The Dave Burgess Show
The New York Times Best Selling author of Teach Like a Pirate, Dave Burgess, leads rich conversations with fascinating guests on wide-ranging topics such as education, entrepreneurship, principles of success, mindset, fitness, wellness, and, most importantly, topics that will inspire, empower, and uplift YOU.
The Dave Burgess Show
70: Mastering Productivity w/ Rich Czyz
Struggling with productivity? Feeling overwhelmed? The author of Autopilot: Practical Productivity for School Leaders, Rich Czyz, joins me to provide solutions! Lots of great tips and discussion around best practices in productivity including his BOAT strategy for tackling your email inbox!
Rich is the author of 4 books with Dave Burgess Consulting, Inc.:
The Four O'clock Faculty, The Secret Sauce, Rogue Leader, and now... Autopilot!
Follow Rich:
X: @RACzyz
LinkedIn: Rich Czyz
Website: fouroclockfaculty.com
And most importantly, cover topics that will empower, inspire, and uplift you. Let's go. Hey, welcome to the Dave Burgess Show. This is episode 70.
SPEAKER_01:I am joined by Rich Chis. Rich is the principal of Yardville Elementary School. He is also the author of four, that's right, four DBC Inc. DBC Inc. books. Started with the four o'clock faculty, which came out back in 2017. Still a very popular title. Um, the four o'clock faculty also wrote The Secret Sauce, Rogue Leader, and now his most recent release, Autopilot, Practical Productivity for School Leaders. Rich, thanks for joining the Day Burger show.
SPEAKER_02:Dave, glad to be here. Uh, can't wait to talk some uh productivity and uh some autopilot.
SPEAKER_01:Absolutely. So here's my first question. Uh, people come to books like this kind of from two different places, and I'm wondering if one of these describes you. One place is someone who is really good at productivity, and people always say, Oh my gosh, you're so efficient. You know, you should write a book on that. That kind of a person who just kind of mastered this. That's one place people come from. Another place some people come from is someone who has really struggled with something and learned the hard way some secrets to help themselves and kind of save themselves from a lack of productivity. Where would you put yourself in that camp?
SPEAKER_02:So I I'm if it's a complete spectrum, I'm probably somewhere in the middle. Um, I would always say I've been pretty efficient. Um, a lot of the book came out of uh kind of what happened during the pandemic and when uh schools were sent home. So a lot of the ideas in the book uh kind of came from struggle during that time to figure out how to be organized. Um, you know, um I'll always say about my dad, um my dad taught me that if you are on time, right? Like if you're if you're there on time, you're you're good. If you're early, you're on time. If you are on time, you're late. And if you're late, don't bother, right? So um I kind of got that from him a little bit, that organization, that efficiency piece. Uh, but um this book really came out of um a lot of struggles I was dealing with at the time uh in terms of just figuring out how to be more productive um as an administrator, right? Um trying to connect with, you know, again, when we send teachers home and sent students home during that pandemic, um I was trying to stay in touch with 40 plus teachers. I was trying to stay in touch with, you know, 300 plus students. And uh it was a lot of struggle trying to figure out what worked, what didn't work. Um it was a lot of using technology to do that. So um, you know, normally I'm a paper pencil guy, uh, but trying to figure out what technology tools I could use um to stay connected and and stay productive with the with the students and staff during that time. So um yeah, I think part of it is uh some strategies in there that came from, you know, figuring things out and tinkering and and trying different things, uh, but also some things that um you know I I've been successful with as far as scheduling and and organization and managing that calendar. So um it I'd say I'd fall in the middle somewhere.
