The Weekly Reset Every School Leader Needs
If you are a school leader, you probably do not need another productivity tool. You need space to think.
Most weeks move fast. You are navigating student needs, family conversations, staffing issues, compliance deadlines, and a steady stream of email. By Friday, it can feel like you worked nonstop but did not quite move the most important work forward.
That is why we are sharing a resource created by school leader Roz DaCruz: the Weekly Wrap Up & Look Ahead. This simple two-page tool creates a rhythm for closing one week well and stepping intentionally into the next.
Start by Finishing the Week Well
Before planning ahead, the template invites you to pause and reflect on the week that just happened.
Capture the Biggest Win
The first step is writing down your biggest win and naming anyone who contributed.
Leadership can feel like an endless to-do list. Taking a moment to identify what went right shifts your mindset and strengthens your culture. It also builds the habit of gratitude, which shapes how your team experiences you.
Revisit Your Big 3
You then check in on the three priorities you set for the week:
• Are they complete?
• What work is left?
• What do you need to close them out?
This prevents important work from quietly rolling forward without clarity. You either finish it or intentionally move it with a plan.
Check Your Oxygen Mask
Roz includes a section focused on personal well-being:
• Workout
• Water and nutrition
• Sleep
• Quality family time
Strong leadership requires stamina. This quick check helps you notice patterns before exhaustion becomes the norm. It also reinforces that your health and relationships are part of your leadership responsibility, not separate from it.
Review Your Calendar
The template prompts you to look at your Google Calendar and ask:
• Where did I spend the most time?
• Was that aligned to my priorities?
• What needs to shift next week?
Your calendar tells the truth about how your time is actually spent. When you review it weekly, you begin to see patterns and can make small adjustments that compound over time.
Activate Your Well-Being Radar
You also identify scholars, family members, or team members who need a check-in.
Instead of waiting for issues to escalate, you schedule intentional conversations. Leadership becomes more proactive and less reactive.
Then Step Into the Week Ahead
Once the current week is wrapped up, you turn the page and look forward.
Set the Next Big 3
You define the top three priorities for the coming week.
When everything feels urgent, focus becomes impossible. Naming three anchors your attention and gives you a clear target.
Schedule What Matters
The Look Ahead section guides you to:
• Add priority work blocks to your calendar
• Schedule workouts and family time
• Move unfinished tasks into specific time slots
• Add quick task blocks and short meeting buffers
If it is not scheduled, it rarely happens. Blocking time protects the work that matters most.
Create Space for Strategic Work
The template encourages adding one or two reach tasks such as board capacity building or network-level planning.
This ensures you are not only managing the present but also building the future of your school.
Plan for Life, Too
There is even space for administrative and life tasks such as groceries, meal prep, family events, and preparing your workspace.
When your home life is organized, your mental clarity increases. When small life tasks pile up, they quietly drain energy from your leadership.
How to Build This Into Your Routine
We recommend completing this reset on Friday afternoon or Sunday evening.
Set aside 20 to 30 minutes.
Close out the week with intention.
Move unfinished work deliberately.
Block time for your Big 3.
Add personal commitments before your calendar fills.
Over time, this rhythm creates clarity and steadiness.
