Do less better… #thefirstyear

I can’t sleep at night. My to do list grows hourly. My pinterest boards are over-flowing.

I HAVE SO MUCH THAT I WANT TO DO!!!

A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to speak to the Indiana Principals Leadership Institute with Tony Sinanis on what being a “digital leader” looks like. It was a great group of inspiring leaders and I was so impressed with the program. They have a grant from the state to develop and cultivate the kind of leaders we WANT to see in our schools. They bring in great speakers (cough cough, ;)), complete an action research project, provide mentors…it’s just an incredible labor of love from their directors. It makes me think wow, we could have something similar, in our district, in our regions, heck in our state. I COULD TOTALLY HELP CREATE SOMETHING LIKE THAT!

I have a voxer conversation going with my friend Angela Watson. I see organizational administrative from Stephanie McConnell on Instagram. I see Chris Kesler post his new interactive science notebook resources on facebook. I make fun stuff! I mean, I love good fonts and am creative! I COULD TOTALLY MAKE MY OWN PRODUCTS!

The new Adealphean comes in the mail, showering me with Greek life. I see a new ADPi shirt on Pinterest I completely need. I make plans to hang out with my sorority sisters, which makes me want to be more involved with our alumni group. I NEED TO RECOMMIT TO MY SISTERS!!
Do you see a pattern here? I could go on and on. There’s literally not enough time in the day to do all the things I think I want to be amazing at. On Sunday before church, I was catching up on a podcast by Erik Fisher, “Beyond the To Do List” and his episode called “Do less better” really resonated with me. The guest, John Bell,  is a retired consumer packaged goods CEO and global strategy consultant to some of the world’s most respected blue-chip organizations.

He talked about how companies that specialize tend to make more money with less product than a company who has multiple products. How “In & Out burger” with their limited menu comes comparatively close to McDonalds bottom line despite their 100 item menu, or a litigation form that has ONE focus can outshine those that take on a ton of cases..because they do that ONE thing better than anyone else.

There is something to be said for being intentional and focusing in on something specific. 

I want to remember that this year, this first year especially. I can’t do it all. I shouldn’t try. I should just make sure I choose to do SOME things, and do them well.

Be intentional.

 

List cutting,

Amber