read and respond to e-mails, but no principal can afford to spend her day
sitting at a computer responding to e-mails, most of which are of little
importance.
- never Touch the Same Piece of Paper/E-mail Twice
This is a standard admonition of all time-management books and semi-
nars—and one of the most important. Every morning, the school leader
should check his paper and electronic inboxes with their array of items
(already sifted through and reduced by his secretary as described previ-
ously). Then the leader does the following:
- He redirects items that could be handled by other staff members.
- He immediately responds to anything that could be quickly handled.
- If any item requires information not in his “ready file” (see suggestion
number 5), he asks his secretary to obtain the information and, once he
reviews it, responds as soon as possible.
Sometimes, he might receive information about a long-term project,
such as new instructions on how to complete the Comprehensive Educa-
tion Plan. This would already be in progress and be put in the appropriate
folder.
Sometimes, he might receive an item that requires a good deal of
legwork, such as an e-mail informing him that the superintendent has
approved a television news team’s visit to the school for a piece on “ac-
commodation” issues or healthy lunches. This requires him to clear the
flexible parts of the day’s schedule to handle everything needed to prepare
properly: meetings with the security team, setting up classrooms to visit,
getting parent waivers for appropriate students to be interviewed, and so
on. All this has to be done, and the sooner the better.
The school leader must deal with all the paper, real and electronic. If he
puts anything aside, he will only have to read it again, thereby using more
of his most valuable commodity, time. By handling items as he gets them,
even if this means adjusting his schedule, he saves time.
The school leader can better handle all the paper by arranging his desk
and office to streamline his ability to respond and save time.
People Are More Important than Paper 63