Craig Verley

We all know that school people are special people. One thing that makes us different is that we live by TWO calendars. School people observe the regular annual calendar that most of the world revolves around to a certain degree. But we LIVE by the all-mighty school district calendar. For most of us, this hyphenated school year came to an end at some point last month. As you brought one year to a close, did you make any New Year’s Resolutions for the 2025-2026 year? Perhaps you should.

When I think about school year New Year’s Resolutions, I am not thinking about major tasks or project completions, or even major things for your department operations. Think smaller and more personal. Yes, look at that big department/district picture as the starting point. Then let it sit in the back of your mind a little. Ask yourself, what small things could I or should I be doing on a regular basis that would help “Me” move the needle forward a little towards those big department goals or projects?  Maybe it is a small time-saving thing. Perhaps it is making sure a regularly occurring item is done during a different time of the day in a way that gets it off your plate quickly so you can focus on all the other urgent items that seem to crop up each day and steal time away from you advancing your own professional/department goals forward. This could be a daily item, a weekly item, or even a monthly item. Once you determine what those little things are, think about your “normal” day (as if we really have them) and when you could realistically pause to touch on the resolution(s). Then go into your calendar and set aside that time. Go ahead and schedule it! You are also allowed to make those appointments for yourself. Then, as others look to schedule meetings, they should see you are not available at those times, and you get to keep your time for yourself. That may not always work since some superintendents seem to think we need to jump when they say jump…and we always do (grinning to myself), and yes, emergencies happen.

If you do develop one or more Resolutions, don’t beat yourself up if you fall off the Resolution wagon. Just dust yourself off and get back on that wagon. Maybe you need to tweak the resolution and/or its scheduling. Make those tweaks and carry on. YOU and your work sanity and productivity are worth that effort.

I will admit that I am not a normal New Year’s Resolutions kind of guy. That is probably because I tended to be unrealistic about that resolution, setting it as a major goal. You already have your work goals. Take some time to think about and set some small 2025-2026 school year New Year’s Resolutions that could help you focus and work towards those bigger professional/department/district goals.

It is not too late for your 2025-2026 New Year’s Resolutions. Before you know it, the first day of school will be upon us.