Time To Do It All ?

[lashes2508]

Hi All,

i know this may seem a rather silly thing to put on here for discussion and i know we all do what works best for ourselves ( or should do) but i am feeling quite overwhelmed with all my responsibilities at present - as those of you who know and read my posts i have not long been in the role of supervisor for long and so much needs to be done and it just seems there is just not enough time in the day/ week /term to get everything done -especially when i have my own family house to worry about too - don't want to neglect them or myself just need to balance -really my question is what works for you , how do prioritise , how much help do you ask for ( my downfall)

 

All suggestions advice etc welcome

 

Jo

[thumperrabbit]

Not silly at all, when you find the answer please let me know

 

The only thing I wish I'd done from the start is 'stick to MY job description' and not take on everything else that needs doing.

I've been at pre-school 8 years now and every time I try to start and think about myself and my family, work just seems to go down hill its as if I don't do it, it doesn't get done. I try to delegate but the staff won't take on any more (they are doing their job) it's just all those other things that need to be done.

 

looking forward to reading some positive answers on how it's done!

[Fredbear]

Hi and not sure if this will work for you but this is what we do at our setting. At the end of a academic year and before the start of the new one we go through all the roles and people come forward and then it is their resonsibility for the year. So obviously some roles have to be named such as Safeguarding officer ( although everyones responsible) Behaviour co-ordinator, ENCO, Health and safety officer, then there are weekly shopper, names and folders person, birthday card buyer and writer, someone does the washing, playdough maker with the children, art gallery person, library book resourcer, poster and display person including our wow wall. We all take it in turns each week in twos to do the planning, looking at our notes from previous weeks interest. Our administrator purchases all our consumables online through a local Educational supplier, First Aid Person to replenish boxes. I'm sure I have missed lots but you get the gist, people tend to offer to do something they like, anything left gets delegated out. Bx

[lashes2508]

Thanks Bridger - that is the problem - i can usually delegate - suppose I'm too aware of knowing what its like to have too much expected of you with not enough pay !! It seems that historically too much was done by supervisor ( the long standing one who left 2010) since then no-one seems to have delegated roles or they have but not really knowing why.

I know the ones that should be safeguarding , behaviour etc but i suppose because 2 of the ladies are so busy doing there level 3 i am mindful of putting too much on them ,

I don't want end up spending too much time away from kids as that is why i do the job and unfortunately the ones i have have not really been led well despite them being great if that makes sense - ok i'm gonna make that list NOW

[Fredbear]

Hi well now as two of your staff are doing their level 3 at the moment this could be an ideal time for them to take on something in terms of their own professional development for leadership. I personally find it's the way you ask that gets the most positive responses. Tap into their strengths and say as they are so great at........ Could they.......... Take it slowly and lots of wows, that's great can work wonders. Sometimes it can be very lonely at the helm and why the forum is so useful for off loading, Good luck B x

[anju]

Hi,

 

The first year I was Manager/Supervisor it was really hard - took up such a lot of time and clashed with family life loads despite low pay. It has got much better since then due to more staff experience and better staff management (others are confident and competent to take on some of the jobs), and also through increased numbers of children which has meant I'm able to have more staff for more hours. This doesn't help you much - sorry! You do have my sympathy though

[lashes2508]

Thanks anju - just the fact people are reading helps and also knowing i'm not alone and things can only get better

[klc106]

You are not alone. I am also trying to find time to do everything

[Devondaisy]

Me too!

 

I think I posted something similar when I was a few months into post, and I'd love to say I have it all sorted now, but there always seems to be something new to think about! Last week I was preparing for my EYPS review (gateway) when I got home from work, and the new EYFS was published which I had to read! So much to do, so little time! Someone on here suggested to me to colour code my 'to do' list, which I have to say was brilliant, although I have let this slip of late - must get back into it. ( I used the traffic light system - red = urgent, must be done today! Amber = needs to be done soon/when possible. Green = would be good, but not life threatening!)

 

I love Bridger's idea of dishing out jobs/roles at the end of the year. Reading through the list, they are all my jobs at the moment, but no reason why the load can't be shared a little!

 

I think the hardest part though is not wanting to put too much on staff. I do so much in my own time, but I can't expect that from them. They all do their jobs well, and really that is all I can ask. It's lonely though, and I would love to have someone interested to share things with and bounce ideas off.

[anju]

I use something called 'wunderlist' for my to-do list - it's an online thing which syncs your phone and computer etc so if I add or tick something off on one device it adds or removes it from the other. You can re-order items to prioritise and Also 'star' them if they are urgent. I think you may be able to set reminders for the things on your list too. You can have different sets I tasks so I have a 'work' set and a 'home' set and I try not to look at the work one if I'm out in the evening (!). It's a free app

[lashes2508]

ok ladies - feeling better list has been compiled - 3 a4 pages long - i have given headings to each area and am now going to prioritise - like your idea DD- anju i dont have such a sophisticated phone to apply an app !!but good idea so stickers it is . thanks guys for listening reading and making me feel less alone

[lashes2508]

I think the hardest part though is not wanting to put too much on staff. I do so much in my own time, but I can't expect that from them. They all do their jobs well, and really that is all I can ask. It's lonely though, and I would love to have someone interested to share things with and bounce ideas off

 

that is exactly how i feel !! thanks for summing it up DD

[Rea]

 

I know the ones that should be safeguarding , behaviour etc but i suppose because 2 of the ladies are so busy doing there level 3 i am mindful of putting too much on them ,

I don't want end up spending too much time away from kids as that is why i do the job and unfortunately the ones i have have not really been led well despite them being great if that makes sense - ok i'm gonna make that list NOW

 

Exactly what I did and in hindsight I can see that not only did it make me miserable but it stopped the staff from learning too. Delegation aids the staff as well as you.

