Time Management for Teachers – Time Saving Tips, Tricks and Hacks {Part 1 of 3}

What is the key to being effective at your job? Time management, my friend! So it goes without saying we need to share our best strategies for time management for teachers!

By managing your time, you will find it easier to get through all the expectations and requirements as a teacher.

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Managing your time is easier said than done. We have brainstormed all the things that have helped us over the years and have decided to bring you a series of posts that simply breakdown our favourite strategies.

Be organised

By starting from a place of organisation, it will save you time later. Have a specific home for everyday items like stickers, stamps, pens, student manipulatives etc. Being organised saves you searching for things and is an immediate time-saver.

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That is just one example; read more about getting organised here.

Set realistic goals

Having a to-do list a mile long and hoping you will achieve it all in one day will not contribute towards being productive. Make a list of 3 priority areas instead and focus on getting those things done. Having realistic expectations and goals is important when it comes to time management.

Set up systems for the term

Save your brainpower and set up systems for the term, so you aren’t recreating the wheel every week. This is where checklists come in handy. Some systems you could create for a term in one sitting are homework, how you plan to run reading groups, how maths lessons will be set up, class jobs etc.

Be a week ahead

We like to always jot down events for the coming week in our teacher planner, so we know what is ahead. This way, you aren’t going to be caught by surprise with events, items that are due, assessments that you need to complete and so on. Planning your key lessons a week ahead will also allow you time to reflect and be purposeful.

Know your time

Are you a morning person or an afternoon person? Work with your strengths. If you are more productive in the mornings, come into school and set up your day/week first thing on Friday or Monday morning. If you are slower moving in the mornings, it might be best to stay back after school one day in the week to plan for the following week. Rather work for a couple of hours on the weekend then do that! Find what time works best for you to be the most productive.

Routines: Keep on top of daily tasks

This includes things like emails, marking student work (read our blog post all about becoming a marking pro here), cleaning up after lessons, keeping your desk neat and tidy, entering your class attendance and absent notes, following through on reward systems you have set up for your students etc. We recommend you allocate a specific time each day to do these daily tasks.

Grab a copy of this weekly checklist for FREE here.

Routines: Keep a weekly task to-do list

What day do you need to hand in merit awards? What day do you plan and hand out homework? When does your class go to the library? Keep a list of weekly to-dos to make things easy for yourself. We have a free template to create your weekly to-do list here. Remember, a to-do list can be digital as well.

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Technology away

When you are trying to complete a task, put your phone and emails aside. You can conquer a lot more when you take away the distractions of all the things that ring and ding.

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Managing and using your time wisely as a teacher will set you up for success from the get-go! Let us know if you put any of these time management strategies for teachers in place and how they worked for you. We love hearing from our Rainbow Sky Community.

Want to save these ideas for later. Pin this image!

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This post is Part 1 of a three-part Teacher Timesaver Series. Read Part 2 and Part 3 by clicking on the links.

Hang on, you are interested in saving time right? You are just one click away from our FREE workshop Manage your to do lists? Click here to get instant access to our mini masterclass video, workbook and real life strategies to get on top of that to do list right away!

Before you leave us…

Are you ready to learn how to save hours in your teaching week?

What if you had more time outside of school to do the things you love?

 

 

Imagine…

  • Leaving school each day at a reasonable hour.
  • Feeling prepared and ready to teach each day.
  • Less stressed and more in control of your workload.
  • Having systems, templates and checklists in place to make life easier.

Introducing…

TRANSFORM YOUR TEACHER TIME

Discover our 8 areas of focus that will promote efficiency in all aspects of your teacher life.

Learn how to:

  • Fine tune your time management
  • Take control of your personal organisation
  • Deal with data so you can use it in a meaningful way
  • Spend less time planning
  • Organise digital teaching files
  • Gain hours back in your teaching week

What to read next:

8 Tips for Successful Reading Groups

8 Ways to Avoid Teacher Burnout

Discover how to manage your emails

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