The Private School Leader Podcast Episode 128: Do 3 Things Now And 4 Things Later To THRIVE During "The 100 Days Of May"
When I was a kid, I learned the following poem:
30 days has September, April, June and November.
All the rest have 31, except for February, it’s the one
Which only has 28 days clear, And 29 in each Leap Year.
Unfortunately, there is a big fat lie hiding in this poem. May actually has 100 days. Well, at least it feels that way in our private schools with all of the: banquets, ceremonies, dances, concerts, teacher observations, final exams, field trips and Graduation.
It is easy to go into survival mode during “The 100 Days Of May”, but we are not going to do that! On today’s episode of The Private School Leader Podcast, I am going to encourage you to Do 3 Things Now And 4 Things Later To THRIVE During "The 100 Days Of May".
I know that you are super busy, so be sure to listen while you are doing something else. I hope that you will get value from this episode as you serve and lead your school community. Thank you for taking some time out of your day to listen to the podcast!
Thanks for making a difference,
Mark Minkus
I am super excited about a brand new resource that I want to share with you for FREE! It is a 45 minute Masterclass called: “Winning At School Without Losing At Home”. This is a video webinar training complete with guided notes and it will do exactly what the title says. This training will help you to be successful, organized and energized at school while still taking good care of yourself AND your family! Does that sound too good to be true? Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/winning to grab your free Masterclass training Winning At School Without Losing At Home”.
Are any of these statements true about you?
- The "tyranny of the urgent" controls my day, and I start working on my important tasks when the school gets quiet.
- I feel discouraged, lonely, exhausted and stressed out. I'm not sure that my job is sustainable.
- My school invades every part of my professional and personal life.
- I want to have a long and happy and fulfilling career as a private school leader.
- I feel called to do this work, but I am not sure how long I can keep doing it if nothing changes.
I have felt that way many times during my career. That’s why I created the PSL Pro Membership
PSL Pro is a membership community that helps Private School Leaders go from feeling stressed out, discouraged and lonely to feeling energized, fulfilled and supported.
You will have access to a thriving community of school leaders who actually "get it" and "get you"! We will go live every month for a Masterclass, a Success Path Coaching Session, two "We Get It" Roundtable Sessions and a live Q&A about anything and everything related to Private School Leadership.
The PSL Pro Success Path is a Step by Step Plan to get you from where you are to where you want to be as a leader. Different Levels: The Overwhelmed Drifter, The Intentional Architect, all the way to The Fulfilled Mentor. After you choose your level, you will be guided, step-by-step, through the content in THRIVE Academy. This content, along with my guidance and the support of other leaders, will take you from where you are all the way to being The Fulfilled Mentor!
Learn more about how you can join the PSL Pro community by going to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/membership
Is it just me or are the parents at our schools getting more demanding and more intense, more often? Dealing with parents is part of the job as we lead our private schools, but it can quickly lead to stress, anxiety and feeling overwhelmed.
That’s why I created Parent Academy! Now you have a step by step framework that will help you go from feeling stressed and anxious to feeling confident and calm. Over the last 33 years, I have built successful relationships with thousands of parents and I have packaged that knowledge into an online course. Not only that, but after I teach you, I am going to teach your teachers these strategies as well! Parent Academy contains two, 45-minute webinars that are Teacher PD’s with a printable notebook, guided notes and discussion questions. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parentacademy to learn more!
What is your biggest problem right now? I want to hear more about your biggest problem and I want to help you solve it.
Whether your problem is feeling guilty that your family gets what’s left of you at the end of the day, relentless parents, difficult teachers, a lack of boundaries between work and school, feeling overwhelmed, Imposter Syndrome, enrollment or teacher morale, I can help.
I would love to hear more about your biggest problem and I would love to be your coach. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/coaching to learn more about working with me 1-on-1.
Being a private school leader is a VERY difficult job. You have to make hundreds of decisions every day, and you have to keep everyone safe, increase enrollment, keep the parents happy, keep the board happy, motivate the teachers, deal with student discipline, beat last year’s test scores and come in under budget.
