A Principal’s 4 Hour Work Day

Takeaway: 

Having time alone to be individually productive is incredibly difficult as a principal. With many countries and workplaces looking to reduce work hours, can principals get by with a four hour work day?

A Principal’s 4 Hour Work Day:

The idea of working less than 8 hours per day and still being productive has been around since the standard work day has been established. Historically, these work days have come about as a way to increase productivity of manual labor jobs, recognizing the balance between efficiency of work and the need for physical recovery. 

This article by Fast Company outlines what many see as the future of work, that is greatly reduced work hours. This research shows that people tend to be productive for about 2 hours and 50 minutes per day. If people are actually only productive for just under three hours per day, is there a future where principals can have a four hour work day?

Principals are working at break neck speeds. With COVID, changing budgets, teacher turnover, and more pressure than ever to ensure students and teachers are performing, the work week seems to be constantly extending, not shrinking. Principals are routinely working more than 50 hours per week, with some averaging more than 70! We know these hours are not sustainable, leading to increases in depression and anxiety, so would a 20 hour work week fix this?‘

In reality, principals are rarely putting in 20 productive hours per week. This may sound crazy, but when you think about how much time principals actually have to themselves to make or do something, most would agree that having 20 hours alone is incredibly rare.

The great leadership writer and thinker of the 20th century, Peter Drucker, says that leaders spend about 80% of their work time in meetings, both scheduled and impromptu. This means that if principals have four productive hours of work, it would require 20 hours of work per day, if 80% of our time is in meetings. Clearly this not possible. 

However, it can serve as a reminder. Principals tend to have little time to themselves to think, plan, and be individually productive. Personally, it is incredibly rare that I have three hours in a day to myself to work, especially without interruptions. Honestly, one hour, maybe two per day is much more common, much of which is spent in communication via email. So, when I do have some of that time, I need to be decisive about how I use it. 

For me, that means that I focus on just one or two goals or objectives to complete or make progress on. There are always numerous projects and communications that need working on, so picking just one or two can bring about both a sense of purpose and of accomplishment. Saying no to additional tasks and unscheduled meetings and dedicating yourself to your prioritized tasks can be freeing and greatly reduce workday stress. 

The takeaway is that to be an effective principal one must balance the need to be with and available to other people with giving yourself the time to be productive. On top of this is the all important family and self-care time for balance and wellness. Carve out sacred time each day or week so you can make sure you are getting the right things done, supporting your teams, and recharging.