Is Collecting Use of Time Data Really a Good Use of Time?

As school counselors, no matter the level, our worlds are centered around data. It informs many of our decisions, from who needs to be in a group to is this group making progress. We ask others for data, we collect our own data, we even present data.
 
But data can also easily turn into an overwhelmingly daunting task. It can become just another thing that has to get done. And really, who has extra time during their school day to do another thing?
 
Another large part of our profession is advocacy. Advocating for students comes naturally to us, but what about us? Are we advocating for our role in our school? With our state? How do I even do this?
 
Now we’re back to data. All of our stakeholders love numbers. Look at the difference between: “Last year I spent too much time in meetings; can I please be in fewer meetings this year?” and “Last year I spent 137 hours in meetings. That’s valuable time I could be providing services to students. Can we please review what meetings I am a part of and see if any processes can be streamlined?”
 
“Too much” time is an opinion. What you consider too much and what your administrator continues too are probably completely different. A concrete number is a fact. Your administrator will probably agree to at least review why you are spending 137 hours in meetings instead of working with students.
 
Data can also be used to highlight the great work we do. Again, the difference between “we had a lot of Tier 1 lessons” and “I taught in every classroom approximately 11 times last year and totaled 123 lessons taught” is incredibly impactful.
 
How do we keep track of it all, though, without spending every moment using an Excel sheet? The American School Counselor Association has templates with the formulas already completed to help make collecting use of time data easier. Personally, I have a template for this that I make a copy of at the beginning of each school year. Each month gets its own data including totals, percentages and graphs. This is also automatically added to an overall year chart. Throughout the day, I track what I do in my Google Calendar (it’s super quick, I promise). Then once a month or even every other month I look back at my calendar and enter how much time I spent in each category into my spreadsheet.
 
What do I do with all this data? In my end-of-year meeting I present an End-of-Year Report to my administration (Bright Futures Counseling has a great template for this). This includes highlights from the year and areas for reflection that we can improve on. I print this and all the graphs for the administration and we review it together. In our digital world, I have found that people really respond to something they can physically hold. I have also presented this data to our school board to help them better understand my role as a school counselor. 
 
I have only ever received positive feedback from presenting these reports, even with noting areas for improvement. I have gained trust from stakeholders about how I am spending my time throughout the day – there is no question I am doing something to benefit our students and our program, and I will show them the concrete data for this. This is a strong advocacy tool for everything from getting additional staff for your program to tools and materials.
 
Is collecting Use of Time Data really a good use of your time? I would say yes, absolutely. 
 
Rae Slattery is CSCA Public Relations chair.