Tag: deep work

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theme your days for productivity

We know that multitasking is a myth.  In order to perform meaningful work, as Cal Newport describes in his book ‘Deep Work,’  I theme my days.  Doing a lot of work doesn’t make you efficient nor does it make you productive. It simply makes you busy.

To stay efficient and to provide high-quality work, I theme my days.  This means I assign a category to each day and do the work that fits that day’s theme.  I do this using a web-based program  called “Asana.” I wrote about how I use Asana here.

Of course, little things come up, fires have to be put out, and someone always needs something last-minute.  That’s natural and part of leadership,  why ‘leaders eat last.’

My ‘deep work’ time that I’ve blocked out usually fits with the day’s theme. The themes that I’ve been using for about a year are:

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Instruction &  Planning PBIS & Student Behavior Data & Logistics Leadership/
Instruction
& Planning		 Special Projects/
Sharpen the Saw

If I don’t have a task that fits that day’s theme, I do one of two things:

  1. Use that time for creative pursuits that will help my school community
  2. Work on the next day’s theme (like I said, emergencies always come up, so best to get ahead)

The “why” behind theming days is quite clear: when you focus on something and place your full attention on it, you produce quality work.  As Cal Newport states:

Time Spent x Intensity of Focus = High-Quality Work

Some practical examples:

  1. On Monday my boss asks me to review data from last year’s ELA & Math state tests.  This is an easy one – I work on that during my planned time on Wednesday.
  2. A parent calls about something pressing – perhaps a safety issue or a problem with another student.  I take care of that immediately.  No need to wait until the next Tuesday.  It’s important and urgent.
  3. The cafeteria monitors would like some new decorations for the cafeteria and to revamp the positive referral system.  This could go on my task list for Friday or Tuesday.
  4. We have to read a section in a leadership or professional development book for an administrative team meeting.  This would likely happen on Thursday, possibly Friday during ‘sharpen the saw’ time.