[Guest]

Hi Lashes,

 

great advice already! I'm 4 years in (I think)! Worked myself very nicely into a chronic illness in the first 2-3 years trying to do it all, tried every calender, app and diary going too! The biggest lesson for me now I've had to sit back and look closely at my life is that it WILL NEVER all be done! It's been really hard for me to deal with that as I hate undone 'to do's' but all you can do is your best and that has to be good enough for you and those around you.

 

I too struggle with delegation, sometimes I think it's harder to monitor what you've delegated than to get on with it yourself and I often still do this at times. What I do when it all get's too much is spend a full week on the floor getting back in touch with why I'm doing this in the first place

[lashes2508]

as i get ready to take the car for it's overdue mot - see even forgot to check that knowing it will probably fail the plus side is i have woke up feeling much brighter and the saying ' a problem shared is a problem halved' springs to mind , thanks guys for all your comments, advice etc xx

[finleysmaid]

lashes i like dealing with my post under the four d's list

do....do it now immediate response...must be able to be done within a couple of minutes

delay...for those things that need more time and possibly some written evidence

defer....those that can be given to others or are not urgent and can be dealt with when you want

destroy...rip up those unwanted items immediately and bin them...do not leave them lying around they just clutter and make the pile seem more unmanageable

not much but every little helps!

[lashes2508]

now that i like simple yet effective

[Rea]

Oh I'm going to try that! Thanks

[macvicar1]

Thank you all, I have just read this topic and feel much better. I have been feeling really despondant recently - so much to do, not enough time and my sleep and family life taken over with all the jobs that need doing. It helps to hear other people feeling the same way and listening to your ideas and advice. It is difficult at times, my staff are great but I don't like to ask them to do additional work at home. My committee meet regularly to support each other and discuss pre-school issues but I feel very isolated in that role in between - I support my staff, committee support each other and I am on my own to deal with everything.

 

Thanks for reminding me that I am not alone.

[lashes2508]

hi Macvicar , glad that this forum has helped , i always feel that when everyone else is too busy to listen there is always a virtual friend or 2 to lighten the load x :1b

[lashes2508]

Hi All,

thought i would give you an update - held staff meeting at my house last night and with my list to hand delegated roles to others , using praise and highlighting the areas i thought they would excel in with training etc. Went through planning and using first week back as settling in week to see where the kids want to go in terms of topic and have asked staff to all look thoroughly at the learning journals and obs so that we can get next steps sorted and catch up as due to staff changes and lack of leadership key persons all over the place - this is a priority. onwards and upwards

[sunnyday]

Excellent - all sounds really positive! :1b

[Guest]

I totally empathise. One of the main problems for me is that we are a small committee run setting, only 3 staff and as manager I am always part of the ratio and need to be with the children and only paid for the basic hours we are open so all the management jobs get done in my own time. Everyone else is paid such a pittance I don't feel I can ask them to do much extra work at home, they already all do at least 2 hours a week unpaid.

We now share the planning, write as much of it up during the staff meeting as possible, share out writing activity plans each week. I have a list of basic tasks that I delegate to parent helpers when I see them looking empty-handed e.g filing, letters in drawers, taking down a display, laminating etc. I snatch every little 10 minutes I can to be out of the ratio e.g- not joining in at tidy-up time(10 mins), handwashing and sitting down for lunch(10 mins.), storytime(15 mins). At the end of the session , while I do try to do my bit with clearing up, washing up, toilet cleaning etc. I think of the value for money aspect and the fact that I am the only one who is in a position to do some of the urgent management tasks whereas any one of the team can do the above. I don't mean that to sound arrogant, I just think it is good management.

 

With each management task I have to do I try to think, could someone else do this? And give it to them if poss. It's frustrating when you know the quickest way to get the photos printed off is to do it yourself but no-one's ever going to improve if you don't show them. I sometimes have to delegate a task to one of my staff and add a timescale- e.g 'could you just quickly do x, should only take you about 10 minutes!' or they drag the job out which defeats the object of delegating it when they are out of the ratio for 30 mins. when you could have done the job in 5 minutes!

What I find most difficult is that my deputy is really good with the children and parents but not a manger (only person who applied for the job) and not computer literate so very difficult to delegate anything to her and I don't feel I can ask others without asking her. Hence, I tend to leave her running lunchtime, storytime etc. while I do 'jobs'.

 

What a long post! I clearly needed to purge! I don't think there is a pre-school manager in the land who doesn't share your feelings of being time-squeezed. Thank goodness we can vent on the forum!