Dr. Andy Szeto: Time Management as a Leadership Disposition

As an educational leadership professor, I am serious about protecting time. We do not cut scheduled breaks to finish class early. We do not rush through important parts of class. I model this intentionally because time is never neutral. The people who most need it are usually the ones who will not ask for it. To me, protecting time is an equity move. It communicates respect. It ensures that no one is disadvantaged because they are too polite, too overwhelmed, or too new to advocate for themselves.

This belief about time and equity followed me into my leadership work. Early in my career, I supervised a counselor who often stayed late. Many evenings she was still at her desk long after everyone else had gone home.

At first, I interpreted this as commitment. But as I paid closer attention, I noticed a different pattern. Large portions of her day were spent on tasks that were unimportant or unrelated to her core responsibilities - extended chats with colleagues and students that drifted far from academics, long stretches of nonessential duties, even extended lunch plans. None of this was malicious; it was simply unstructured time that chipped away at the hours she truly needed for student-facing work. Her late nights were not evidence of dedication - they were the consequence of a workday crowded with misaligned tasks. They were evidence of a time-management system that was failing her. She was working hard, but not always on the right work, and not during the right part of the day.

I saw similar patterns across the building. Not teachers grading, which is essential to teaching, but teachers spending hours on lengthy lesson plans and other paperwork that rarely improved instruction. If the work strengthened teaching, that was different. But a long lesson plan by itself does not move student learning. It simply consumes time that educators should be using to plan instruction, analyze student work, collaborate meaningfully, or build relationships with students and families.

What looked like commitment from the outside was, in many cases, misaligned time. Valuable hours were being poured into tasks that did not move students forward. That is where leadership has to step in.

When someone says they do not have time to eat lunch or take a short break, that should never be celebrated as a strong work ethic. It is a signal that the system is not supporting them well. Leaders must take that signal seriously and ask whether time has been protected for the work that truly matters: student support, instruction, relationship building, and responsive practice. Everything else should be designed to serve those priorities, not overshadow them.

Time is not a luxury in schools. It is the foundation that makes good work possible. Leadership is not about extracting more hours from people. It is about ensuring that the hours they already give are spent on the work that matters most for students. When we protect time, we promote equity. When we fail to, we unintentionally reward imbalance and distract educators from their primary purpose.

So what can leaders do? Here are practical steps:

Protect planning time and personal time. If staff cannot complete essential tasks during the school day, that is a structural issue. Leaders can adjust schedules, streamline coverage, and reduce unnecessary meetings so planning time remains intact. Lunch and short breaks should be non-negotiable for everyone.

Remove low value work. Audit the tasks in your building. Identify which activities truly support student learning and which only add friction or paperwork. Merge, automate, or eliminate anything that does not advance teaching or student well being.

Set and model healthy boundaries. Leave at a reasonable time when you can. Avoid late night emails. When leaders model balanced behaviors, the tone of the organization shifts.

Use AI to save time on routine tasks. Leaders should help staff work smarter. AI can draft emails, parent letters, newsletters, meeting agendas, announcements, and lesson plan shells. When used responsibly, these tools reduce hours of repetitive work and redirect time toward students.

Make meetings shorter and more purposeful. A clear agenda and defined outcomes can cut meeting time in half. Respect the clock. Begin on time. End on time. Use pre-work so meetings focus on decisions, not updates.

Model scheduling discipline.

Leaders should demonstrate what

it looks like to schedule the right work at the right time, including protecting blocks for observations, planning, feedback, classroom visits, and student-facing work. When leaders show that their calendar reflects priorities, staff understand that time management is a shared expectation, not an individual burden.

Celebrate effectiveness, not exhaustion. The colleague who leaves by 3:45 after running a well planned, high quality day is not less committed than the one who stays until 7. Leaders must praise impact, not hours.

I often think back to that counselor who stayed late. Her long evenings were not a testament to her dedication. They were a sign that her time during the day was not being protected or guided well. I wonder what would have changed if I had intervened earlier, clarified priorities, or helped her redesign her workflow. I wonder how much more student-facing work she could have done if she were not drowning in administrative tasks.

Today, I pay closer attention. I ask more questions. I protect time without apology. I make it clear that educators’ time is precious, and it should be spent on students rather than unnecessary tasks. Working hard matters, but working smart and working sustainably matter even more. As leaders, honoring time is one of the most concrete ways we honor people. When we protect time for the right work, we strengthen the entire organization.

And if these ideas resonate, check out my new book Leading Before the Title, available from The Worthy Educator Press, and my writing at drandyszeto.com.

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