SPEAKER_01:Okay. And part of the promises of the book uh are that it says is streamline workflow, minimize stress, reclaim your time. And uh this is something that I think a lot of school leaders feel a lot of overwhelm, a lot of pressure, a lot of stress on their schedules. And um I have to admit that sometimes when I have an episode, it's a search. I'm trying to provide a service for listeners, right? And uh, in this case, that's true, but then also it's part of personal intervention too, right? Because these are things that I struggle with. And I don't think you have to be a school leader to struggle with these things. I think people across all different roles in the school system and outside of the school system struggle with these same things. These are universal problems that you're addressing in the book.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, 100%. Uh my wife, she works outside of education, and you know, we have these conversations all the time, right? It's it's uh, you know, families that struggle with these things, trying to stay organized. And, you know, you've got kids running in in six different directions, you're trying to get to all the games and all the practices and all those things. Um, and I think the the productivity strategies within the book, the autopilot strategies, uh, do apply across the board. They help not only school leaders, right? Administrators uh like myself, uh, but also, you know, your your teachers within the classroom, your your school leaders um in the rest of the building in the district. So uh I think it is um, you know, uh the the tagline I've been using for this book is to find a way to run the school before the school runs you. And I think that's what it's all about. It's it's putting those systems in place so that you can be successful, um, you can streamline your work. Uh you know, administrators and school leaders right now are overwhelmed. There's a ton on their plate. Uh, there's a ton added to their plate at all times. And I think if we can give them the systems and put those systems in place to help them save time, uh minimize some of the work that they're doing, um, and maximize the effort into the things that matter. And I think that's what uh autopilot helps them do.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, so I want to dive in on two different things you said there in that answer. One, uh, first of all, the quote you said, you have to find a way to run the school before the school runs you. Uh and that was a clever turn of phrase. And I I learned something from reading your Sunday seven. So for those listening, we have a uh every Sunday we put out from an author or from one of us at DBC, we put out a Sunday seven. If you sign up for the email list, Rich did a recent one, and he talked about that phrase and the rhetorical device that that phrase includes. And so I was wondering if you could uh explain what it is that that what makes that phrase so unique.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, so uh I am a huge fan of writing, right? So I've written four books. Um I I've written a blog for um more than 10 years now, um, you know, more than 1500 posts, something like that. And I love writing. So and I love l looking at words and figuring out words. And uh so one of the podcasts that I listen to is called How I Write. And uh it's different authors talking about their process. And one of the things I learned uh in an episode was about um, I believe it's called uh Chaasmus, and it is the the strategy of taking um two thoughts and flipping them, right? So running the school before the school runs you. Um so it's it's something that I had heard in the podcast. Uh was kind of playing around with the idea. And when that sentence hit me um when I was writing the book, I was like, this is perfect. This this encapsulates the entire book, right? Um it's it's getting in front of everything and trying to make sure um that you are in charge, not the not the school in charge of you.
SPEAKER_01:So yeah, it's one of those perfect lines. It's it's it's clever, it's catchy, and it does the job of explain of explaining a whole lot in just a few words. And so yeah, it's a good one for sure. And then the other thing you mentioned in that answer, Rich, was this idea of systems. And you have a series of social media posts recently I've seen where you kind of list something that uh a leader might say about what's happening in their school system, and then you have the tagline at the bottom of the post that says, that's a systems problem. Um, and like I just spent uh all this time, the all these hours in meetings, and we didn't make any decisions, and now I'm 50 emails behind, or like uh we're I'm planning the open house and I've this year and it feels like I'm starting from scratch, and then you have the tagline on each of those things like that's a systems problem. So when you say that's a systems problem, uh, what is it kind of that you're referring to with that?