Julia G. Thompson

January 1, 1970

"Lost time is never found."~Ben Franklin

For various and inexplicable reasons, teachers everywhere report that they are busier than ever this year. We feel as if we are rushing through our school days, frantically trying to find a balance between school responsibilities, home chores, and the enjoyment of a life that a steady career in education should bring. Many of us arrive at school early dragging in a heavy briefcase crammed with student papers and non-instructional paperwork and leave at the end of the day dragging out a heavy briefcase crammed with fresh student papers and non-instructional paperwork, plus a hefty teacher’s edition or two.

It is very easy to become overwhelmed by the relentless high-priority, school-related tasks that have multiplied more than ever this year. However, before you opt to browse the classified ads for a less demanding (and less rewarding) job, consider this: In a career filled with so many variables, we teachers do have significant control over how we spend our time. We can choose to use our school hours profitably or just spin wheels in constant distress.

If you want a life that is more enjoyable for your family, your students, and yourself, then spending some effort perfecting your time management skills may be a successful strategy for you to consider. In the list below you will find fifty-two tips that can help you gain the control of your professional life. While many of them will be familiar to you, perhaps revisiting them can reignite the sense of enjoyment in the career you choose with such a high sense of idealism.

1. Taking time to make long-range plans will definitely save you time over the course of a school year. You’ll teach with confidence.

2. Use a school planner or calendar to mark off and plan for the important dates you will need to know about during the school year: holidays, grading report periods, after-school obligations, etc.

3. Use a calendar to plan your month. When you have a big picture of when monthly meetings will happen, deadlines are due, or even when after-school events are scheduled, you will be able to manage them more successfully.

4. Find ways to pace your instruction so that occasionally you can use the time that students are working independently to do paperwork at your desk.

5. Schedule your time. Do demanding tasks when you have a high energy level.

6. Program important numbers into your phone: your school, grade level chairman or department head, substitute hotline, helpful colleagues…

7. If you are a procrastinator, think about why you are putting off a chore. Once you have done this, make a plan to accomplish it efficiently.

8. Papers waiting to be graded have a way of looming larger than life and casting a black cloud over even the sunniest day. Determine the most efficient way to deal with ungraded papers to remove their silent reproach and to give your students the positive and timely feedback they need.

9. Stagger deadlines for student projects.

10. Always arrive at school with a few minutes (at least) to spare.

11. Prioritize your tasks and eliminate the ones that are not adding to your life. For example, do you really need to change your bulletin boards as frequently as you do? Can you delegate that?

12. Photocopy as far in advance as you can. Make a list of the papers you need to copy, create a folder to store them until you can get to the copier, and work through them systematically.

13. Control the addictive bane of modern life: compulsive email checking. Set a time in the morning to do this and then again at the end of the day. Don’t check personal email at school if you can possibly help it.

14. Pack up the night before (your lunch, too) and put your briefcase near the door so you can grab it on the way out.

15. Create a template for a daily “To Do” list. Try placing these items on it: phone calls or other parent contacts, meetings, routine tasks, appointments or meetings, and anything else specific to your daily responsibilities.

16. Keep phone numbers, email addresses, and other student contact information on your computer as well as in a paper form so that you can access it easily.

17. Always return phone calls to parents within 24 hours if not sooner.

18. Consider a lamp for your desk at school. It could prevent eyestrain and make your work easier and quicker.

19. Create electronic files to keep your computer files in order. Emails from parents need to be filed quickly before they are lost in your inbox.

20. Label all files so that they are easy to retrieve quickly.

21. At the end of the day, take a minute or two to file away any papers that you can. You will be glad that you did so when you face a clean desk the next morning.

22. Use the print preview, spell checking, and proofreading applications before you print and distribute handouts. Doing something right the first time will save you hours of mistake cleanup.

23. Set a professional goal and make a plan to achieve it. One excellent goal is to learn how to manage your paperwork tasks competently.

24. Make time to take breaks and refresh your spirit. Sharing lunch with colleagues instead of eating in your classroom will help make your day brighter.

25. Spend 10-30 minutes each day on those tasks you tend to avoid and soon you will have them mastered.

26. Learn to say “no” when you can.

27. Have the tools you need to get the job done. For example, have a teacher’s edition at home or a copy of the curriculum handy when you plan. Even an extra grading pen at home will make life easier for you.

28. Master the software programs that have proliferated in the last few years. Don’t just struggle with them. Learn the little features of each one that make them easier to use.

29. Know who you can turn to when you don’t know how to do something--deal with an angry parent, retrieve an electronic lost grade, or plan a unit, for example.

30. Not everything needs to be done to perfection. Sometimes good enough really is good enough.

31. Before you begin a task, plan how you can do it efficiently. Don’t just jump in.

32. Look at your daily routines and tasks. How can you streamline them so that you get them done efficiently?

33. Have a place for everything and get in the habit of keeping it there. For example, always place your room keys in your desk and test answer keys in a drawer or file cabinet.

34. Share the workload when you can. For example, if you are required to call parents of students who are not achieving well, divide the list with a colleague who needs to call the same parents.

35. Get to school a little early if you are a morning person or stay a little late if you are energetic at the end of the day.

36. Leave your classroom ready for the next day before you head for home. Clean the boards, have handouts ready, put everything in readiness.

37. When you are busy, stop and ask yourself if what you are doing is the most efficient way to handle the work and if it is worthwhile. It is entirely possible to be very busy doing nothing of importance.

38. Organize your desk and work area for maximum efficiency. Do you have what you need within easy reach?

39. Save time when you can by making a quick phone call and documenting it rather than sending a lengthy email.

40. After you’ve graded student work, remember to return it right away.

41. Build in a 10-15 period each day for professional reading. While you may not have more than just a few minutes, this time will add to your knowledge, competence, and confidence. One good place to begin is www.theapple.com.

42. When you need to remind yourself of something, use your phone’s voicemail feature, computer’s reminder notes, or even a paper reminder note. Don’t rely on your memory when you are too busy.

43. Learn how to take advantage of a scanner to convert paper text to electronic text.

44. Back up everything several times. This will save you frustration as well as time.

45. Delegate. Even young students can do more than you think they can.

46. Give your students good, specific, clear directions so that they know how to do their work well and you won’t have to waste time grading poorly done papers.

47. You don’t have to grade everything.

48. Share planning duties with a colleague. Create a wiki where you can share quizzes and plans. One very easy to use site for this is www.wikispaces.com.

49. Carefully schedule the time you need to spend at home doing school work so that it does not consume your evenings. A little each night will be more effective than staying up very late one or two exhausting nights a week.

50. Be on time to meetings. Sit near the speaker and focus. Take notes.

51. Resolve to use 100% of your time at school focused on school work. If you give 100%, you will receive more than 100% in the reward of a less-stressful day.

52. At the end of each week, assess your progress and reward yourself for your accomplishments.