This document provides tips for teachers on effective time management. It emphasizes prioritizing tasks, eliminating distractions, organizing work spaces and materials, accepting imperfections, creating daily planners and to-do lists, saying no when overwhelmed and asking for help, and making time for well-being outside of work. The overall message is that proper time management can help teachers stay focused and productive while also preventing stress.
2. Why is Time Management Important?
This year is actually your chance to get into positive and
healthy habits for managing your time.
It helps you stay clear.
It saves you time so that you can spend more time
on the things you enjoy.
Professional growth – it will help you move ahead in your career.
If you can’t fit it all in now, how will you manage when you’re the HT?
3. Always Prioritise
Know exactly what you are going to do next, why you’re doing it,
by when it needs to be completed and what’s the big picture.
If you are unclear,
you will run around like
a headless chicken.
4. Say No to Distractions
Give yourself uninterrupted, focussed time
to get things done AND stick to it.
Unplug the phone
Turn off the TV
Turn off your computer
FOCUS
5. Distraction 10 time thieves
1. Your mobile
2. People dropping in (usually with a problem)
3. Poor information
4. Computer problems
5. Change priorities caused by colleagues
6. Lack of planning
7. Poor listening of others
8. Inappropriate organisational structure
9. Moved goal posts
10. Putting things right that were not wrong
Some distractions are useful – a new idea, a tip from a friend or an article, a reminder to
finish something. Write down distractions so that you can review them later – always keep a
note pad or post-its.
Remain focussed – scribble the distraction and look at your note pad at an allotted time.
6. Organise don’t agonise
Organise and declutter your work space – classroom, desk, home
Organise files
Organise your lessons: If you have a lesson that is going to give you a heavy
marking load, try to balance it out with another that will allow you to use
peer-assessment, or give verbal feedback.
Throw away items that you do not use.
Throw away anything collecting dust.
7. Accept imperfection
Do you want to have that perfect classroom, with the perfect students,
with the perfect everything…?
Take a minute to reflect and be realistic on what is achievable.
Will that perfect image that you spent three hours trawling Google for
really have an impact on Year 4?
Will a primary class notice whether your clip art is perfectly coordinated
across all of your resources? Design is important, but don’t get sucked
into the black hole of seeking perfection...
8. Daily Planner
Create well prioritised “to do” lists – and stick to them.
To-do lists are essential, including things to do at home.
Prioritize so if everything doesn’t get done, the most important still have and I don’t have to feel bad. This way there’s
a fair chance of success and it helps to really focus in on what are the most important things.
Allocate set times for certain tasks, it’s much more productive. Include times for before and after school for
particular jobs. For instance, use the first 30minutes after the school day finishes to ensure that everything is set up
and ready to go for the next day.
Create check lists for specific events e.g. a trip or concert – try to consider everything that could go wrong (it will).
Save your checklists in an organised system – to avoid repeating. Many things in school life occur again and again.
Invest in a diary and use it to plan out your week so that you can see your “pinch points”. The aim should be to
anticipate when you might need to put extra time in, but also to balance this with absolute downtime, perhaps by
making a personal pact not to work after hours on a particular day.
9. It’s ok to say “No” or ask for help
We have to know our limits. If workload is impinging on quality planning
time, which is now cutting into my family time, there’s a problem.
Scale back on the less important things….JUST SAY NO!”
Don’t disappear – ask for support. It will be easy to forget that a world exists
outside of dry-wipe boards, Post-it notes and green biros. You might be tempted to
spend your lunch break setting up for your next lesson, but it’s imperative that you
get to know your colleagues, too.
Don’t be a stranger to the staffroom. Your colleagues are your best allies.
The same goes for spending time with your friends and family. Make sure that you
plan and take time to be you.
10. Create time off for your well being
All work and no play WILL lead to stress and makes you unproductive.
Set aside time for yourself EVERY DAY
Do things that take your mind off of school and demand your absorption.
“When you’re at home, then BE at home. It’s really important to set
boundaries with work and home. If you work better at home than at
school, then set clear times for working at home. When you leave school
to come home, then leave your teacher bag at school and switch to home
mode.”