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, so I think a lot of school leaders um are struggling within their own uh processes, right? They're they're struggling to put those things in place um that can help them be successful. Um, I was talking to someone today, they were talking about another school principal, um, and uh they were saying this the school principal had more than 300 um unread emails in their inbox, right? So um from a from a system standpoint, there are things in there that are probably super important to the people who are writing those emails to the school principal. Um, and you have to figure out a way, you know, I get bombarded with emails all day long as well, um, but you have to figure out a way how to manage those things and you have to have those systems in place with with how to deal with them. So, you know, in in the book, I talk a little bit about um some email strategies, right? Um, one of the biggest ones is uh, you know, the the people who live in their inboxes all day, right? Um, if you have those 300 emails in there, you can spend your entire day just attacking those emails. Some of them may be um important, some of them are probably not important. So one of the things I talk about in the book, um, and I'm a huge fan of the movie Jaws, is um get a bigger boat, right? And uh in this case, boat is uh a blocked off answering time. So I attack my email probably three times a day, once in the morning, once midday, once in the afternoon. I don't kind of drown in the in the inbox all day long, um, but really strategically attack that uh those emails during those times. And I think that's super helpful. But that's what I'm talking about. You have to put those systems in place um to make sure that you're kind of not drowning in in the process of everything.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, and that reference, of course, is to one of the greatest lines in movie history, right? We're gonna need a bigger boat.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, yeah. Um, yeah, Jaws is one of my all-time favorite movies. Um, and uh that there's some research behind that uh quote, uh, but it was it was actually ad-libbed. Uh, you know, he when they when he saw the shark come out of the water for the first time um on set, uh that's kind of what came out. Uh you're gonna need a bigger boat, and yeah, uh it stuck. And and like you said, it's one of the most famous lines in history.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, it's absolutely amazing. Um, and so when you so this boat strategy, block off answering time, it really um I I noticed I kind of I I'm a little bit, even though I struggle with productivity, I'm a little bit of a productivity geek, right? Like I've read all the books, um, and as a perfect example of reading books doesn't always uh translate into practice, right? And so, but one of the books that it reminded me of is Cal Newport's work with um uh Deep Work by Cal Newport with the time blocking and all that. And I know that when I have done that in the past, when I have set up some good solid time blocking and stuck to that, that's something that's been very useful for me. So I could see how this could be very useful with uh with an email strategy too.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, uh I I'm a huge fan of uh Cal Newport's work as well. Um I listen to his podcast all the time. Uh in fact, in the in the um dedication to the book, um I wrote about my kids. Um I whenever they're in the car with me, I'm always listening to Productivity Podcast and they hate it. Um they they bear with it for me. But um his his work uh super important to to what you know I've been doing for the past several years. And um it is, it's it's setting aside those times, um, making sure they're dedicated. So if something is interrupting that time, you can't let it interrupt it. Um, you have to make sure it's focused. Um, and I think once you set aside that time and you get into using that time to do what uh you're supposed to be doing, I think it's so much more helpful for um school leaders to get the work done that they need to get done.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. And so uh speaking of time blocking and setting aside time, you mentioned something in the book that you said was the best$20 that you had ever spent. And it was something that you recommended. And so I was wondering if you could tell us what is the best$20 ever spent and how does that tie into all this?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, so uh my daughter one year for Christmas asked for a uh white noise machine, and uh we we ordered one off of uh Amazon. It was$20. Um, it had like 30 different sounds or whatever. Um, she loved to use it to go to sleep, so she would do uh like a soft rain uh noise that would help her fall asleep every night. And so I was just kind of messing around when when we got it, and I ended up ordering one for myself as well. Um, there's a piano melody on there is one of the uh one of the different tracks that you can play. And uh literally probably um I would say two uh two of the four books that I've written have been written to that piano melody. And it's the same loop over like 20 seconds, it's the same piano melody over 20 seconds, um, but just over and over again. And it puts me in such a place of focus. Um, and I have used that strategy with um everything from budgeting at the school level to writing a parent letter. Um, I have different tracks within that white noise machine uh that allow me to kind of get in the space for whatever it is, the task that I'm trying to do. So I have a specific track that I'll play for uh budgeting when I'm sitting down to do that each year. Uh when I'm sitting down to do a parent letter, I'll put that track on as well. So um it it has kind of become the soundtrack of my productivity, I would say. Um, but definitely the best$20 that I've ever spent. Um, that was, you know, probably three or four years ago. I'm hoping that um I'm hoping that the uh it's still$20, but uh, you know, I'm I'm not sure.
