This week we focus on what is important and how we manage it all.
16. We don’t manage time, we manage priorities The concept of time management is a hoax designed to protect us from confronting the hard truths about how we allocate our time. Time management suggests that we can do everything if we just organize. Time management focuses on getting tasks done. It pretends to emphasize priorities, but it doesn’t. Tasks are not priorities. When we organize around priorities, as opposed to time, we increase our impact on people. We build, create value, and sow the seeds of future growth and success. If we aren’t helping people grow, that tells us something about our priorities. Do the important things first. The rest will sort itself out. Shameless plug: Get my book, A School Leader’s Guide to Reclaiming Purpose, if you want to learn a whole process for managing priorities. Intention: Think about recent opportunities you have had to help someone grow, and what you allowed to get in the way. Cheers! Frederick
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Treat yourself as you would a child I hope this one doesn’t apply to you, but it probably does.7/19/2024 Colleagues, 15. Treat yourself as you would a child I hope this one doesn’t apply to you, but it probably does. Throughout my life, nobody has been meaner or treated me worse than my own self. It is so sad, the names I have called myself because I missed a deadline, or said something foolish, or… messed up an omelet (also see number 5 about the arrogance of perfection). If this sounds like you, then consider this – how would you treat a child who made that same mistake? Put a picture of you as a child on your desk or anywhere that you’ll see it (mine is the home screen of my phone). Before you begin running yourself into the ground, look at that picture and think about what you would say to that child. You would likely try and find a lesson if there was one, give them a hug, and help them clean up the mess. Why not treat your adult self the same way? Intention: Seriously! Find that childhood picture and keep it close to you. Cheers!
Frederick Colleagues,
14. Every day we do our best and some days our best is better than others This is another one that fits into the “be kind to others and yourself” category. I heard an interviewer talking about an interview he did with BB King in which King said something like this: “Every day I do what I’m best at, and every day I do my best. Some days my best is better than others.” Wow. Intention: Just sit with this one. Embrace it. Be kind to yourself and graceful to others. We are all doing the best we can. Cheers! Frederick Colleagues,
13. I made the best decision I could with the information I had at the time I don’t remember who I learned this from or when I first heard this phrase but learning this lesson has helped me be much kinder to myself and more forgiving of others. People don’t intentionally do stupid things or make bad decisions, yet all of us do stupid things and make bad decisions. Why? Of course, there are lots of factors, including emotional and psychological ones, but in the end, we do our best with the information that we have. Consequences and retrospection are great teachers for the future but are poor friends to the present. When you screw up (and you will), learn and move on. You didn’t try to mess up. You made the best decision you could with the information you had at the time. This makes enacting lesson 13 (treat yourself as you would a child) a whole lot easier! Intention: Reprocess an old failure – a time you really messed up. Of course, you would do it differently today, but what was the information you were acting on? Were you trying to make the best decision given who you were and what you knew at that time? Cheers! Frederick Colleagues,
12. If you don’t feel imposter syndrome, then you aren’t pushing your edge Imposter syndrome is that voice inside your head that is telling you that you can’t do it, that it’s not that good, that you are pretending. It is a terrible voice that seeks to undermine your confidence by convincing you that you don’t belong. Seth Godin flipped this feeling for me when he said that imposter syndrome just means that you are working at the edge of your abilities – that you are taking risks and pushing yourself to be great. This has been a game-changer for me. When my nasty little Fred voice begins whispering in my ear, “you can’t do that” I smile and welcome that voice because it means that I am pushing my edge, that I am growing, and that I am being fearless. For more on imposter syndrome, listen to my incredible interview with Tequilla Lamar here. It will make you smile – guaranteed! Intention: Celebrate imposter syndrome! Cheers! Frederick |
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