Craig Verley

It is hard to believe yet another operational school year is underway. As things are ramping up do you find yourself and your team just going through a routine; checking boxes on the same things that have been done year after year? It is really easy to slip into that, almost mindless, routine of doing certain things at certain times in certain ways because it has been done that way for a while and “everyone has come to expect it.” Well, before you get too far down the road of your school year of things to do, take yourself out of autopilot.

Once out of autopilot, pull to the side of the road…so to speak, and review and reflect on what it is you are doing. Ask yourself a bunch of questions about what you are doing. Why are you doing it? Who is it for? Is it still relevant? Is there a better or more efficient way to go about it? Do you need to shift the intended goals/outcomes/audience? Are you getting any return on your investment of time, money, frustration, etc? Is it time to ditch it and find a better way or ditch it altogether? Really stop to think about each item, event, process, etc. as you look at your school year and all the things that you have on autopilot.

Okay. So maybe these next couple of weeks may not be the best time for this as the approach of the beginning of school can be daunting and quite full. But then again, when is there really any downtime in this business anymore? Take a quick look at your calendar and make an appointment to reflect on all the things you have on autopilot, starting with what comes earliest and working your way through the school year. If you need more than one “self-appointment,” then set aside more appointments and include your team if you have one.

If you already have annual planning meetings for yourself and your team, great! How much time in those meetings is spent looking at your autopilot items? Are you just adding to your team’s to-do list? Remember, you should not just be adding more to your already full plate. You should also think about items that could and/or should be tossed.

As you fly into this next crazy-busy school year, take yourself out of autopilot, pull over to the side of the road, and truly think and reflect on those projects/events/plans, etc. This friendly reminder is brought to you by someone who may not have done this as much as he should have. I hope all my TSPRA family has a great school year.