January 2021 - 10

A.D.MINISTRATION athletic director strategies
improving
YOUR EFFICIENCY
By Dr. David Hoch, retired CMAA
As an athletic administrator, there is never enough
time to do everything that you should or want to
do. Even if you have an assistant and you have the
possibility of delegating some items, most days or weeks
are impossible. More tasks and responsibilities are
seemingly added every year and very little if anything
is ever deleted. Overwhelming, hectic, and stressful are
probably accurate descriptions of your work environment.
Someone might suggest that you could come in earlier
in the morning or stay later in the evening in order to get
more done. But even this approach has huge limitations.
There are only so many usable hours and everyone needs
sleep, food, and a little exercise to get ready for the next
day. Therefore, the only answer may be to become much
more efficient with the time that you do actually have.
The following are some suggestions to help in your
attempt to become more efficient.
1
Use the time-honored approach of utilizing a daily
to-do list. To maximize this tool, you should first
establish priorities as to what and when things need to
be completed. To be even more efficient, create your list
for the next day prior to going to bed and email it to your
school address. In this manner, all you have to do is to
open this message and you are ready to go for the day.
This method also has an added benefit. When you
get home in the evening and start planning for the
next day, you have a handy reference to see what you
accomplished. The items which were not completed can
be added to the next list.
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.Work ahead whenever you can during the summer
.or over breaks. Even if you are relatively new in the
position, you should have a basic idea of many things that
have to be completed. The more that you can plan and get
done before the school year begins will help. Using a day or
two over Christmas break can also be a good technique for
you to get a head start for the second half of the year.
.Identity and delete email spam and unwanted,
.unsolicited advertisements when you first turn on
your computer in the morning. This gives you a realistic
view of how many messages which need your attention.
The second step is to determine the priority or what is
most urgent. Delay answering those which will need a
more careful, well-thought-out response for when you
have a period of uninterrupted time.
.Don't open an email message until you are ready - at
.that moment - to answer it. Why? New messages
8 JANUARY 2021
appear in your Inbox in bold print. This provides an
instant reminder that it has to be answered. Once you
open a message, it is no longer in bold print and you may
forget to respond later.
5
.Also, develop a system for dealing with the United
.States Postal System mail. A good approach is to
touch each piece only one time. If you open the envelope,
deal with it at that point in one of 3 ways:
a. Immediately answer the letter. Furthermore, if you
can hand-write a brief note on the document, do it?
This simple step saves time.
b. Throw away unsolicited ads and bulk mail.
c. Put items that need a more detailed response in
your briefcase. You don't want to leave them on your
desk and risk having them get buried under a pile of
memos, folders or magazines.
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9
.Use Caller ID to screen phone calls or let your calls
.go to your voicemail instead of reflexively reacting to
every ring. Nothing can be more intrusive and interrupt the
completion of tasks than a constant barrage of phone calls.
When you check your messages, you can decide if and when
you will respond. But by doing this, you are in control.
.Create a filing system so that you can easily and
.quickly find documents. A great deal of time is
commonly spent trying to remember, " Where did I file
that ...? " A good solution is to file documents in more than
one electronic folder. By filling in several logical locations
and under different headings, you have a better chance of
finding things much more quickly.
.Send a copy of working drafts of proposals, reports,
.letters, and other documents to your personal email
address. Also, set up a folder in your Inbox " Work in
Progress, " to which you move these documents.
Once you finish any document and it is in final form,
file it in another folder for completed projects. This
means that you are not confined to getting work done
only in your office. Wherever you have your laptop or a
computer and access to the Internet, you can access and
tackle any project.
.Utilize small bits of time in your schedule. If you have
.10 minutes before an appointment, try filing some
documents, answering an email, or handling a small
item that is listed on your to-do list. But use every minute
constructively.
10
.Avoid multitasking. While some may laud this
.approach as a great way to get more done, there is a
January 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January 2021
