As I was assembling this issue, I re-read Lafe Cook’s article in MAC Corner titled The School Band Director: How Do You Measure Success? He describes how a busy music educator must prioritize and apportion resources(time, money, energy) based on those priorities. That caused me to reflect on the many times in my career where I had said “yes” to everything and eventually hit a “I can’t do it all!!!!” wall. The only solution was to step back and try to rationally decide what was really important. First, do your best to write down every task or activity you do every week as well as things you want to add to that list. This may take some time. Try to capture everything currently in both your work and personal life and the things on your “wish list.” Then for each task or activity, put one or more numbers from the list below after the task. Many will have several numbers after them. That’s expected. Have someone else do this for you as well. A trusted colleague or a partner will usually see these things with greater objectivity than you. If you have a great boss or super people working for you, ask them if they will provide their perspectives. Knowing your boss’s priority is a big help. Often your teammates will put a “5” on something they’ve been itching to do.
Here’s a possible list:
1. Things that are truly a primary mission (more on that later) in my job. In other words, if I stop doing this I will get fired. Don’t be tempted to put too many things in that pile. As an example, I “should” know alternate fingerings on bassoon but have never been fired because I don’t.
2. Things that make other people’s lives better.
3. Things that bring me true joy and satisfaction.
4. Things that will make me better in the future.
5. Things someone else can do almost as well (or better) than I.
6. Things that other people expect of me.
7. Things I have taken on that don’t fit into other categories.
Once you (and hopefully others) have assigned numbers to each task, it’s time to make some decisions. Things with a “1” are on your “must keep” list. Scan for things with a “5”. Even if it’s one of your favorite things, chances are it can be someone else’s as well. Give them a chance to grow! Things with a “6” or “7” and nothing else are probably ripe for you to back away from. That doesn’t mean it will be easy. See if you can come up with someone else who can take those over. Here’s a tip I’ve found useful: just stop doing some things and see if anyone notices! For all the other tasks, the fewer numbers they have assigned, the lower on your priority list they should be. Note that earlier, I suggested including things you’d like to be doing but aren’t currently. Including them and honestly evaluating your tasks will enable you not just to cut your workload but to do some more impactful things than you have been doing. This process may seem cumbersome and time consuming causing you to think, “I have too much to do, and you want me to add this?!” However, once you start it will be easier than you expected and it gets easier every time you do it, because you WILL keep saying “yes” to things! Earlier, I promised a bit more on the term “primary mission” however as I wrote (and wrote and wrote) it occurred to me to save that discussion for next month’s “Perspective” column.
