3 Reasons to Keep Your School Website Skills Current

SHORTCUTS

1. Training saves time - training is a time INVESTMENT.

2. Training builds confidence - confidence = speed. “Easy when you know how” once you know you can pass that knowledge on to others and delegate tasks

3. Training allows you to use tools more powerfully - without training you will never get past basic day to day activities. Once they are easy because you have invested your time, built confidence you can move on to use more advanced tools which will make your website more engaging for your audience

Below is a full transcript of thje conversation between China and Ian in this month’s podcast episode. Together we’re exploring how vital it is to be right up to date with the training from your chosen website software and provider.

FULL NOTES AND TRANSCRIPT >>

DOWNLOAD THE SHOWNOTES/WORKSHEET HERE

Welcome to the Schudio podcast!

We're continuing a series on the Best School Websites in 2023 - Part 2. This is something I'm really quite passionate about because I know that we can get bogged down in all the things that we have to do with our websites, all the compliance stuff, and all the things we need to put on there. But actually, some of the stuff that's really great about working with schools and managing school websites is that you get to use the technology that's in your hands to have really impactful relationships with everybody in the school community.

If you get it right, technology can be a very powerful partner. 

Parental partnership and good relationships, you know this much better than I do, and of course, for the success of your school, we know that you work incredibly hard at nurturing those relationships. 

In this episode we look at two types of communication generally used in schools. Then we look at how we should be communicating. Finally,  we look at some of the things you definitely need to keep in mind to make sure that your efforts are worthwhile.

DOWNLOAD THE SHOWNOTES/WORKSHEET HERE

Below are 5 practical ways to achieve this - strong processes help us avoid distractions and increase focus ...

1/ Start with your 'not to do list'

One of the most impactful decisions we can make in any position of leadership is what we say "no" to. To become more efficient in your website management you need to make smart decisions about what you spend your time creating and posting. What actually needs doing? If it doesn't need doing, don't waste your time on it!

Use the attached template to prioritize your your work and decide what you will NOT do, before you get to work on what you will do.

2/ Remove what needs doing from your head

The action of writing down what needs doing removes the strain from your brain, clears your head and enables you to focus on doing the task at hand. We use Asana for every task we complete. If a task is not in Asana, or in any other task list, then it doesn't get done. By sticking to that principle we give ourselves permission to not think about a task that needs to be done until we need to get it done. It makes us more efficient and better at focusing on the task.

You could simply make a note of the 3 things you want to get done today. It doesn't have to be hi-tech or fancy, it just needs to work.

3/ Decide on clear, actionable steps

Think about the next step. This is especially helpful if you are facing a big project and you don't know when to start. Break down what needs doing into simple, clear, actionable steps. You will find yourself getting small tasks done, and over time they will accumulate into a significant impact.

4/ Prioritise

Here is a rule I try to follow: "Just because a problem is urgent doesn’t mean it’s important."

Of course, we need to deal with issues as they come up. There are things we can't ignore. As much as you're able, stick to the rule that important trumps urgent.

5/ Build momentum

We have talked about the flywheel before. The idea is that by consistently completing important, smaller tasks we build momentum that results in a much bigger impact. Keep out the distractions and focus on completing what needs doing to take small steps towards your goal. Do it consistently. Then, watch the results.