A School Leader’s Guide to Digital Minimalism
Email, Slack, texts, phone calls, WhatsApp, Zoom, and other sources of communication are meant to simplify our lives. Yet, we are left feeling overwhelmed and oftentimes that communication is out of control. And if we feel that way, surely our staff do too. By being mindful and deliberate, we can significantly reduce the stress and anxiety tied to communication.
Cal Newport provides many great insights in his book, “Digital Minimalism.” If you are looking into how to reduce your own exposure to communications and media, it is a worthwhile read. However, if you are a school leader, you will find that many of these challenges are unavoidable. At least, on the surface.
Newport’s newest book, “A World Without Email,” extends his approach to minimalism in a more practical way. This article does not seek to review either book, but to provide a practical approach to getting sanity back in communication.
A great place to start is by listing out the forms of communication and the utility for each. My personal examples as a school leader at an international school in South Korea are:
Gmail - More formal or official communication to groups, individuals, internally or externally
Kakao Talk - Quick messages for teams or staff
Slack - Connect with the communications department
Zoom - Virtual meetings, interviews, live outward communication
Phone Calls - Emergencies, parents with questions, placing orders
Meetings - Staff, students, and parents, to communicate ideas or hear about challenges
As you can see, there are six major ways that my school interacts and communicates with each other. While I cannot personally control how everyone uses these tools, I can help channel communications to and from me by being thoughtful about the systems that I need and use.
Email is the bane of existence fo many people, especially leaders. I typically receive 50-60 emails per day with some days well over 100. Many of these emails are addressed to me, some are not and I am only cc’d on the communication. I wonder how many school leaders believe that they can effectively respond to 50-100 emails every day? It is a tall task and not a reasonable one.
There are a couple of ways to address this email problem. First, create systems for communication so people know how best to communicate with you. Should a question, idea, or conversation be communicated via email or a meeting? If a meeting, should it be scheduled or a stop by? I have been leaning on Calendly so that people can sign up for meetings with me, reducing stop by’s that end up taking a significant amount of time.
Along with Calendly, I also block out time in my day, every day, to get work done. Sometimes it is a project, maybe a policy update, and oftentimes it is communications. Blocking out time in your schedule to not be interrupted every day can allow you to be on top of email and communication rather than only responsive to it. Calendly is able to read my Google Calendar and remove options as my day fills up. Do I want a routine uninterrupted time on Thursdays from 1:30-3:00 to clear my head and get work done? I simply schedule it and that time is available only for me.
Using these two systems or strategies above makes email more of an easier daily chore rather than a full on nightmare. By putting the onus on others to schedule a time to meet with me, it lowers interruptions and increases the quality of discussion as that person is more likely to be prepared. This can reduce the number of conversations that we may need together, freeing up more time in the future.
I apply the same concept to all three major stakeholders - staff, students, and parents. By taking control of my calendar and capping each meeting time, I can schedule my day and allow others to fill it as needed. The great management writer Peter Drucker said that leaders typically spend about 80% of their time in meetings, so I had better make the most of the time that I have to myself. Some also say that meetings can run 50% longer than scheduled, so I always add a buffer to each meeting just in case this happens. Doing this also allowed me to make sure I have some breathing room before diving into the next meeting.
Cal Newport makes a point that one of the biggest problems working in our digital age is not only the volume of communication, but also the large number of modes. From my list above, I have six major modes of communication. Newport says that switching from one to the next takes a concerted effort, which brakes concentration and makes “Deep Work,” another one of his book titles, really difficult to do. He recommends either scheduling time to check each source of communication to avoid jumping from one to the next, or simply cutting it out. I aim to check Kakao Talk once per day (it is a messaging app, similarly to WhatsApp), email throughout the day, and let my calendars drive my schedule. This seems to work well for me and my staff.
Overall, as I aim to disconnect from the constant flow of digital communication, or at least build walls around them so I can control when I visit them, I am aiming for two goals. One, care for my own wellbeing and sanity. Controlling my day and reducing distractions makes me a more empathetic and connected leader who can invest more into the goals and needs of the school. Two, spend more time connecting with people directly and not via proxy. In other words, be around more for those who need to have a conversation, but also to be proactive and seeking out others. This can lead to spending more time observing teachers, joining student club meetings, watching sporting events, or hosting parent meetings. And, the cost of not doing those things is simply too high to avoid, both for my sake and for the school’s.
So, make a plan, take control, and decide where to best invest your time. And remember, make time for yourself to get your work done and to create the space you need. In the long run, your community will thank you for it.