Episode Details

Mike Rogers, principal of a pre-K through eighth grade school, shares the technology workflows he uses for principal time management. He turned off the red email badge and the sounds for new mail, so he checks mail on his terms. He still gets over 100 emails some days and says he has been caught out only about five times in six months.

Rogers explains how the Drafts app lets him jot down what a teacher says in the hallway and send it with one tap to OmniFocus or a running faculty meeting agenda in Dropbox. He also covers plain text notes, Fantastical for the calendar, and his one tip for starting.

What you'll learn

• Turn off the red email badge and new-mail sounds, and check your inbox through notification center when you choose.
• Capture hallway conversations in a note first and decide where each item goes later, at the end of the day if needed.
• Send agenda items to a running Dropbox text file all week so your Thursday faculty meeting agenda is already written.
• Keep notes in plain text synced through Dropbox so any device can open them.
• Pick one small way your phone helps you do your job as a principal, and start there.

Chapters

• 0:00 Why Mike turned off the red email badge
• 6:27 What the Drafts app is and why it works
• 10:39 Building a faculty meeting agenda all week
• 12:19 Deal with hallway tasks now or later
• 14:29 Plain text notes, Dropbox and OmniFocus
• 16:31 Fantastical for adding calendar events fast
• 21:00 Find one way technology helps your job

Times are for the episode without ads. Your player may be off by the length of any ads.

Questions this episode answers

How can a principal stop checking email all day?
Rogers turned off the red badge on all three of his email accounts and has no sounds for new mail. He pulls down notification center, looks at the sender and subject, and clears most messages after hours. He says he has been caught out about five times in six months, which is worth it.

What is the Drafts app and how can a principal use it?
Rogers calls Drafts a notepad that opens to a blank screen, so you write first and decide later. After a hallway talk with a teacher, he sends tasks to OmniFocus with one tap or adds agenda items to a running Dropbox file for Thursday's faculty meeting.

Where should a principal start with technology?
Rogers says to find one way technology helps you do part of your job, even something small. If you carry a smartphone and cannot say how it helps you be a better principal, make it a goal to find the answer.

About Mike Rogers

Principal of a pre-K through eighth grade Catholic school who writes about technology for school leaders at techedvance.com and has appeared on Mac Power Users.

Links and resources

• Mike Rogers on Twitter
• Techedvance website
• Blog post on email notification center
• Classroom walkthroughs with Drafts
• Drafts app
• Mike on Mac Power Users
• Byword text editor
• NVAlt notes app
• Fantastical calendar app
• Sanebox email tool
• Sanebox sponsor page

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