Take a moment to reflect on all that you do as an educator on an average day. Amidst competing demands, it can be challenging to determine what is most important on the long to-do list. Ironically, prioritizing what is most important can get lost in the urgency of everyday responsibilities. This course is built around Greg McKeown's book Essentialism and explores key principles for focusing on the vital few priorities that create the greatest personal and professional impact. Participants will explore the four Essentialist disciplines of Explore, Eliminate, Execute, and Sustain and apply these concepts to both their professional and personal lives to identify what matters most and increase their effectiveness, well-being, and impact. Participants will learn practical strategies for making intentional decisions, eliminating the nonessential, and creating sustainable habits that support long-term effectiveness and educator well-being. Since what is essential varies for each individual, you will have many options to determine which weekly projects are most applicable to your unique goals, challenges and priorities. 

Required Text:

• Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to: 

• Analyze personal and professional commitments to distinguish high-impact activities and responsibilities from those that contribute less significantly to educational effectiveness and personal well-being.
• Apply Essentialist decision-making strategies to prioritize opportunities, evaluate trade-offs, and allocate time, energy, and resources more intentionally.
• Examine and streamline instructional practices, routines, and professional responsibilities to increase focus, efficiency, and effectiveness.
• Redesign a lesson, unit, assessment, grading practice, and/ or professional workflow using Essentialist principles to better align effort, priorities, and desired outcomes.
• Develop a personalized action plan for sustaining Essentialist practices that support educator well-being, professional growth, and long-term effectiveness.