How to have a good day

“Someone ate my summer!” was my answer to a parent’s question about how life was treating me as we both experienced the first day of school. I’ve come to the conclusion that the cliché – the older we get, the faster time speeds by – is also a truism. For most of my administrative life, I’ve had the luxury of using summertime to catch up on work that languished on my desk in the run up to Graduation. So, I was discouraged to see the same piles on my desk as our students returned for the start of a new school year. To be sure, there were plenty of reasons for my lack of administrative progress: an exciting partnership with Kids Klub which brought elementary school children on our campus (it was a delight for me to encounter their cheerful young faces on a daily basis), the long hoped for launch of the renovation of the Blakeslee Library, the opportunity to make a presentation at a Principals Conference in Boston, a gaggle of lunch/dinner encounters with donors and, happily, two quick trips to my favorite island in the Pacific.  Still, I wonder what I could have done differently in order to manage my time better.

              I’m not a big fan of “self-help” literature, but in search of a summer reading project, I stumbled across How to Have a Good Day - Harness the Power of Behavior Science to Transform Your Working Life by Caroline Webb. Its main thesis consists of constructing a “good” day by focusing on three elements:

·       Aim – what matters most today?

·       Attitude – what concerns do I have about today?

·       Attention – what do I want to make sure I notice today?

Upon reflection, I realized that all three elements seek to push me out of my comfort zone of task-oriented behaviors to people-oriented behaviors. As I contemplated how to put more energy into the latter strategy, I realized that my frustration with the long-lasting piles on my desk was really a product of how, over the years, I had come to define success: a neat and clean desktop! My aim has been to move paper; my attitude – efficiency; my attention was to work through a “to do” list. Obviously, efficiency in getting things done is a necessary part of everybody’s work day; but as I looked back at a very fast summer, I realized that the activities I enjoyed the most found me engaged with other people: problem solving, brainstorming, and strategizing. I found in those activities that what matters most is being available to others; my daily concern is to be helpful and what I want to make sure I notice are opportunities to encourage the success of my colleagues.

              In a way, the students entrusted to our care are confronted by the same dynamic I faced this summer: balancing efficiency and productivity with the need to build a community of care and concern. This dynamic is embedded in the Five Core Principles of a Lasallian School:

·       Faith in the presence of God

·       Quality education

·       Social Justice and concern for the poor

·       Inclusive community

·       Respect for all persons

I am fond of summarizing these five principles with this imperative: at La Salle, we produce good students and good people…in other words, we expect our students to be efficient and productive with respect to their classroom responsibilities while also developing a faith-filled appreciation for service to others in a welcoming and supportive community.  They, too, are faced with the daily task of determining their aim, attitude and attention. As teenagers, they are beset with competing claims on how to establish personal priorities. They know – often better than the adults in their lives – how difficult it is to appreciate what’s important at any given point in time. They recognize they need our help, but often don’t know how to ask for it – and we can – sometimes – give them mixed signals as to what ought to be important.

              As we launch another school year at La Salle (my 19^th!), I know that I must remind myself of how important it is to balance my priorities between efficiency and quality interactions with those around me. I need, also, to remind myself of the importance of setting a good example for the students entrusted to my care. I look forward to the challenge!