MANAGING THE DAY-TO-DAY

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MANAGING DAY-TO-DAY.....

 In a blog posted in the Association of School Business Officials International (ASBOI), David Janak a School Business Manager for Rapid City Area Schools in Rapid City, SD., David brought up the subject of how to Manage the Day-To-Day, and asked for some advice and ideas on how to manage day to day priorities.... "A school business official can get knocked off of a daily task list very easily. Moving from crisis to crisis can and sometimes does dominate our normal day. How do you manage to keep the important things the important things so that the important things get done?

Is it as simple as a list on a sheet of paper, a daytimer, a computer program? Do you spend time each day, week or month updating the status of various projects or just know intuitively that it is on time or behind? What advise do you give to new business managers about managing their day and how to stay above the water line?"

 Claire Hertz, Chief Financial Officer for Beaverton School District in Beaverton, Or. provided the advice below:

Here are some time management pieces I use in keeping myself organized:

• Create a to do list and review daily - keeping important items on the top of the list - these will help me reach my goals for the year
• Remember urgent is not always important - if all I worked on was urgent, I would never get to the more strategic     work of the financial leader of the district
• Ignore email for blocks of time to get high level thinking work done - it's easy to be distracted
• Email and urgent tasks - touch it only once - delegate or get it done as received
• Save everything you do electronically - most likely you will do it again in the future
• Document with notes for tasks to be repeated in the future (I use cell notes in Excel)
• Schedule weekly meetings with direct reports - give quality time, so they can get their work done
• Empower staff with the ability to make decisions - ask staff what they think we should do when they bring an issue to your attention, most times they already know the answer
• Be consistent - staff appreciate knowing how you're going to respond to an issue based on previous actions
• Block out time on your calendar to complete a project
• I use the end of the day as my quiet time to clear large projects - others may find early in the morning better
• Set my office clock 5-10 minutes fast so I am on time to meetings (this works for me - I'm easily tricked into believing the clock)
• Remember the80/20 rule
• Use the Eisenhower method for planning time

 I admire those that don't procrastinate, plan ahead and are always on time. If one of you has the secret of avoiding procrastination, I'd love to hear it!

 David Janak goes on to provide the following advice....

Managing priorities is not unique to the School Business Official. Every executive in either the private or public sector at some time in their career will be challenged by more work to do than hours in the day. I think there are some keys to successful planning that I have used over my 30 yrs in the private and public sectors.

 No matter what system you use make it your system. Can be paper, electronic, off the shelf or a formal planning product. There is no one size fits all, use what you are confident and comfortable with or it won't get used and your day will become more frustrating not less.

1. Use the touch once theory. When going through paperwork, or mail or the volume of paper that has to cross our desks daily make a habit to touch it once. Either solve it, file it, delegate it, throw it, or set it to follow up at a later date. Not constantly reviewing the same material makes the piles manageable.
2. Use timelines, a crisis is a crisis and has to be dealt with now, but those are rare. Most tasks can and should be scheduled out on a realistic, yet aggressive timeline for completion or follow-up. Remember we have 5 days in a week not everything will or should get done today. 
3. Get away from your desk for at least 30 minutes each day. You may ask how this will help me manage my day? The answer is simple we all need a break go to lunch, or walk around the building, but get away from your desk for some time. The brief break allows your mind to regroup and gain some perspective about what has been accomplished so far. When you get back you can reassess and re-prioritize the remainder of your day to maximize what can get done.
   
4. Eat the frog first. We all have things we like to do and things we don't enjoy so much. When those things that we find less enjoyable or more challenging appear on the to do list, take them on first when you are fresh and rested. Putting them off till the last when you are tired only makes the work more challenging, and the quality of our results are not as good.

 I have used these principles for many years, I hope others find them helpful