That can lead to you feeling tired, discouraged and stressed out. I’ve been there. That’s why I created THRIVE Academy just for you. THRIVE Academy is a digital course that will help you get out of survival mode and get back to feeling energized at school. To learn more, go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/thrive
I am excited to share with you a new resource and I want to give this to you as a FREE GIFT to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. It is called The 7 Secrets To Improving Teacher Morale. As private school leaders, we are always looking for ways to improve teacher morale at our schools, but it is hard to know where to start. Well, now you have a step by step plan and you can grab it at theprivateschoolleader.com/morale
I want to give you a FREE gift called 7 Strategies To Effectively Deal With Difficult Teachers. Sometimes we need some courage and confidence to deal with difficult teachers. What you need is a plan! This guide is a step by step plan that you can use to help one of your difficult teachers improve their performance and improve their attitude. Go to theprivateschoolleader.com/difficult to grab this free guide!
I’ve created a free resource for you called “The 6 Things That Every Private School Teacher Wants From Their Leader”. This guide is a 6 page pdf that will be a game changer for you. I guarantee you that if you do these 6 things, the teachers at your school will be happy to follow you. You can pick up your free guide by going to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/guide
I want to give you a gift to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. I have created a FREE guide for you called “5 Strategies To Help You Work With Difficult Parents”. We know that working with parents is part of the job and most of our parents are great, but some of them can be very demanding and emotional and difficult. This guide will give you the tools that you need to build better relationships and have better meetings with the difficult parents at your school. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parents to grab the guide. Thank you again for listening every week!
Please check out all of the free resources on my website that can help you serve and lead your school community. There are "Plug & Play PD's" (45 minute webinars with guided notes) as well as Top 10 Lists of Leadership Books, Productivity Books and TED Talks over at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/resources. You can grab the show notes for today's episode at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/episode128
Please write a review of this podcast and help the algorithm push this content out to more leaders. I would love to get your feedback about the podcast, ideas for future episodes and hear about how you are implementing these strategies in your life and at your school. You can email me at mark.o.minkus@gmail.com Thanks!!
I’ve created a FREE RESOURCE for you called “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit”. This is a 10 page pdf that will help you to keep your staff and students safe and help keep your school out of court. Litigation is expensive, time consuming and extremely stressful. This common sense guide will help you to be more intentional and proactive when it comes to protecting your school. You can grab “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit” at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/lawsuit. Thanks!
I want to say thank you for listening to the podcast by giving you a FREE GIFT. It is called The 7 Steps To Having Successful Meetings With Upset Parents. This guide is an 11 page pdf that gives you a step by step plan to have better meetings with the parents at your school. Every good coach has a game plan. Every good teacher has a lesson plan. Too many private school leaders don’t have a plan when they sit down to meet with an upset parent. Well, now you have a PLAN! You can grab this FREE GUIDE at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/meeting
I am excited to share a brand new resource with you. It is a 9 page pdf called: “How To Use Verbal Judo To Have Better Conversations With The Parents At Your School” What is “Verbal Judo”? "Verbal Judo" is a communication strategy that focuses on using words effectively to de-escalate conflict, resolve disputes, and achieve positive outcomes in various interpersonal interactions, particularly in high-pressure situations.
