Sunday, May 12, 2013

Have you ever made a commitment to your principal or a fellow teacher when you were already extremely busy because you were afraid it would look bad if you declined? Well contrary to the belief that you always need to look like a willing team player, committing to something you cannot finish on time looks worse than not committing in the first place.

If you give plausible reasons as to why you cannot take on any more projects, your colleagues will respect you more for being truthful than taking on too much and not following through. Don’t feel bad about saying no to lower priority projects. It will be worth it in the end when you are able to keep your classes organized and on track.

Saturday, May 11, 2013

This may be a no-brainer, but checking your Facebook or Twitter accounts can trigger endless distractions from completing your tasks. Your five minutes on Facebook can easily turn into an hour of checking your profiles from Instagram to Pinterest to Twitter.

If you use your social media outlets excessively each day, think of how you could be using the extra hours in a total week. Maybe you could spend that time researching your favorite blog and brainstorming creative ways to get your students excited about learning!

If the temptation is too hard to resist, try the website blocking program FocalFilter so that social media distractions won’t even be an option.

Friday, May 10, 2013

Rest is extremely important for educators, especially if you also are dedicating a portion of your schedule to graduate studies. Here are a few ways to reclaim some valuable rest time for yourself.

• Choose just one late night to work per week. Forty hours a week is usually not enough time to get everything done, especially if you are involved in committees or after-school programs, but you will become more productive if you set strict limits for your work time and personal time. Arriving early and staying late each day leads to burnout.
• Consider working late on Fridays. Most people leave earlier on that day, so you can have a quiet space to work on your grading and lesson preparation for the coming week. The copy room is probably open, too, so you can finish your handouts much faster. When you are prepared for Monday, you can really disconnect over the weekend.
• Schedule the recommended 8 hours of sleep each day.
• When you feel very tired, go ahead and take a nap instead of watching TV, surfing the internet or trying to take care of household chores. You will be much more productive afterwards.
• Make your rest time count. Create a soothing space for sleeping, and try to remove as many distractions as possible including your electronic devices.
• Keep a regular sleep schedule. This helps your body recharge and gives you energy you need for the next day.

Thursday, May 9, 2013

You may have never noticed the time you spend going to the same tab, reopening the same website, or using the same commands on your computer but using shortcuts to get to these can save you about 64 hours a year! Now that's a lot of time that can be used for other important tasks. You can use programs such as Quicksilver or AutoHotkey to make the programs and files you use frequently more readily available to you through keyboard shortcuts. Below are some useful websites that contain a list of shortcuts and reveal infographics on how 64 useful hours are being wasted.

• Learn how to consolidate your time with shortcuts!
• See how much time you can save by using the technology available to you with this revealing infographic on the time wasted by not employing shortcuts.

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Each time your brain has to switch from one activity to another, you lose energy and focus. Minimize the effects of switching by designating a specific time each day for email, then turn it off for the rest of the day as much as possible. Consider making some of these adjustments to your schedule:

• Schedule 1 or 2 specific times per day to answer email, like before school, during your planning period, during lunch, or after school. If school administrators always send lunch information, daily announcements and fire drill notices in the morning, then plan for this to be your email time.
• Focus solely on email during your 15 minutes. Avoid multi-tasking if possible.
• Learn the emergency warning system for your school. If possible, program an alert through your mobile device so that you will not have to check your email throughout the day.
• Request that the front office send a student messenger or make a phone call instead of relying upon email for issues like a nurse visit or an early parent pickup.
• If your school only sends important notifications via email, just give your email a quick glance when you are entering attendance to check for any emergencies and save full email responses for your 15 minute email time.
• Communicate your schedule up front to parents and colleagues so that they know the best time to reach you. While active communication with parents is important, they should be able to wait until you have a moment when you are not focused on the students in your room.
• Schedule a time each week to follow up with parents of students who need regular check-ins, especially those with special needs or a behavior intervention plan. Parents will be less likely to contact you daily if they understand that you have designated a time for them.

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

If you have ever had to make a mad dash out the door on a school day, you can understand why this is important! Here are a few ways you can prepare the night before.

• Pack your lunch. Whether you have a special meal or a peanut butter sandwich, you can usually prepare this ahead of time. (Just store items like lettuce or tomato separately to prevent your sandwich from getting soggy!)
• Prepare your coffee pot. Fill up with coffee grounds and water so that all you have to do is press "On."
• Set out your clothing, accessories and items needed for work.
• If you have children, take care of any tasks possible—bath time, preparing backpacks or bags for childcare, checking papers for school, etc.
• Do dishes and run the dishwasher.
• Do a quick 5-minute pickup.
• Water your plants and feed your pets.
• Prepare your study materials for the next day.

Monday, May 6, 2013

Save time and work smarter by grouping tasks together. Need to distribute materials quickly? Try grouping everything you need for each day in brightly colored boxes, one for each table. Designate a student helper or a classroom manager to get the boxes each day, and you immediately save twenty minutes or more by not having to pass out materials. For young elementary students, group materials by subject so that students don't have everything out at once, and practice signals to prevent arguing and playing with items before they need to be used. Large boxes can be much more student-friendly when transitioning from centers.

Brightly colored boxes can be a fun motivator for you, too! Grade all of your essays at once, all of your math packets at once, etc. If you are continuing your education with a graduate program, focus on your school work at a specific time each day. You will become much more efficient when you focus on one task at a time.