Work Smarter, Not Harder {10 Tips for Teachers}
Sometimes people ask me how I get it all done. When they ask this, they are referring to the work that has to be done outside of the actual act of teaching. The planning, the grading, the prep, and so forth. The truth is, I make it look easy because I've learned to work smarter, not harder.
Once upon I time, I had a different career. I had many different tasks
to accomplish each day. I had daily deadlines to adhere to and people
counted on me to be knowledgeable, punctual, thorough, and prepared. The demands of
this job required that I work smarter, not harder. Many of the work
habits I adopted back then followed me into my teaching career, and along the way, I've
added some strategies to my repertoire that are specific to teaching.
While I'm no expert in efficiency and work productivity, I hope that the tips that follow help you to make better use of your time as a teacher.
Make a list. Every day. Identify what needs to be done and write it down. Then, prioritize it.
It
doesn't matter what you use to write your list on. Like sticky notes? Great!
Prefer a pretty note pad? Super! Don't give two hoots and prefer to use
scratch paper or whatever is lying around? Fabulous. Just write it all
down!
I like to write my tasks down at the end of each day. This way, I know exactly what I need to do when I get to school in the morning. I
try to write my tasks in the order they need to be accomplished, but I have
also been known to write them down and then number them to the side. This is just my way of making sure I tackle the most important tasks first. And, I'm flexible about my tasks. Anything I don't get to one day (because
it was low priority) gets bumped to the next day and prioritized with the next day's tasks.
Get it done. Once you've identified the tasks you need to accomplish, and you've prioritized them, do them. Get to work. Quit dilly dallying. Put your phone down, stop chit chatting with your neighbor and get to work. Confession: this can be hard, but you'll have time to stalk your phone and chit chat if you get your work done first.
Think of
it this way, if you don't get your work done you run the risk of being
unprepared, stressed out, and ineffective as a teacher. And our job is
too important to chance that! Force yourself to focus and get things done
as quickly as possible. If this is super hard for you and you need some
external motivation then reward yourself each day/week that you get
stuff done. Before you know it, it will become a natural work habit.
Establish
a daily work routine. Yes, there will be interruptions and disruptions,
but you can still create a framework for what your work time will look
like each day. Decide which tasks you will attend to each morning before school
starts and each afternoon when the students are gone.
Write down your thought bombs. You're a teacher, you
probably have 25 random thought bombs a day....when you aren't at
school.
Sometimes I get random ideas or
remember small things that need to be done when I'm not at school. To help me
remember these things, I carry a small notepad in my purse. And I keep
one on my nightstand as well. Sometimes, I email myself from my phone! This way, I can easily record those little
reminders and ideas as they come to me and I won't have to waste time
trying to remember my thoughts and ideas when I'm back at school the following day.
Establish an email schedule. What I mean by that is, pick a time of day that you will read your emails.
I
tend to read mine first thing in the morning. We don't have a "desk
job" so checking email periodically throughout the day is not always
practical (or smart). Maybe you opt to check it first thing and
immediately after school. Great! The point is, create a routine that
works for you and your situation.
I also have a policy of responding to emails within 24 hours.
Keep in mind that you don't need to respond to every email you get. So
many of the emails we get as teachers are FYI type emails. Don't bother
with responding to those.
Finally, I also have a policy of never checking my email from home. You never know what's lurking in that inbox, so I err on the side of caution and refuse to even log into my email from home. Work emails get read when I'm at work. End of story.
Collaborate. Whether it's with a like minded individual or your grade level, collaboration can make your job so much easier.
Keep
in mind that collaboration isn't dolling out or splitting up responsibilities. It's discussing and evaluating the material you
plan to/are expected to teach your students.
The
point of collaboration is to help you perfect your craft and
effectiveness as a teacher. So, make sure you confer with people who
will help you achieve this.
Set limits. Leave your work at school. Teaching is demanding. It demands your energy, focus, and your time.
Time
is the biggie. And let's be honest, there isn't that much time in the
day. How do some teachers cope with this? They take their work home. Even I
have fallen victim to this, but in the past several years, I have set
limits on what/when I take work home. See, I'm not just a teacher. I'm
also a mom, and a wife, and human being with interests outside of my
job. When I'm at work, that is my priority and when I'm at home that is
my priority. It has to be.
Now, as I said, there are times when I bring work home, such as when I am
*seriously* behind on grading (it happens, friends) or need to work on report cards. This is
something I need to do free of distractions (and on a computer that
works more efficiently than my ancient desktop at school). I can bust
out more report cards at home, once my little one has gone to bed, than I
ever could at work. Other than that, my work pretty much stays at
school.
It all boils down to prioritizing your
workload at school and sticking to a routine. When you find what works
for you, you won't feel the need to regularly bring work home and when
you do bring it home on occasion, you won't feel as guilty.
Grade like a boss. Say what? What I mean by that is, know what you're going to grade. Mark it in your lesson plans, or put a sticky note on those materials to remind you so that when you give that assignment you know you're planning to use it for a grade. Then, set aside a day or two each week to enter
grades. This way, you are able to enter them without spending huge
chunks of time doing so (and parents knocking on your door pestering you as to why you haven't entered grades in the past month).
Remember, you don't have to grade everything. If you've completed an
assignment together in class, don't even collect it from students. Send
it home! If you want to look over class work (and you probably should),
you could spot check certain assignments, depending upon what it is. Or,
you could go over it in class so your students are able to see how they did
right there on the spot, saving you time in the long run.
Take a break. Or two. During the school day. No, I'm not suggesting you
run out into the hall and hide from your students, but just like your
students, you need a brain break here and there too!
Last
year, our second graders endured an extremely long afternoon in the
classroom. Most of that three hour chunk of time was core curriculum. It
was a challenge for all of us, but thank goodness for brain breaks! On most
days it was obvious that the kids needed a break, and some days, so did
I. Go Noodle to the rescue! After our brain breaks, we were ready to refocus. The brain clutter was
gone and the students were able to move onto the next set of learning tasks with a
fresh mind. More importantly, I was able to tackle the next lesson with
a fresh, decluttered state of mind.
NOTE: While Go Noodle is a super easy way to facilitate brain breaks, I know that some people have extremely hard core firewalls and can't access this site. No worries. Play a game of Simon Says, or lead your students in some stretching exercises. You could even line up your class and walk a few laps around the school. If anyone asks, tell them you're practicing your hallway procedures. ;)
The point
is, it's OK to take a break, it's natural! Doctors, police officers,
and everyone in between take them. And, it's a well known fact that
breaks refuel and recharge the the body and mind, and teachers shouldn't
think that breaks are off limits. You're the professional, use your
judgement to facilitate breaks as needed in your classroom because you
will all benefit in the long run.
Make time for you. Find time in your day to focus on YOU! Focus on something other than teaching.
Yes,
we love what we do, and yes, we are passionate about it, but it isn't
healthy to focus on teaching all.of.the.time. Read a book, find a hobby,
get your nails done, binge watch Netflix. Whatever! Just make sure you
carve some time out for you to focus on other things. Otherwise, you
fail to take care of yourself and run the risk of burnout and/or unnecessary
stress. Plus, you're worth it. ;)
Read more about Teacher Self-Care HERE.
Read more about Teacher Self-Care HERE.
Do you have any favorite "work smarter, not harder" tips to share? Comment below!
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