How do you stay organized?

How to Answer
Answer Example
Community Answers

A highly effective principal must remain organized, both personally and professionally. You probably have several methods that work best for you. Consider sharing how you prioritize items, how you organize your weeks and your days, how you remember key to-dos, and how you utilize your team to ensure everything gets done. There are lots of apps and programs that you could mention, just make sure you are able to communicate how you keep yourself and your team organized on a daily basis.

"I use several different tools to keep myself and my leadership team organized and on the same page. First and foremost, I utilize folders in my email and google calendar for all of my scheduled to-dos. I am meticulous and reviewing my calendar at the beginning of each week and the start of each day. This reminds me of what I need to prep for throughout the week. Additionally, we hold weekly leadership team meetings to discuss to-dos and we utilize tools like google suite, basecamp, and shared calendars to stay organized and keep all items in one place. I pride myself on my organization, and I think my team would agree that we are very efficient in that way."

Anonymous Answer

"I keep a personal and professional daily calendar on my phone using outlook. I read my emails daily before and after work to ensure I stay on schedule and up to date on district and school concerns. I meet daily with my secretary for my professional calendar and to-do list and have all my one-on-one meetings scheduled through her. I meet weekly with my administrative team to discuss and prioritize to-do lists and ensure all school safety, parent conferences, leadership, faculty, academic coaches, and department and team meetings are scheduled weekly, biweekly, or monthly on outlook and disseminated to all stakeholders."

Marcie's Feedback

Wow! It definitely sounds like you have multiple processes and tools in place to ensure you stay organized. Your response also does a great job of reminding the interviewer of the many events, activities, and departments you're involved in overseeing and organizing. To tie everything together, consider ending your answer with a statement to the effect of 'Over the years, I've developed multiple ways to stay organized which have been crucial to my success in managing so many different areas effectively. I look forward to continuing to evolve and improve my organizational methods as time goes on.'