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Take Back Your Time as a School Admin (Ruckus Maker Edition)

Author

Dan Watt
December 22, 2024 • Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes

Feeling overwhelmed by tech and time?

This week’s Ruckus Maker challenge is all about reclaiming focus and creativity, ditching distractions, and setting digital boundaries.

Plus, take back control of your school leadership and lead by example with three game-changing moves—because transforming education starts with transforming how you lead!

First time reading? Sign up here and join 5,704 learning to Do School Different 🎉

OFF CAMPUS

A MESSAGE FROM QUEST FOOD MANAGEMENT

TIRED OF CAFETERIA CHAOS?

Still serving mystery meat? Time to disrupt the cafeteria game. 

Quest Food Management Services brings scratch-made, locally-sourced meals that'll make your students actually excited for lunch. With a 99% partner retention rate and an unwavering commitment to building relationships, they're the rebels of school dining. 

From multi-station dining halls to grab-and-go cafés, they handle everything so you can focus on making waves elsewhere.

Ready to revolutionize your lunch program? 👇

DO SCHOOL DIFFERENT

Tech Timeout: Reclaim Your Focus and Creativity!

Disconnect to reconnect.

Digital detox is crucial for educators looking to maintain focus and creativity. Here's how Ruckus Makers can tame the tech beast and create a healthier relationship with technology:

Tech-Free Zones

Designate specific areas as tech-free to promote focus and collaboration:

  • Create quiet zones or tech-free spaces in your school or office

  • Implement "No Tech Tuesdays" in conference rooms for device-free brainstorming sessions

  • Establish a tech-free dining area to encourage meaningful conversations during meals

Email Boundaries

Set clear limits on email usage to reduce distractions:

  • Designate specific "email hours" during the day

  • Use auto-responders to manage expectations

  • Consider tools like Sanebox to organize your inbox

Curate Your Digital Diet

Be intentional about your online content consumption:

  • Unsubscribe from newsletters or social media accounts that don’t fill your bucket

  • Follow accounts that inspire and support your educational goals

  • Limit time spent on non-essential digital platforms

Digital Sunsets

Create a healthy work-life balance by setting technology cut-off times:

  • Establish a specific time to stop using work-related devices each day

  • Engage in tech-free activities before bed to improve sleep quality

  • Use this time to reflect, plan, or connect with family and friends

Technology should enhance your work as a Ruckus Maker, not control it.

By implementing these strategies, you'll be better equipped to reimagine education and lead by example for the next generation.

TIP OF THE WEEK

Ruckus Maker's Playbook: 3 Moves to Own Your School Leadership

The TL;DR: Plan ruthlessly. Protect fiercely. Focus relentlessly.

🕒 Life as a school admin? More like being trapped in the world's most chaotic game of administrative whack-a-mole. Every day feels like you're juggling chainsaws while riding a unicycle—blindfolded.

1. Have a Game Plan: Time Doesn't Show Up, It Gets Conquered

Eric Potterat was one of my favorite guests on the podcast. He’s trained top performers from the Navy Seals to the LA Dodgers and one of the biggest lessons he teaches clients is to master their calendar.

Your calendar isn't just a schedule. It's your strategic battlefield, and every minute is a potential mission-critical moment. School leaders who win aren't working harder —they're working with military-grade precision.

  • Your calendar is your battle map. Treat every minute like a special ops mission.

  • Time-block like a boss. Batch those admin tasks and watch productivity soar.

Think of time-blocking as your leadership superpower. Group similar tasks together—emails, paperwork, meetings—and watch how much more efficiently you can move. Instead of scattered, reactive work, you're now a precision instrument of educational transformation.

Imagine reducing your typical five-hour admin shuffle to a laser-focused two-hour power session. You’ll get 10x more done in half the time.

2. Say No: Your Most Powerful Leadership Weapon

You’d enhance your performance overnight if you learned to say NO (and mean it).

What you say NO to is even more important than what you say YES to.

  • Every YES (to anything) is a NO to something else (that probably matters more).

  • Boundaries aren't mean—they're your professional force field.

Saying NO is strategic. When you protect your time and energy, you're protecting your school's most valuable resource: your leadership potential.

Those random committee requests? The drive-by conversations that derail your focus?

They're not opportunities. They're distractions waiting to hijack your mission.

3. Cut the Noise: Focus Is Your Secret Sauce

Multitasking is a myth. Context-switching is a productivity killer. Your brain needs uninterrupted time to do its best work.

  • Forget the open-door policy. You're running a school, not a 24/7 drop-in center.

  • Create laser-focused zones where interruptions go to die.

Turn off notifications. Close your door during deep work hours. Create sacred spaces where nothing penetrates except mission-critical thinking.

This isn't about being unavailable. It's about being strategically present.

Your job isn't about doing everything. It's about doing the right things that transform education. You're not just managing a school. You're architecting the future, one focused minute at a time.

Ruckus Makers don't ask for permission. They create possibilities.

Want to create a similar shift on your campus?

ALBA

"Alba’s ready to run the day—one paw at a time!"

CLASS DISMISSED

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