How to Invest Your Time Wisely

Does this sound familiar? You come in, ready to get some “real” work done, and the phone rings.

While you’re talking, someone walks in and notices you’re busy, so they politely wait outside your door until you finish your phone conversation. When you finish talking on the phone, that person walks in and lays it on you–the urgent thing that’s kept them up all night that they need help with right away. While you listen attentively, you hear your phone ding several times while district and school emails hit your inbox.

Leading in a school or district comes with a number of responsibilities that compete for our attention. How do you prioritize what’s most important without letting the “small stuff” slip through the cracks?

Great leaders know how to invest their time where it matters most, ensuring the highest return on investment. If you aren’t doing something each day to make investments into the areas that provide the most leverage, your leadership will suffer. In today’s post, we’ll look at three key areas where you should invest your time every day.

Invest Time in Teaching and Learning

For teacher leaders, investing in teaching and learning starts with your own professional growth. Find opportunities for personal development to refine your instructional skills. Read books and articles, participate in professional organizations, and constantly work to refine your own teaching practice.

Next, share your insights with other teachers. Be a mentor to others–actively seek people to help. By investing in your own development and supporting fellow teachers, you create a better environment for teaching and learning.

At the school level, invest time in establishing a clear vision for teaching and learning. Talk about your vision constantly–so much that people can do a pretty good impression of you. Promote data-driven decisions, and talk about data in PLC meetings. Prioritizing teaching and learning as the foundation of your school's mission creates a shared commitment to student success.

At the district level, invest time in developing initiatives that support teaching and learning. Work with school leaders to align curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices. Establish district-wide professional development programs that address teachers' needs and provide ongoing support. By improving the district’s systems and processes, you’ll positively impact teaching and learning outcomes across the district.

Invest Time in Developing Teachers

As a classroom leader, invest time in cultivating a culture of professional growth among your colleagues. Work with other teachers to participate in collaborative lesson planning sessions, peer observations, and giving constructive feedback. Celebrate successes, and help your fellow teachers see what works and what doesn’t.

At the school level, provide coaching, mentoring, workshops, and training sessions. You may have expertise that can be useful for your teachers. For example, I offer suggestions in PLC meetings from my experience in teaching high school English, and I lead in-person and virtual training sessions for my district on educational technology that I have experience with.

Next, use PLCs to leverage the expertise within your school. I can’t give a lot of advice to math teachers beyond strategies for student engagement–but the experienced math teachers can. Use them to lead PLC meetings, and then attend those meetings. By investing time in developing teachers, you’ll build a strong foundation for instructional excellence.

Invest Time in Building a Strong Positive Culture

In the classroom, invest time in helping students feel valued and engaged. Build relationships with every student. Greet students at the door as they enter the classroom. Find out what they did last weekend and have a conversation about it. Promote a growth mindset for all students, and celebrate your students’ achievements.

As a school leader, invest your time in establishing a shared vision and values that promote a positive school culture.

Next, recognize and celebrate achievements. There’s always something to celebrate–even if you didn’t quite hit your target, you can still celebrate the progress that you made toward it. By investing time in building a strong positive culture, everyone thrives.

When leading from the district level, invest time in assessing the existing culture of the district and of each individual school. Identify areas for improvement and engage in meaningful dialogue. Ask critical questions, such as “What challenges does the school face, and what is the plan to meet those challenges?” and “How are people recognized and rewarded?” By investing time in building a positive culture district-wide, students thrive, and teachers feel valued.

As educational leaders, prioritizing wisely is essential.

Don’t let what’s important get neglected because you focused too much time on what’s urgent. Remember to prioritize your own professional growth so that you can better support others.

What about you? What are some investments in your own leadership that have provided great results?

Let me know in the comments below!