SPEAKER_01:I'm not sure at this point. Well, I and I noticed in the Sunday 7 you wrote about a writing soundtrack where you kind of talked about these things, uh, creating a writing soundtrack. And there's uh I've seen lots of or a lot, I won't say still lots, several other writers discuss this whole idea of what do they listen to or what do they do while they're writing. Some people, of course, are just like the silence kind, the lock themselves away in a log cabin kind of people that just want to be away. Other people have to have like that kind of background noise of maybe writing in a coffee shop kind of thing. Um, Ryan Holliday, uh, he famously says that like he chooses like a song when he's writing, and like he'll listen to that song on repeat over and over again. Like, so if you look at like his end of the year, like spotified rap kind of thing, you'll be able to see like, oh, he wrote a book this year because he listened to that song like a thousand times. Um and so he listens to the same song so often that it kind of sinks into the background and becomes background noise to him. So it's kind of interesting how people have these different writing strategies.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, that um that actually happened with um with autopilot. I had a song uh that was my number one on uh Spotify Rap last year. Um and it was just a just a um you know, an instrumental, no words or anything. But um I played that thing on repeat so often that it was uh yeah, my number one on Spotify rap last year as well.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. And uh speaking of the whole productivity geek thing, I I noticed a couple other references in the in your book of kind of some of the the gurus of productivity and people that I've listened to, uh I've read a lot of, like David Allen and his getting things done and the whole idea of taking stuff out of your head and getting it down somewhere, which I think is an important concept. And that's something that you mentioned in the book. So maybe if you could discuss this whole idea of like all these things that we have swirling in our head that kind of create this background stress and how it could be so freeing to just get them all out of your head.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, and and for me, um, it's the idea of the notebook. And uh I talk about this um, you know, uh intimately in the book. Um, I like I said, I'm a paper and pencil guy. Um every school year I will start a brand new notebook. I use uh muleskin um with uh check boxes with a grid on the paper. Um, but I will go through that notebook in a full year. Um and everything that I'm doing goes into that notebook. So um any type of task that I need to do, um I will write down in the notebook. I will add a little checkbox next to it. Once I add that checkbox, I know that it's going to get done. I'm not gonna forget about it. Um the other thing I like to do is write down everything at the end of the day. So I'm not carrying those things home with me. Um and like David Allen says in getting things done, it is about getting it out of your head, right? So you don't want to, you know, be thinking about those million things that are, you know, you forgot about or you you you forgot to do this for tomorrow. Um, you know, I've had that happen when you can't sleep because you're thinking about that one thing that is nagging at you that you forgot to write down. So um I do keep everything in the notebook from checklists to um discipline information. If I'm calling parents, uh parent phone call logs, um, all of those things go into that one notebook. Um, if I would ever lose that notebook, I would be in a lot of trouble, right? For the information that was in there that I needed. Uh, but it's it's been one of those things that has been my lifeline as far as um keeping everything organized and um really having a system for for where all that information goes.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I think so, I think part of the reasons why why people don't do this is because uh they feel it would be overwhelming to see all the things that they have to do when they initially do this. If they haven't been working this system before, that initial dump of all the things is gonna be absolutely overwhelming. But if you think about it, it's not like they weren't there before. It's just now you have you can see them and you can tackle them, and you don't have to have them taking up some of that capacity of your brain space and just like floating around in the background of like, oh my God, I have to remember that. Like, oh, like it just get it down into your system, and you won't, you you can't believe how freeing that's gonna be of just kind of like your your mental um uh it's just gonna free up mental space for other things that you need to that you need to be able to tackle.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, it it certainly gives you capacity. I think I think that's the big piece is that system allows you to um like set it and forget it, right? So you you put those things down on paper and now um you know I'm a I'm a firm believer in the idea of tomorrow, right? Um everything that was there at four o'clock today is gonna be there at eight o'clock tomorrow morning. So if you can get those things down on paper, um, you know, you know that you can always deal with them tomorrow. Um I also use a notebook at home as well. So I have a school notebook um that has all of my school information in there, um, as well as one at home that, you know, is, you know, I've I've coached my kids' sports teams and um, you know, all of that information goes in there, all the stuff that I need to do around the house, all the stuff that I'm trying to do in terms of writing and and um, you know, getting the book out there, and all those things go into my home notebook. So it's it's really about the system of getting those things down so that you don't have to worry about them.