George Thompson and Jerry Jenkins wrote a book called Verbal Judo: The Gentle Art Of Persuasion. So, I have taken several important strategies from the book and applied them to your life as a private school leader. Grab your free copy of “How To Use Verbal Judo To Have Better Conversations With The Parents At Your School” at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/judo
TRANSCRIPT:
Welcome to the Private School Leader podcast, where private school leaders learn how to thrive and not just survive as they serve and lead their schools. I strongly believe that it is possible to have a long and happy and fulfilling career as a private school leader. And my passion is to help you figure out exactly how to do just that right here on the Private School Leader podcast. And I'm your host, Mark Minkus. • • • So I don't know about you, but when I was a kid I learned • • this little poem • • and it says 30 days has September, April, June and November. All the rest have 31. Except for February, • • it's the one which only has 28 days clear and 29 in each leap year. • • So that probably brought back some memories for some of you. But here's the thing. • • • • That poem has a lie embedded in it. • • And you know, it says that 30 days has September, • • • April, June, and November, all the rest of 31. But see, there's a month on the calendar that has 100 days in it, or at least it feels that way. And that's the month of May. • • And if you're listening to this in real time, we're about, • • um, in late March. So we're about five weeks out from the beginning of the hundred days of May, as we sometimes call it. And you know, why does May feel like it has a hundred days in it? Well, it's because of the concerts and the spring dance and the sports banquet and the national Honor society banquet and the, uh, final exams and teacher observations and school play and field day and art show and spring sports and year end trips and graduation and so on and so on and so on. Okay, so, you know, sometimes we think about that we just want to survive • the month of May. • • And you know, we do this kind of like army crawl across broken glass to get to the last day of school. • • • And we're just in kind of survival mode. But you know, here on this podcast, we like to go from survival mode to thriving. • • And so on today's episode of the Private School Leader podcast, • • I'm going to teach you • three things to do now and four things to do later to thrive • during the hundred days of May. • • • •
Talale: I have a brand new resource for you for free
And before we get into that, I just want to tell you I am super excited. I have a brand new resource for you and I want to share it with you for free. • And this is a 45 minute MasterC Classass called Winning at School Without Losing at Home. And this is a video webinar training and it has guided notes • • and it will do exactly what the title says. • • This training will help you be successful, organized and energized at school • • while still taking good care of yourself and your family. • • Now, I know that might sound too good to be true. That might sound like a fairy Talale, but go to the privatescchaler.com winning to grab your free masterclass training. Winning at school without losing at home. That's a 45 minute video webinar with guided notes. • And that's the privatehoolader.com • • • winning. So I really hope that you grab that and I just want to give that to you for free as a way to say thank you for listening to the podcast. • •
On today's episode, we're talking about how to thrive during May
And another question for you. Is it just me or are, uh, the parents at our schools getting more demanding, more intense, more often? • • • • Um, I don't know about you, but it certainly feels that way. And dealing with parents is part of the job as we lead our private schools. But it can quickly lead to stress and anxiety and feeling overwhelmed. And that's why I created Parent Academy. And now you have a step by step framework that will help you go from feeling stressed and anxious • • to feeling confident and calm. • • And over the last 33 years, I've built successful relationships with thousands of parents. • • And I've packaged all that I've learned • • into an online course. • • • And I teach you during the first four teaching modules, all the strategies, • • and then I teach your teachers the same strategies. • • Because Parent Academy also contains two 45 minute webinars • that are teacher PDs and it has a printable workbook with guided notes and discussion questions. And several schools around the country have already used this plug and play PD with their teachers. And the feedback has been really, really good. So I want you to check this out. You can go to the privatescchoolader.com parentacademy to learn more. That's the privatescchoolader.Com parentacademy • • okay, so on today's episode, we're talking about how to thrive • during the 100 days of May. And I'm going to give you three things to do now and four things to do later. • • And so if you're listening in real time, • we're near the end of March. And so we're about a month out from the 100 days of May. So three things to do now and then four things to do during the month of May. So let's get into it. Number one on your list of things to do now is check your calendar. • • Now, I know that that sounds like duh, of course, check your calendar. But hear me out. I want you to look at your calendar for May, • • but I also want you to compare that to your personal calendar. And many of you probably have your dentist appointment and doctor's appointment and the kids orthodontist appointment already