The Cost of Excess

It’s fun to connect with other educators over the summer. So many have recommitted themselves to various personal or professional goals. In my case, I’m trying to organize a bit. Whether it’s that messy kitchen drawer, my closet, or the work of a team, there is something therapeutic about getting organized.

Last week, as I was cleaning out the fridge, I found multiples. Multiple mustards, multiple bags of shredded cheese. Moving to my closet, I found two pairs of the exact same jeans in the exact same size! Eek!

There is a cost to disorganization. I think we often see disorganization as a sign of laziness. But I think it’s often a sign of too much. If we have too much in our closet, fridge, or cabinets, it’s hard to find and utilize what is already there. The same is true of teams. If we have too many competing priorities, it’s difficult to fully utilize the strengths of each team member. My disorganization is often a sign that I am moving too fast and trying to achieve too many priorities at one time.

There is a cost to excess. If we are not clear about what matters most and how we will organize our work around what matters most, we run the risk of duplicating work and efforts.

You often hear people talk about needing leaders not managers. I know what is meant by this but let’s be clear, the work needs to be well-managed. This is the floor not the ceiling but without a solid foundation, our house cannot stand. Management is part of leadership. It is not the only part of it. But it’s an essential part of it. Because if our work feels chaotic, we cannot do our best work.

I also know that we cannot organize and rally around every area of our work that feels important at the same time. I cannot expect to reorganize my entire kitchen, closet, and bathrooms in one day and do this with excellence. If I only have one day to do so, I will have to cut corners and settle for mediocrity in places.

In The Four Discipline of Execution, the authors share the story of air traffic controllers. Each controller is aware of many planes in the air at one time.

But there is one plane that receives their full attention. The plane that is landing.

There will always be daily to-do’s that take up 80% of our attention. It’s what we do with that other 20% which can make all the difference. In the classroom, we will take attendance every day. We will be busy attending to students and their learning. We will be busy with grading. The emails keep coming, and they don’t stop coming. So, what will we do with the remaining 20% of our attention? It’s important to be intentional about our 20% because when it’s all we have left to give, we need to make it count. As I mention in Legacy of Learning, Jon Acuff would say that if you have a goal, cut it in half. It’s more likely that you will achieve that goal and more if you are realistic. The more we try to do, the less we achieve. Likely because things fall apart in quiet ways. A year passes and we realize we have 3 mustards in the fridge. Two pairs of the same jeans in our closet. Two people working on the same tasks at work.

There is a cost to excess. So, one plane at a time paired with the organized chaos of daily living and work. How do you pick your plane? In The Four Disciplines, they suggest one critical question for leaders when choosing their plane, “If every aspect of our team’s performance remained at current levels, what is the one area where significant improvement would make the greatest impact?”

Stop trying to do it all so intensely. It wastes time, money, and human energy. All at the cost of organizational progress. You deserve better and so do those you serve.

I’m working on it too while eating more mustard.