SPEAKER_01:And you you had missed that whole idea of putting things down before you leave work so that you're not taking them home, um, which is kind of like a end of the day, like closing ritual, right? A way of like this is my kind of shutdown routine of how I make sure I get my all my stuff down that I need to get down, things I need to be able to see when I come into work tomorrow. And then again, you're coming you're coming into your family life uh and a little bit more with a little more capacity to be immersed in what's going on there too.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, and and I stole that directly from Calingport. He talked about having that shutdown ritual. Um, and and for me, the biggest part of the ritual, it is yes, um, I I call it um uh reflect, review, and to-do. So I will reflect on the day, like what went well, um, what didn't go well, is there anything that I still need to address? Um, review, right? Um, what did I get done today? Go through my um my task list, um, check the to-dos to see what's there, and then um add in any specific to-dos I want to do first thing in the morning. Uh, but then the key piece of it, um, and this is kind of what makes it the shutdown ritual that it is, um I actually take the notebook, I close it, and then it goes in the drawer in my office. So I know once that notebook is in the drawer, I'm done, right? Like I'm officially done, I'm walking out the door. And hopefully all those things that are written in the notebook are not things that I'm bringing home with me. Um, you know, and then I have a half hour car ride on the way home, and that really allows me to kind of um divest myself of everything that happened during the day and really put me into that space for family time at night.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I think that's something that people struggle with is it's a job that can kind of seep into every single hour of your uh night, of your weekend. And if if you don't have the um the systems in place to be able to keep that from happening, it's it's just it's going to happen. There's always going to be things that come up. And speaking of always having things that come up, um, one of the things that leaders complain about is well, sure, I have all this stuff on my schedule. I have like I'm organized and all that, but I have to put all these fires out over the course of the day and things like come up and uh uh I had to abandon my schedule because of this, this, this, and this. And they get kind of overwhelmed by these things. And you have something in the book that you call the the urgent umbrella, which is a way maybe of looking at some of these things that come up that seem so urgent in the moment. Um, maybe if um uh you could discuss the urgent umbrella.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. So um a lot of times we kind of um, you know, again, we're we're drowning in million things, we're putting out fires, all those things. Um, the urgent umbrella was a way for me to think about um how um urgent uh an issue was, right? Um so in the book, I give the example of, you know, a parent emails about a crossing guard, right? And and uh the lack of a crossing guard at the school. And so basically um urgent is uh acronym. Um so the U stands for urgency, right? Um is this something that is important, you know, right here, right now? Um relevancy uh is the R. So again, how relevant is this at this moment? Um, you know, uh when I would get the email from the parent about the crossing guard, um, it's one or two kids who cross the street um at our school. Um so it's not really something that's you know relevant for a lot of people within the school. It might impact one or two people specifically, um, but not something for the the largest group within the school. Uh the G stands for gravity. So um, you know, what's the gravity of the situation? You know, again, um with the with the crossing guard situation, that's that's a safety issue, right? So it does have some gravity to it. Um the E is stands for effort. So how much effort am I going to have to put into this task? Um is it something that I can delegate that that situation to somebody else and have somebody else put the effort into it? Um the N stands for necessity. So is it a necessity right now? Is this something that has to happen in order for the school to continue running? Uh and then the T is stands for timeline. So um what time uh what amount of time am I gonna have to put into this to dedicate to um solve the situation? So after running something through the urgent um umbrella, um, it pretty much gives me the idea like, okay, this is something that, you know, again, it's a safety issue. So I definitely want to address the parent email, but I'm just gonna respond with an email, let them know that I've passed it on to the district because I don't really control the situation with the crossing guards anyway. Um but it really allows me to determine how urgent something is at the moment um and whether I should be dealing with it using my time to deal with it, um, especially if it's something that pops up, right? Where I have something else scheduled and I'm trying to do that, but now this email pops up. So um it's really a way to kind of uh develop a system for deciding what to do in those situations.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. And uh you mentioned it being an acronym and it um there's several things in your one of the things I love about your book, Rich, is not only does it have a lot of stuff specific to you and things that you've created and that you utilize, but like I said, it also has lots of references and curation of some of the top thinkers in the space, all drawn together from the um perspective of a school leader, which just makes it so much more relevant for educators. Um, and another thing that I thought about was the acronym that Tim Ferris uses in the four-hour work week, which is DEAL. And his E is elimination and his A is automation. And those are two things that I mean, the thing is the book is called Autopilot, right? It's about like what can I, maybe what can I delete and eliminate from what I'm doing because it's not helping me, not serving me? And what can I automate so that I don't have to keep putting so much time to it over and over again? And um maybe you we've kind of talked a little about some of the automation stuff, but like what about as far as like deleting and eliminating, getting rid of how much of what leaders concern themselves with are stuff that they probably shouldn't even be doing anyway?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, it's so funny that you bring that up. Um I wrote in the book um a section on elimination, and I specifically said in the book that someday on a podcast, somebody was gonna ask me the question like, what's the one strategy that everybody should take from the book? Um, and it is that piece of elimination, right? Um I think if most school leaders, most teachers, most educators took a look at their list, um, they're doing a lot of stuff that they don't necessarily need to be doing or shouldn't be doing. Um, some of it is based on nostalgia, right? It's one of those, well, we've always done it, right? Um, so I think if if leaders actually took a look at their to-do list and and saw what they were actually spending their time on, um, I would definitely encourage school leaders to do a time inventory to see what they're actually doing on a daily basis. Uh, but I think elimination is key. And if you can get some of those things off of your plate, um, sometimes that means delegating, right? That means um allowing something to leave your plate and go to somebody else. Um, that means losing control in a lot of cases. I think that's difficult for a lot of school leaders who may struggle with uh having that tight grip over whatever it is that's on their plate. Um I am firmly in the other camp of if I could take something off my plate, somebody else can gladly have it. Um that's where some of the automation piece comes in as well. Uh, you know, we often think of automation as a technology, right? Where the technology is automating something for us. Um, but it could mean another human who is automating that piece for us. Um, I talk specifically in the book about how we utilize students to help with some of those processes as well. Um, so we have a fifth grade uh team that does our morning announcements. You know, I've been in many other buildings where the school principal or the school counselor or somebody is responsible, the adult is responsible for doing those announcements. Um I train our team of fifth graders at the beginning of the year. It takes me about two weeks, but then I know that that system is automated for the rest of the year, right? They know exactly what to do every day. Um, any of them can do the job and uh it it really automates it for um for me so that I don't have to do it. So um I think it is about getting rid of a lot of those things that are on your plate um and and having others help you to do those.