in your school calendar. But if not, you need to merge those because you don't want to be caught up short and get a surprise when it comes to, • • um, school events. • • And depending on the age of your kids, you know, some of them are involved in sports or the musical or other after school activities. And there's a lot of running around and so there's a lot of coordinating. And that becomes even more complex during the month of May. • So you want to merge those calendars. You want to take a look just really sitting down and blocking out key dates • • • • and, you know, looking at, well, when is the board meeting and when do I need to prepare for that? And, you know, it's easy to • • • • become really focused on the events during May because that takes up a lot of headspace and a lot of planning. But there's typically other things that are the normal recurring things that are still happening, like a board meeting or like, • • um, you know, getting ready for, • um, • • • be it achievement tests or finals or, you know, other things that maybe are not event oriented. But take a look even beyond that. And it's like, okay, • • • what are your specific responsibilities with regards to these events and what are the deadlines and's. Here's a big thing. When you're looking at May, okay, • • • I want you to think through the lens of what can I move to April? • • Now, I know what you're thinking. Well, I can't move graduation, I can't move the spring dance or prom. Okay, yes, there are going to be a lot of things that you can't move to April. • • And maybe there's things that you can't move to April this year, but I want you to start thinking about • • moving things out of May. And so maybe it's not the events, maybe it is that you're always getting caught up. • • • Um, • you're trying to get caught up on teacher observations. And it's in the month of May, and you're like, every year I tell myself I'm going to have them done by the end of April. And every year I don't. Okay, • um, that's one way of looking at it. With regards to • • • what are the things that are quote unquote negotiable, what are the things that could be moved • • into May? And so if there's anything, • • whether it's • • • getting yourself slamming yourself in April, so That you're not getting double slammed in May, • • • I think is preferable. • • • And so if you have to jam a bunch of teacher observations into April just so that you don't have any left to do in May, • • • I know that it's going to be worth it for you in the end. And so if it's graduation prep or whatever it is, • • see what you can move • • • out of May into April. And some of that has to do with staffing decisions. You know, every school is on a little bit of a different timeline when it comes to that. Obviously if you're interviewing to try to fill staff positions, that's just going to happen when the candidates are available. But I want you to just kind of take a fresh look at your May calendar, • a fresh look at all of your tasks that you do and think about, okay, which of these things, even if I'm slam during April, which of these things could I move • • into April? Okay, things we're going to do now, number two is to improve communication. • • • So communication • • is super important in our private schools. • • But at busy times of the year like the month of May, • • communication is even more important. But sometimes that's the thing that gets neglected • • and that's super, super problematic. Um, and think about it this way. There's more events that parents are invited to. Sometimes there's more events during the day. I know some of the things that I was mentioning before are more middle school and upper school oriented. But • • you know, whether it's the third grade state fair or the first grade biographies or the, you know, in Inventors, um, • • • • Innovators, m Museum, um, • • • • • um, • • • that the younger students are doing, these are things that parents will come to. And some of them take place during the day, especially with the younger students, • • um, a moving up ceremony, you know, these kinds of things. And so parents who work outside the home, or for that matter parents who um, • are working remotely or um, the working as a stay at home mom, • um, • • • they need time and um, they need advance notice. And it can't feel like it's kind of last minute. And if we are very proactive with the communications, • we can um, make sure that they have plenty of time and that we're showing lots of respect for our families. • • Um, I'll give you a quick example. Um, I was always in charge of the end of year, 6th grade field trip and we went to um, uh, it was like an outdoor environmental education type trip with um, you know, • the other things thrown in there. Kayaking, archery, you know, • • rock wall climbing, all that stuff. Okay. I was in charge of that trip. And so • • • • the packing list, okay, for that trip, you wouldn't think • • • necessarily • • that that needed to get out as early as maybe what the parents are asking for it. • • • But what I learned over the years is that it's best to get that out as early as I could. • • Because • • sometimes parents just their lives are so busy • • and you know, sometimes, let's face it, some of the stuff, it's that they're choosing to be, uh, over scheduled because their kids are in so many activities. • But we don't know their story. You know, they've got aging parents, they've got doctor's appointments that they've got to go to. • Um, they've got all kinds of stuff that's going on. Maybe it's a single parent home, you know. So we just want to give them as much notice as possible. You know, something like the sixth grade year end, um, • • field trip, • um, • overnight trip with the packing list. So that's just one example. Um, but now's the time, you know, late March, early April is the time to make sure that our communications are locked down, that they're solid. •
