Time management is essential for all of us, professionally and personally. As leaders, it is even more important. Our plates keep getting piled higher as we take on or are given new responsibilities. Getting everything done seems impossible. Your to-do list or however you keep track of what needs to get done is getting longer.

What you need is another list.

Stay with me — this second list is “To-Don’t.” It’s time to clear things off your plate. You are undoubtedly doing more than necessary with tasks and treating all of them as having equal weight, but this is not the case. You need a system that allows you to see which things need to be done by you, and which don’t.

Instead of shelving every book as it’s returned – put them on a cart labeled “Just returned—would you like to borrow one?” Instead of creating all your bulletin boards and displays – check with the art teacher(s) to see if they would like their students to take this on as an authentic project. You would give guidelines and topics. You could do the same with different clubs.

Then there are the projects that you started only to realize it’s a much bigger commitment than you thought (genre-fying your collection, anyone?). But you made the commitment or started and now you have to continue. Or do you? Sometimes knowing when to stop is an important as knowing what to start.

David Baker offers a way to avoid these too-big commitments in his blog post, Stopping Is as Important as Starting. To begin he recommends you think of it as trial with an estimated duration. And most important, identify how it will fit into your schedule, making room as necessary by dropping something else. He recommends this two-step approach:

Think of things in season – Quoting the verses from Ecclesiastes, Baker suggests there is a season for all things. Although quitting feels like failure to us, sometimes you need to do it to be successful with your other responsibilities and projects. It’s part of your growth. It’s the learning process. Remember the choice of to-do or to-don’t do is yours. Work to be as clear in your reasons for stopping as you were (hopefully) in your reasons for starting.

Be resolute but not reckless – We are always harder on ourselves than we are with others. Baker advises you to consider what a good friend would tell you to do when you choose a project you shouldn’t have undertaken. It will force you to reflect and evaluate whether the stress of the new commitment will bring about results that are worth it. Think of it a ROI – return on investment. What are you getting out of it that makes it worth the effort. If it is worth it, figure out something you are doing that isn’t worth the time you are putting in and drop that.

You can’t add more hours to the day. When you are over-committed you and your library suffer. It affects your personal and professional relationships. Doing too much will actually move you further from your Mission and Vision. Be honest – and kind – with yourself and make choices that support you and your program. You will be a better leader for it.