Slicing Pomodoros
So, having (very) recently made the leap into an SLT position, I am trying to digest as many books on leadership, time management, teaching, learning, etc. as possible. Fortunately my wife is due to give birth at any moment, so I have lots of time waiting and hanging around for something to start. I have been delving into a broader range of Twitter accounts too, getting outside the usual Economics/Business teacher set - we are an incredibly active and sharing bunch - and into some SLT and other subject related accounts.
The most interesting reading of today has been my discovery (sorry I am definitely late to the party on this one) of Stephen Covey’s time management grid, and Francesco Cirillo’s Pomodoro technique for increasing productivity. As such I have resolved to use these as I start my new role next term, in a bid to ensure high producI ativity and some time for my expanding family!
My proposition is to do both together. Covey’s technique is about dividing tasks in to an importance/urgency grid. Those tasks that are both important and urgent (to the current day) need to be done today and cannot be shirked. those that are less urgent but still important can be left until the first list are done (but must have a deadline attached for when they themselves will bump up into urgent and important). That then leaves tasks which are urgent but not important and those that are neither. This led me to the wonderful @teachertoolkit on Twitter, that left me with a puzzle - what on earth is not important!? Some further delving through links brought me to @leadinglearner who placed the emphasis on your job description (or that was my interpretation of his discussion - a fantastic and fascinating insight into an in-tray exercise he sets candidates for middle & senior leadership positions). Thus, activities that are outside your job description actual warrant little of your time and therefore need to be delegated to the correct person or caught up on at a later date. the examples given included meetings with other HoDs from other schools (urgent to the day, but not really that important to current job description and easily caught up on through minutes), and meeting with another HoD to discuss their budget (not important to you, not urgent to today) as such best declined.
So I have defined:
Urgent - must be done today
Important: central to fulfilling job description
This comes with the important caveat of course that your job description is correct and reflects the nature of your role and priorities. I have written a vision statement for my new role that I hope will drive this forward.
The second question is then how to combine that with Cirillo’s Pomodoro technique - allocating uninterruptible 25 minute slots to activities. Well, I am including a ‘how many pomodoros’ section to my to do list, this I hope will allow me to better plan out my days now I am becoming less reliant on a bell to tell me what to do at every second! That way I can focus in on really important stuff for a predetermined amount of time and no more. I know that I am a deadline oriented person, so I am hoping that lots of small deadlines will help me become more focused on getting work done, freeing me up time to spend with my family!
That’s the theory at least...