To thrive during the 100 days of May, we need to improve communication
Um, and one way we can start is just by clarifying roles. You know, um, • • • I can't remember exactly who um, said this quote right now. Um, but the quote is that the biggest illusion with communication, the biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has occurred. And so we often think that, um, • • you we said it and so that means we communicated. But how many times can you think back to when it was like pointing fingers or people were saying, well I thought you know, and this and that. And so that's true about communication and it's also true about who's in charge of the different roles to get ready for these events. So specifically, • • um, the uh, task number two that we're going to do now • • • to thrive during the 100 days of May is to improve communication. And then task number three is that we're going to use chat_pt • • • so let me explain how we can use chat GPT to help us thrive during the 100 days of May. • • So you open up chat GPT and you just fully describe the event in the box • • • and you just write everything in there that you possibly can. So for example, let's say my school, uh, my most recent school went up to eighth grade and eighth grade graduation is what I'm describing. So I'm describing eighth grade graduation in the gym, this many students, um, • probably about this many guests. • • Um, • • • there's music, there's speeches, there's • • video, u um, there's, you know, needs to be photos of each graduate when they get their diploma. Group photo, like refreshments in the cafeteria. • Um, you know, just everything that you can think of, • • • you write it into Chat GPT, just type it all in there. Okay. And then you ask GPT to create a checklist of all necessary tasks and items • for that event. • • And I guarantee you that there are going to be things that pop up there that you didn't think of or that you forgot or that every year is like, oh, man, we forgot about this or that. And so for your events. And this doesn't have to be you as the school leader • • that's doing this, this. You know, I know that some of you have a small team or no team, but if you have someone working in the office, this would be a good task for them. And then they can copy and paste that and dump it into a Google Doc, name it and then share it, and then you can edit it a little bit. But I'm telling you, this can be, • • • um, a win in a few different ways. One is helping you to not forget things, • but the other is, is that you're documenting recurring events. And let's face it, we have turnover • • • in our schools and we have turnover as to who's in charge of these different events. And isn't it frustrating when you. There's someone new and we want them to be in charge of • • XYZ event, • • but we don't have something to hand them. So diagrams, checklists, • • um, all the things, • • um, we can get an assist from Chat GPT on • these issues. So to just review the three things that we're going to do now to thrive during the 100 days of May, number one, check your calendar. Number two, improve communication. And number three, use chat GPT. • •
Trust and delegate during the 100 days of May to thrive as school leaders
And now we're going to move on to the four things that we're going to do later. So these are four things that you're going to do in, during the month of May. Okay? So number one is trust and delegate. • • So • • during the 100 days of May, as school leaders, • • • • sometimes you feel like you're doing everything, • • • and sometimes it's because you are doing everything. • • And so, • • • • uh, all of the people that are, all of the audience members that are listening to this episode, • • • • each of us have a different • • • degree of effectiveness with delegation. Some of us are really good at it and some of us are really terrible at it. And so we just have to lean into • • • delegation and trust. And you're like, yeah, well, I'm a small team and I don't really trust my people to do this. And so then what that leads to is you micromanaging it. • • • • And I think that your team is probably more capable than what you think. • • • And if you're really clear on I need you to do this and make sure that you're telling and not asking. • • • Make sure they understand that you're telling and not asking. But then follow up with an email of the verbal conversation. • • And this is a great place where then that Google Doc with the checklist that Chat GPT gave us and assist the diagram of what the gym is supposed to look like, you know, that's where these things come in handy because you can share that with the person that you're delegating it to and then you're going to check in and make sure that this and that are handled. But if you are tired of doing everything, • • • then it does take some effort, it takes some time, it takes a little bit of courage, it takes some trust. • • But one of the ways to thrive during the 100 days of May is to trust and then delegate. • • And we're going to get an assist by using our Google Docs that were checklists that were helped by CheatGPT to create so that then these can be things that are referred to and it's not all verbal. I just think that's part of our problem in private schools is we're in such a hurry that we have these conversations or we say stuff at meetings and then stuff doesn't happen and then everyone's mad and everyone's pointing fingers. So we just have to get some stuff down onto Google Docs in addition to those verbal conversations. • •