SPEAKER_01:And I think the so one of the kind of paradigm shifts that sometimes a leader has to take is that like they see it maybe as uh they're putting work on the backs of other people and they struggle, like, oh, I should just do this. Like, I don't want to like put this on them, but actually it's building capacity, right? It's like giving people experience doing some of uh, you know, you're you're giving people that are maybe in leadership roles um who's who serve with you the ability to learn some of the uh things that they need to know to go off and become a principal at their own school eventually. And you're like kind of you're building their capacity in a leadership way. And then what you said even goes next level as far as the students. It's not just that it's not a staff member who's responsible for doing that, but you're actually empowering students to get this incredible experience um taking on this role. And like it's it's actually building capacity, it's not like putting work on other people.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, the phrase I use in the book is uh delegate and elevate, right? And what you're doing is you're really um giving people a chance to show their own leadership. Um, and and another example that I use in the book, um, we have a student awards assembly once a month. And uh I was taking pictures of all the students at the end of the awards assembly, and then I was downloading the photos and giving them to the secretary to print. Um, and honestly, I passed it off to students. Number one, they were actually much better at taking the pictures and doing all the tech piece um than I actually was. So, you know, something that would have taken me 30 minutes is only taking them, you know, five to 10 minutes. And um, you know, I I think I think that's a big piece is is we're really trusting in others, right? You have to trust the people that you're delegating to, um, but you're also empowering them, right? You're elevating them to a level that Um, you know, the the productivity is now a responsibility of everybody uh within the setting versus just you as the sole person who has to do everything. Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_01:Hey, I noticed uh you had a social media post, Rich, recently that had a big giant uh like wall calendar type thing. And I wondered what what was that about, and maybe if you could explain how you use that.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, so um I have a a um huge, it uh it's very large, a four-month planning calendar. So it's a whiteboard, uh, but it does have the space to write in uh the month and the days of the month um for four different months. So um I actually start at the beginning of the year with September, October, November, and December. Um and from there um every two months, once I finish two months, I will replace uh two months up there. So next I'll do uh January and February. Uh but it basically lets me do my long-term planning um and see it uh and it's uh visible at all times. Um I do also keep a digital calendar, uh, but actually a lot of times it's easier for me to look up as I'm planning something within the uh within my office to look up at that calendar that's on the wall to know exactly when something will be. Um it's dry erase, so if something gets changed and you know we have to move it, um, it's rather easy to do that. Um I find that to be much easier than um using my digital calendar at all times. Um, you know, I know for a lot of people the digital calendar is what helps them. Um I think a lot of it is figuring out what works for you. Um so in this case, the the the ginormous uh wall calendar is is what helps me to be more organized.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I like that. I'm in the process of implementing something like that um where I want to have a large wall uh like whiteboard of all the books that are in progress and kind of like where they are, like what's been signed to a contract, what's in editing, what's in this, just so I can kind of see like, oh, here are all the things that are behind the scenes at some level being worked on before I decide how many more projects to add to that list. And you know, sometimes my team will say, like, that's all in a Google Doc, you know, it's all uh yeah, but like I'm not gonna go open the Google Doc and go look at it and all this. If I can go walk into the room and get a visual and kind of get a sense of like, oh my gosh, we have a lot of stuff under contract right now. We need to slow down. It's just so much easier for me to just I want to see it physically in front of me. There's just something about that. Yeah, that visual piece is huge.
