You can have it all, about 550 principals from all over New Zealand were told at a conference in Queenstown yesterday.
The New Zealand Principals' Federation Conference, which opened at the Queenstown Events Centre on Tuesday night, continued with plenary sessions and keynote speakers yesterday.
Andrew May, of Australia, spoke about sustainable performance and the importance of balancing stress with recovery to "flourish" in productivity.
"I think you can have it all. You can have a great career as a principal and a great personal life," he said. Principals had to work on both areas.
Mr May is a former elite middle-distance athlete, physical performance manager for the Australian cricket team and coach to Olympic athletes in various sports.
"You are doing a great job with the children and with the community but you have to look after yourselves. You need to take back control. If you think about the way you work you can claw back a half a day every week by balancing stress and recovery. If you don't look after yourself, everything else will suffer," he said.
Intense effort, thriving under pressure, focused concentration and the ability to recover were fundamental to success.
He told the principals to make sure they did not work through their breaks, to get adequate sleep and to take time to recharge and re-energise.
The conference continues today and tomorrow.