One thing we need to do in May is become super focused on self care
Okay. • • The second thing that we're going to do now to thrive during the hundred days of May • or uh, excuse me, that we're going to do in May is that we are going to become super focused on self care. • • • So I'm talking about drinking enough water • • • and • getting enough sleep and the kind of food that you're eating. And you know May lends itself to a lot of fast food and a lot of drive thrs, you know, after events, • • um, • • • • moving your body a little bit, getting some fresh air. And so I get it, like this time of year isn't the time of year for you to • • • • • um, you know, be starting an exercise program. But what I'm talking about is, you know, maybe being more intentional about getting outside during recess. You know, for that 10 minutes • can make a huge difference • with um, some fresh air, some sunshine, • • • • • • interacting with some kids, • • um, seeing some kids with um, smiling faces, having Some fun, because in May we become super focused • on the outcomes. Was this event a success? Were there enough garbage cans? Was there enough toilet paper in the bathrooms? Was there, were there enough, um, refreshments? And all of that is important. • But we become super events and outcomes, • • uh, oriented in May. • • And often what we forget about is why we're doing this in the first place. It's because of the kids. • • And so we need to make sure that we're interacting with kids. And I've said before, I did an episode on it. I can link it in the show notes@the privatescchooler.com episode 128. • • • I've said it before, there's joy on your campus. It's just not in your office. • • • I think it's, um, super important during May for you to be even more intentional, • • even if it's just for five minutes a day or 10 minutes twice a week to go to the joy, you know, pop into class, a classroom, um, read a story to kindergarten. And I can hear what you're saying, what you're thinking. You're like, yeah, right. That is the time of year where I have the least amount of time to do that thing. I know, but it's also the time of year when you need to do that the most. • • And so if you do the math on, you know, how long five minutes is out of your 168 hours of your week, • it's an incredibly small number, but it can have a disproportionately large positive impact on your week. • • And then the last thing is, is that weeknights and weekends become especially important during the month of May. • And I know that sometimes your weeknights and weekends are taken up with some of these activities, • • with some of these banquets or concerts or graduations, • • • um, and maybe depending on the age of your kids, um, either going to grad parties or all these other things, I get that. But to just be as protective as of your weeknights and weekends as possible during May, because you've heard it before, you can't pour from an empty cup. • And if you start with a full cup on May 1st and you don't do anything to put any water back in that cup over the course of the 31 days of May or the 100 days of May, • • your thing'going to be empty along about day seven or nine. Okay, so we need to do some things combining this, you know, focus on self care with being intentional about going to the joy, trying to get some sleep, um, and trying to take care of Ourselves and • • just really emphasizing that more than at really any other point in the year. The only other time I could equate it to is that week of teacher and service and the first week of school. Um, um, it'it's. That stressful and that exhausting. So we need to take care of ourselves. The third thing that we're going to do in May is we're going to celebrate. • • • So this is something that I actually learned from my wife because I would come home from an event and she would say, well, how did it go? And I'd be like, well, it went really well. And she's like, well, that's worth celebrating. And I'd be like, what do you mean? And my wife would say, well, • • you put as much work into the thing if it's, uh, a success as you do if the thing is a complete failure. • • And • • she's right. And, • um, we need to pause • and celebrate and enjoy these events because we are so • • • action. • • We have a bias towards action as school leaders. And it's all about, go, go, go. And it's all about what's next. Okay, what's next? Boom. Check that off. Sports banquet. Boom. What's next? Okay, middle school awards assembly. Okay, boom. What's next? Um, um, dance. Okay, what's next? • • • • I get that, and that's how we have to be to kind of get through. • • But • • I think • • the mindset of next, next, next plus fatigue • • • equals • • not displaying gratitude and not celebrating the wins. And I'm going to say that again. I think the mindset of next, next, next plus fatigue equals not displaying gratitude and not celebrating the wins. And so the displaying gratitude part is there's a lot of people that make these things happen. • • And so whether it's in the staff memo the next morning, • • • um, if it's on morning announcements, • • if it's in the all school religious service weekly or daily, the chapel mass to Fila, if it's an all school assembly • • • • and you're just, • • • um, in writing in the staff memo or verbally in those other spaces, • just saying thank you so much for • • • everybody that helped out with the dance last night or everyone that helped out with, um, • you know, the sports banquet last night or