Effective time management is based on quality rather than quantity: doing important things well rather than ticking off every task on an impressively long list. Learning how to manage your time will help stop you wasting energy and provide focus on the most important things. With better control of your time, you will become more relaxed and less anxious.

Here are a few ideas to help reduce a school business professional’s often disproportionately long working week.

Be systematic:

• Don’t keep a “To do” list in your head. Put it on paper or, better still, your computer.
• A well-planned system ensures smooth workflow and will keep everything organised. For example, I rely heavily on the Tasks and Calendar functions of Microsoft Outlook.

Clear your desk:

• Stacks of paper will distract your focus.

Set aside time to plan your day:

• At the end of each day, map out the next day’s tasks so that you can go home without having to worry too much and can sleep more soundly.

Make good use of your calendar:

• Don’t overschedule yourself. Wherever possible, leave gaps between meetings to allow time to reflect and catch up.
• Allow time for interruptions.

Share your schedule with others:

• Reception staff can act as gatekeepers, fielding unwanted phone calls and other distractions.

Work from home on occasion:

• If at all possible, negotiate with your school to allow you to work from home on the most important tasks.

Never buy from cold callers:

• While I will take unsolicited calls from time to time, I make a point of never buying from them and will politely and firmly discourage them from calling back.

Use email rather than the phone:

• When someone phones me I have to stop what I’m doing and work to their agenda. With an email, within reason, I can choose when to answer.
• An email provides an audit trail - readily available evidence of who said what and when.

Take your time to react (unless it’s a fire alarm):

• Be patient.
• Accept that you can’t respond to everything instantly.

Be decisive:

• Don’t waste time prevaricating: develop the ability to make effective, clear decisions.
• Say “no” more often and learn how to decline unnecessary opportunities.

Focus:

• While there will always be something else competing for your attention, try to shut everything out and concentrate on the task at hand - unless you are an accomplished multitasker.

Make time for others (but not too much):

• Be there for colleagues and encourage them, but make it clear when you have plenty to get on with.
• Be assertive (but not aggressive) with those who drain your time and energy.
• Value your time and other people will do the same.

Be ruthless with meetings:

• Always try to set an agenda and a finishing time.
• There are countless examples of weakly chaired governors’ meetings going on for hours.

Start early:

• Arriving early provides a priceless, uninterrupted run-up to the day.
• I began this practice many years ago after 17 windows were smashed along the front of my school. Arriving early gives you time to think and react before everyone arrives.

Delegate:

• Don’t be too proud to ask for help.
• If you don’t think there’s anyone who would complete a task to your high standards, train someone how to do it. It’ll take a little longer at the outset but will empower them and hopefully give them the confidence to help more in the future.

Use commuting time to reflect or unwind:

• When I play my favourite music loudly on the car stereo, I can feel the day’s anxieties melt away.

Peter Neale MSc is an NASBM Fellow with sixteen years’ experience as a school business manager in three secondary schools