By Kelsey Simonson, Ed.D., Registrar & Director of Community Standards, Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, 3rd Alternate AACRAO 2025-2026 Nominations & Elections Committee
“Doing More With Less: Getting Creative when Resources are Lacking,” presented by Nicholas Jobe, College Registrar at Flagler College, seeks to provide strategies for higher education administrators to “work smarter, not harder.” Institutions have been experiencing downward pressure on “The Three Rs” of strategic enrollment management, facing problems with recruitment, retention, and revenue.
This often translates to staffing, budget, and resource cuts. As a result, project timelines slip off track, project success rates decrease, staff retention worsens, and institutional knowledge disappears. This all translates to lowered office morale and job satisfaction, in addition to physical and mental health declines for individual employees.
Jobe argues that we should stop doing more with less, and instead work smarter, not harder. This session aimed to teach us about ways to speed up common tasks with software tools, employ time management techniques like “GTD” and timeboxing, and build a strong case for more budget or more personnel.
Several software shortcuts can make computer-based tasks easier.
Excel users can utilize VLOOKUP, TRIM, or MATCH functions to aid in spreadsheet usage.
Saving common message templates, setting up auto replies with FAQs on generic inboxes, providing commonly used links in signatures, and using the mail merge function can save time when using email.
Using bookmarks, password managers, or personal knowledge bases (PKBs) in your web browser can also save time.
Professionals can also utilize time management strategies to work smarter.
Timeboxing, a strategy introduced by Marc Zao-Sanders, encourages micro-scheduling individual tasks rather than blocking off large chunks of time for broader work goals, creating specific intention and improving focus.
The GTD, or “Getting Things Done” method, based on a book by David Allen, is also a useful time management strategy. The GTD method has five specific steps:
Capture – write it all down, don’t keep it in your head – keep the list in one place to the extent possible
Clarify – add the concrete steps you need to complete the thing
Organize – gather the tools you need to do the task; you can file any non-actionable items here
Engage – be ready to do the work
Review – system maintenance to make sure you’re not just doing things, but doing the right things
Building the Case for More
Should administrators reach the limits of working smarter, it may be time to advocate for more money and/or people. In building the case to ask for more, it can be helpful to look for:
Ways to generate more income by revisiting fees and rates.
Opportunity costs of your time.
Manual processes to automate.
The user experience for students to find opportunities for efficiency.
While it may be a harder sell, making the case for more people in your office may also be necessary. To make your case,
Start by tracking your time and documenting how much time is spent on projects and what is not finished at the end of the day.
Benchmark against industry or other institutions’ standards for staffing, including AACRAO’s surveys.
Enforce boundaries between work and personal time, and be willing to ask hard questions like “What should I deprioritize to accomplish these additional tasks?”
Jobe closed by saying that if none of these strategies result in less stress and a better work environment, leaving the job is an option. As he stated, your work life will bounce back after a fall, but your mental and physical health and relationships with family and friends may shatter, so it is critical to prioritize yourself.