whatever the case might be, I think the morning after • thank you email or at least the morning after thank you paragraph at the very top of the daily memo, if you have a daily memo is super important • • because those people are tired too. Okay, we're tired, but they're tired too. And they worked hard and they got home late as well, and they on their feet all day. And a little goes a long way when we express gratitude. But when we don't express gratitude, I feel like it feels disproportionately crappy to our people, to our teachers and our team. And so you're like, well, how am I going to do that? Because I have good intentions but I don't follow through and blah, blah, blah. • • • Um, that's where schedule send is your best friend. • • I mean, you can write a nice email on a Tuesday at 1pm • • • that's going to schedule send on Friday morning at 8am when the middle school dances on the Thursday night. • • And it's like, oh, well, that's disingenuous. Is it? • Is it what? What's better? Not sending the email. Okay, so I'm just saying that we need to use our brains • • and if we're not going to have the, um, • • energy to send that, to write that email at 11 o'clock on the Thursday night when we get home from the event, then we need to be proactive, but we need to be thanking our people. And then we also need to be celebrating and trying to be present and enjoying the moment. Like it's • • when these kids are up there • • and they're doing their thing. It's the band concert or it's the spring musical, or it's the art show and they're so proud of the thing that they created. Or it's graduation and it's the kid that cried every single day in fourth grade and now it's eighth grade and they're up there graduating and getting some award. I mean, that's why we do what we do is those transformations that we help, • uh, work with our teachers to make happen and create a culture where • • those kids can blossom, we got to be, try and be present in the moment. And I was bad at that. And earlier in my career I had my head on a swivel and I'm looking for all the stuff, whether it's security or maintenance or the sound system or whatever it is. I get that. And you're still not going to be able to turn off that part of your brain. • • • But I think it's really important • that we pause • • • • and try to be present and enjoy the moment. Because May is often a month of celebrations. • • • And if we're not celebrating those kids • • • • and all it is is that we're running an event, • • I think that that's a recipe for you feeling unfulfilled at work. • And so since May hasn't happened yet, hopefully, if you're listening to this in • late March or and April, there's still time for us to kind of change our intentionality and mindset about that. • •
One of the ways to improve May is to improve the events
And then that brings us to the fourth and final thing that we're going to do • • in May. And that is that you're going toa start your better May next year Google Doc. Okay, so let me hit you with that again. • Start your quote, better May next year, end quote, Google Doc. You're literally gonna start a Google Doc that's titled Better May next year. • • Because every year • • May is so busy • • that while you're in the moment you're like, oh man, it was really hard to hear the graduation speaker. We need to update that sound system or you know, the place that makes the trophies for the sports banquet. They misspelled like three kids names again. Uh, this year. • • Okay, well, in the moment you're frustrated, but where do you capture that so that you're not sitting there a year from now being annoyed that you can't hear the graduation speaker • or talking to the parent that's frustrated because their kid's name is misspelled again on the trophy? • Because you need to change • • the place, you need to change the business that you're, um, • you know, supporting that's making the trophies for your sports banquet. Where are you going to capture that? • • • • • Well, if you have a better May next year Google Doc, • you just make a note, you know, sound system for graduation or trophies for sports banquet, misspelled names or whatever. And so that's the first step is you're creating the Google Doc, you're putting stuff in there. You're going to turn your frustration in the present into action in the future. • • • • Let m me say that again. You're turning your frustration in the present in May • • into action in the future. • • • • That's really hard because you're just trying to get through the 100 days of May. • • • But what I want for you • • is for each May to get a little easier, a little more streamlined, a little more organized, a little less stressful. • • And one of the ways to do that is to improve the events. • • And one of the ways to improve the events is to have that Google Doc. And • also we need to review or reflect or get feedback about these events. And you're like, yeah, okay, that's, you know, blah, blah, blah, that's frustrating and I don't have the time for that. Okay, I get it. But in April you could set it up. • • • Think about this. • • In April you could create a Google form that is like just the three questions. What, • • • • what was the best part of this event. What went well, um, what didn't go well and um, what would your, your suggestions for changing it in the future? You could use the same Google Form M for every event in May. Okay. • • And then you could schedule send to • • a division, the intermediate school or all the lower school, if it's lower school choral concert, for example. • Um, you could schedule send for the morning after • • • all of those • • • emails with a link