SPEAKER_02:And I think that's probably the biggest part of the um why I have the four months at a time. Um, it gives you a large glance at what's going on. Um, and if you try to to do that in Google, you know, everything is super tiny, right? Because you're opening up four months at a time. So um I think, like you said, that visual piece is huge. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Hey, Rich, what is a bento, what is what do you mean by bento box productivity?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, so so my kids um have the little bento box that they take for lunch, and um I see them in our uh in our school cafeteria all the time. And um the idea that you're separating everything, um, and it it comes from the idea of of taking a checklist um that is giving everything the same priority, right? So the the kind of the problem with to-do lists is you know, I could write 15 things on there, but everything has the same priority, nothing and I could star something, I could, you know, write something in bold or or in marker or something like that. Um but the the idea of the bento box is to give everything its own space um and its own priority. So uh bento box productivity is a little worksheet uh that has a large box at the top for your most important priority. So that's where whatever your number one goal for the day is, that's where that's going in that top box um of the bento box. And then each box gets uh progressively smaller. So it does allow you to kind of organize and prioritize what those tasks you're doing during the day. So you may be doing five tasks. Um, that one that's in the largest box is the most important for you that day, and getting it done should be your number one goal. Um, if you don't get to some of those other things, you can always do another bento box uh for the next day and reorganize and reprioritize your goals. So um it's just something to kind of bring some order um beyond just the to-do list.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. So I've been transitioning to the use of a uh full focus planner, the last little stretch. And that's you know, it reminds me kind of on on each day of that. There's the daily big three kind of a thing where like here's there's a to-do list, but above the to-do list, there's a place for here, but here are the three things that really matter today, and then here's the rest. And then I can I can defer those easily, but I'm definitely gonna be trying to put a check mark next to those top three things. Kind of reminds me a little bit of that kind of philosophy.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, people um I think have different ways to to do some different things like that. Um, some people will list their one goal for the day. Uh, but you know, again, it's it's something that helps me to to kind of go beyond that to-do list to um really prioritize what it what it is that I want to do today.
SPEAKER_01:So yeah, and now you a couple of times you've mentioned that you're a paper and pen person. Um so I'm assuming obviously you probably have to have a Google Calendar that people can access and kind of um people can add stuff to your team and all that. But I'm gonna I'm assuming that then you also maybe have a paper planner that you use as well. So are you using a kind of a combo system?
SPEAKER_02:So so actually my my calendar is mostly digital, other than the one that I have in the um in the office. Um, you know, everything I I do through my phone uh with Google, um, as far as like my home calendar, my school calendar as well. Um, but everything goes into the notebook. So most of the things, um, even if they're important dates, um, due dates, things like that, I am putting into the notebook. So when I do my little checkbox in the notebook, you know, next week the budget is due, little checkbox. So I know it's due on, you know, uh November 24th. I gotta make sure that the budget is due so that everything stays within the notebook. I don't have a separate um kind of calendar or planner beyond that notebook.
SPEAKER_01:So then let's get real specific on this. So let's say in that case you have the budget that's due on that particular day. Um, is then when you see that you've written that down on the in your notebook and you have the checkbox next to it, then are you going to your Google Calendar and throwing a reminder onto the Google Calendar? Or how is that working? Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:So sometimes I'll put the the different tasks um as a task reminder on the calendar. Um, a lot of times it is um, I I rely heavily on our main office staff to kind of help me with some of those different things. Um the budget specifically probably want to be one of the things that you know they're responsible for. So I'm trying to keep track of that myself. But a lot of the other things that are school specific, um having to do with teachers, school picture days, things like that, um really relying on them to um to take care of the calendar and make sure that those things are happening as they should. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Hey, and one of the uh last things that I wanted to ask you, Rich, was you have a section in the book. A lot of the things that we've been talking about is kind of personal productivity and you as an individual school leader, um, you have a section in the book where you talk about creating a school culture of productivity. So something that maybe is kind of school-wide initiative of becoming more productive. Um, what would be some examples of something that someone might do if they want to create a school culture of productivity?