us from fitting in the large rocks that are meaningful for our work.

Remember the order

Remember

We talked at the orientation session about deciding what is truly important and then making those things your priority.

In terms of leading your staff, the following suggestions will greatly aid in that effort

Set Clear Expectations

Making certain everyone knows your expectations for their work makes your work that much easier

Decide on a Planning System

How you organize your time will decide both how you will spend your time and how impactful that time will be for those around you.

Schedule Key Meetings

Unless you schedule them first, your most important meetings (team meetings; leadership teams; planning period meetings) they will get lost in the shuffle.

Establish a “set” system and stick to it!

Write It Down

You simply cannot remember every detail of every day so you must have a system for writing it down!

Delegate, Delegate, Delegate

Hire good people, nurture them, turn them loose, and get out of their way.

Get Into Classrooms

Teachers thrive on feedback and they want to know “what you think” of their work. Schedule the time to see them and interact with them.

Avoid Time Wasters

Your work usually falls into three piles:

Activities that add value and support student achievement (planning professional development)

Activities that are “behind the scene” but keep the school running (ordering supplies, managing resources)

Activities that are a waste of time (fixing something not done right the first time)

Avoid the last one at all costs

Take Care of Yourself

In such a demanding job as that of a principal, it is imperative to schedule and honor time for yourself, your family, your hobbies, your peace of mind.

Take the time to take care of yourself. The work will be there when you return and you will be in a better frame of mind to deal with it all.

Take Stock

Regularly review and revise your time management until you find the perfect system for you. Perhaps it is color coding your calendar or revisiting your Big Rocks weekly. No matter the process, keep working on it until you find one that works for you!

Covey, 1989 pg.161

“The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.”

Big Rocks

Kentucky Principals’ AcademyAdapted from work by Stephen Covey and Kim Marshall