If I deal with tasks as they come, my work days look like “What Most People Do” on the graphic below. Most weeks, however, I spend an hour on Sunday evening making each day in my week look like the “Time Blocking” column. Working on similar tasks together tends to take far less time. And when the inevitable interruptions happen, returning to the same kind of work is much simpler than switching between many different kinds of tasks.
Author Archives: Timothy Grivois-Shah
Manage time with Big List/Small List
–by Dr. Tim Grivois, Executive Director Because time management is a crucial leadership skill, I read every productivity self-help book I can find. While each one has a unique perspective, I’ve noticed that all productivity systems amount to making two vital yet distinct types of lists: your Big List and your Small List. Your BigContinue reading “Manage time with Big List/Small List”
“Let’s do it now.” Your power phrase for productivity.
Whether I’m leading a meeting or working in my office alone, anytime my team or I might be tempted to put a small, pressing, and required task off until later, I say, “Let’s do it now.” Taking a few seconds or even a few minutes to complete the job will prevent to-do lists from exploding and accelerate progress towards goals by ensuring that no one is waiting for a tiny task to get done.
Why you should book a T.A.T. appointment with me.
A T.A.T. session is when you and I work to accomplish something we both know how to do. I serve as your Coach and Assistant: I’m Coach when I keep us on track and focused on achieving the work, and I’m Assistant when I ghostwrite newsletter content, make phone calls, or connect you with a new resource.
Meeting families where they are…literally.
Family engagement is guaranteed to come up in any conversation about improving schools. The Annie E. Casey Foundation notes that families involved in their children’s schools have students who “have better attendance and behavior, get better grades, demonstrate better social skills and adapt better to school.” But what does family involvement mean?
Step onto your platform and into your power-tell your story effectively on social media.
Hi there! My name is Dr. Tim Grivois, Executive Director of TGS Educational Consulting, and I want to have some intense fellowship with my colleagues (you!) about social media.
The fact is, if you don’t tell your story on social media, someone else will. And you have too many beautiful stories to tell to let anyone else but you share!
Leaders, step onto your platform, and step into your power. Come to my workshop on Sharing your Story on Social Media: Tools and Tips. It’s Wednesday, September 6, 3:30-5:00 Pacific/Arizona time, and it costs $5.00 per participant.
Effective leaders are outstanding coaches.
Because coaching is effective, positive, and respectful of team members, coaching should be one element of all leadership styles. When leaders emphasize coaching in their leadership practice, you’ll notice a greater emphasis on keeping feedback small, bite-sized, and actionable immediately. You’ll also see leaders visible and actively helping. Typically, leaders who use the coaching style will have time built into their day for walk-throughs and coaching conversations.
Achieve big goals through consistent, effective, tiny strategy.
I rarely encounter leaders who are unwilling to set bold goals and work on them. The biggest problem I see when working with schools on action planning is that most leaders need to pay more attention to how much work is involved in making things happen. Hint: It’s usually much more work than most of us anticipate. Dr. Carlson recommends that leaders focus on two or three achievable goals a year, plan backward from them, and make time in their calendars daily to work on a narrow list.
Two reasons not to worry about acronyms for your PBIS matrix.
Step one of PBIS is to establish a PBIS matrix. Sometimes, schools establish values for their PBIS matrix without considering what is essential to be a successful learner and a good human being. Instead, I’ve seen teams select values just because they fit an acronym that matches their school mascot. I love a branded PBIS matrix. My favorites have school colors, logos, and mascots all over them! Not my favorite—acronyms. Here are two reasons to avoid acronyms when creating a PBIS Matrix:
PBIS: Whole-school, all-in problem-solving
Often PBIS meetings stop at the data. While meeting about behavior data is great, unless the team develops and implements solutions, all they did was have a good talk. Use your data to solve problems…in real time.