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, so I think it's it's trying a lot of things out, right? I think once you um once you kind of take this personal path yourself, um I think others around you start to be more efficient. Uh one of the examples I give in the book is um one of our secretaries in the main office. Uh, we were we were getting ready to do, we have end of the year parties at um uh at a off-site location, which is actually just across the street from the school. So normally we would have kids come back to the school um to sign out before they're going home for the end of the day. And um it it just creates a lot more headache within the building having you know 20 kids come from across the street to the building, signing them out. And so she simply asked the question is like, why do we do it here at the school and not just have them sign out like off-site? And I really didn't have a good answer for her. So I was like, sure, let's try it. Like, let's see how it goes. And um, I think part of that building that culture is putting things in place to to give other people ownership over some of those things. So it might be doing uh a staff meeting where you're showing um teachers a different productivity strategy um for the for the month and having them try some of those things out. Um right now we're in uh no school in November, what we call it here in uh in New Jersey. And um it's a lot of short days and a lot of short weeks, and um, it's a lot of time to try some different things. So if you have an email strategy that you want to use with your inbox, maybe trying it out for a couple of days uh this week and then next week trying something else out. Um it's about celebrating those productivity wins. So one of the specific strategies I talk about in the book is uh buying a uh a done gong. So like a huge gong that you can bang when somebody is finishing a uh uh task, right? Um when you're done with something, it should be something that's celebrated. It should be something that you're proud of, um, and that we're getting the entire school to do that. So you can do that with students, staff, um, everybody in the building kind of celebrating those productivity wins.
SPEAKER_01:Hey, so that reminds me at the end of races when you uh if you get your personal record, you get your PR, there's a big gong there, and you'd be a standalone, like get to hit the gong for your PR. And it's strangely satisfying. Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_02:And I think I think what's kind of nice is you hear other people doing that, right? And it and it kind of spins.
SPEAKER_01:So yeah, for sure. Um, well, listen, I know that a lot of leaders feel overwhelmed right now. Um, a lot of people just feel overwhelmed right now. Things have gotten a little out of hand, feel chaotic, and uh they're struggling to get a grasp on everything that they have on their plates at the moment. This is a book that I think is gonna be really helpful for a lot of people if they can get it. And again, don't just read the productivity books, but actually implement the productivity books. That's what I'm working on. Um, and uh so I can't wait for more people to get this book into their hands and start to use the these ideas, create these systems, and um, I think it's gonna it's gonna just make a huge impact on their life as a school leader. So thanks, Rich, for providing such a powerful message for them and all of these cool strategies. I'm wondering, I should have asked you this before we started, but uh so I'll put you on the spot. I saw something online that you had a sticker offer for people that purchase the book that could earn their productivity wings. Is that something that's still on the table?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, absolutely. So I have a ton of stickers sitting here in the office. So um I can get those out to people. Just uh, you know, take a picture, share it with me online um on social media, and uh I will get some stickers out to you in the mail.
SPEAKER_01:Okay, and now you're not the uh easiest name to spell or handle on social media, so let's tackle that right now. And and also you're not everywhere, but you're big in certain places. So where are the best places to find you and what's your handle there?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, so uh I'm on X and LinkedIn um uh at R-A-Cz, uh C Z Y Z. And uh probably the easiest way to get a hold of me, though, is through the website. It's fouraclockfaculty.com. Uh F-O-U-R-O'Clockfaculty.com.
SPEAKER_01:Okay, fouraclockfaculty.com, the website, R-A-C-Z-Y-Z. I've learned that now, but it took me a little while. Um that's on uh X and then um and then also you're on LinkedIn quite a bit too. So X and LinkedIn, best places along with the website. Um Rich, thank you so much for being a part of the DBC Inc. books family. Um we love all four of your projects and uh could not be more excited about autopilot. And by the way, if you're tagging Rich on social media, you can use the hashtag autopiloted. Um and um feel free to tag me as well. We would love to see your thoughts on the book. And if you get the book, we we love those like book arrival pictures and things like that. And Rich can get that sticker out to you as well so you can earn your productivity wings. So Rich, thanks so much for coming on the show. Thanks, Dave. I appreciate it.
SPEAKER_02:And uh thank you for for amplifying my voice and uh and giving all of us as authors a chance to get our work out there. I appreciate it.
SPEAKER_00:Thank you so much for listening to the Dave Purchase Show. Let's connect. I am at Purchase Dave on Twitter. My name is Flip Around to Purchase Dave on Instagram. I am D V T underscore INCOR S Dave Purchase. And I absolutely cannot wait to join you on the next episode.