to that Google Form. • • And then all of that stuff just populates the Google Sheet. • • And you don't even have to look at it during May. But then you could go back to it in the summertime or in the fall when you're going to pull out your better May next year Google Doc. • • Okay. It's a dumping ground for all the feedback, the Google Sheet. • • And if you don't know how to make a Google form or you don't know how to make a Google form, talk to a Google Sheet. I didn't used to know how to do that either. I watched a couple of YouTube videos and I figured it out. It's pretty simple. • And so just to review that one real quick, • • you're gonna make, you're going to start a better May next year Google Doc. • • • • And when you think of stuff that is frustrating in the present, • • you're going to throw it in there so that you can take action on it in the future. • • • And then • • • the advanced step, quote, unquote advanced, is you want to get feedback from the people • • involved with the event. • • And you could proactively • • • create up, uh, one Google form • • that you know. And the first question on the Google form could be name of event. • • And then like I said, three questions. What went well? What didn't go well? What are your suggestions for improving this event • • and that Google form that, uh, those four questions, you're getting all that feedback. • • Is everyone going to fill it out? No. • • • Um, do you have time to read all that stuff in May? No. • • But maybe the second week of October you do. • And this is the way that we're going to have each year m • • • get better • • and the events get better and the events get less stressful and more organized • is we're not going to just run it back year after year exactly the same way. We're going to make it better and then you're going to revisit that in the summer or in the fall. But the last piece of that is that you're going to put it in your calendar. So maybe on October • • • 11th it says, • • • • • um, better • • • May next year Google Doc for 30 minutes on a Tuesday morning or something like that. So calendar it so that it actually happens • • • once the school year is s underway and things have settled down a little bit.
Three things to do now to thrive during the hundred days of May
All right, let's wrap it up. • • • Three things to do now • • to thrive during the hundred days of May. • Uh, one check your calendar. Two, improve communication and three, use chat, GPT • • and four things to do later during the month of May. Number one, trust and delegate to become super focused on self care. Three, celebrate and show gratitude. Number four, • start your better May next year. Google Doc • • and your call to action is to do at least one of the do now tasks. • • • • Do it now within the next couple weeks and then put a calendar reminder for late April to listen to this episode again. Because let's face it, the four things that you're going to do during May, when May rolls around, you're not going to remember. So put a calendar invitation, you can insert a link, copy, paste. Let's say you listen to this on Apple Podcast. You could put a link to this episode right there in the calendar invitation to yourself so that you remember to listen to it and then do the things that we just talked about because these are making sense to you. I know they are and you want to do them, but you're going to forget them. So you might need to revisit this. And even if that calendar reminder gets you just going to the show Notes to take a look, that's fine. You don't necessarily have to listen to the whole thing again.
Mark Minkus: I've created a new resource that I'm excited about
So I just want to ask you a quick question as we wrap things up. Do you ever feel • • like you have nothing left at the end of the day for your family and then maybe feel a little guilty about that? • • Well, that's because our jobs are physically exhausting and emotionally draining • and I want to help you with that. And I've created a new resource that I mentioned at the top of the episode that I'm super excited about and it's a free 45 minute masterclass and it's called Winning at School Without Losing at Home. And I want to get this into your hands. The video, the guided notes • • and • it's at the privatescgalutr.com winning where you can grab your free masterclass training. Winning at School Without Losing at home. • • The 45 minute video webinar masterclass and guided notes are there for you for free@the privatescgider.com • • • winning and then one last reminder about Parent Academy. I really believe it could be a game changer for you and your teachers. • • Four modules for you, two 45 minute PDs for your teachers. • So far, schools in North Carolina, Ohio and Texas and California have used it. And the feedback is really, really great. And so check that out. The PrivateQualader.com • ParentAcademy and then one last favor. If you could just please share the link to this podcast with another leader that you know, a leader in your life, a school leader. And, um, with a rising leader at your school. That's how we're going to get the word out and get this content into their hands so that they can learn all of these, • • um, • • these tools and these strategies as well. And I've been your host, Mark Minkus. I just want to say I appreciate you and all the hard work you're doing for the lucky kids and teachers at your school. Thank you so much for taking some of your precious time to join me here today. And I'll see you next time right here on the Private School Leader podcast. And until then, always remember to serve first, lead second, and make a difference.