Intentionally being more intentional

Life in a school is often unpredictable. Much of what happens is unplanned and spontaneous. There is a great need for educators to be proactive, we all know so much of what we do is reactive. Many times I have sat at my desk checking email or working on a project, and I receive a phone call where I am forced to react to several "fires" that arose one after the other. I truly believe that if you can get out and about in your school, you can get ahead of these "fires". If you are out observing and interacting in the building you can actually prevent problems from occurring. I also believe that the most important work of school leaders happen outside of the principal's office.

I am making a goal to be more intentional in my daily actions. To accomplish this, I think it will take discipline and planning. One of my mentors often says "Plan the work and work the plan". I am pretty sure that he stole that saying from one of his mentor but there is great wisdom in this borrowed statement.

Some of the things that I want to do more of are: informal classroom visits, positive communication with staff (written and verbal), positive phone calls to parents, and working with students directly in their classrooms. These actions will allow me to take a more active role in contributing to the culture and direction of my school. In the grand scheme of things these activities represent the "real" job of school leaders.

In order to make this happen I have found I must build them into my schedule. I am a huge advocate for my Google calendar and I have found it helpful to schedule my goals into a daily schedule. It doesn't have to be Google or a digital platform. If you use a paper calendar by all means put it to use! I may not always be able to make all of the appointments that I plan for myself, but if I do not insert these activities into my daily schedule the chance that they will happen will decrease significantly. Make a list of the things that you really want to accomplish during your day and plug them into your calendar. Keep what is most important at the top of your agenda each day.

If you have an idea, or best practice you use for making your days intentional, I would love other educators to add their proactive tips or calendar items in the comments section of this blog!