When you sign up to be a teacher, you get training in how to lesson plan, new teaching strategies, and content knowledge, but no one really tells you how much time all of those things will take to be the best you can possibly be. Sure the school day is anywhere from 7:40-3:35 to 8:45-3:00, but there is no possible way to get all of your instruction, planning, grading, and reflecting in during that time. My goal is to create innovative lessons and to create authentic, memorable experiences for my students (Inspired by my favorite book that is with me at all times in an educational setting: Teach Like a Pirate by Dave Burgess. #TLAP I plug this because I believe in it wholeheartedly!) However, the amount of time it takes to prepare to change the classroom setting, or develop an innovative way to spark curiosity with a hook takes enough time on its own, but then you also have to make sure you are not just putting on a show, but that it directly ties to your educational goals. I learned very quickly that there is no way I could get all of this done during a school day, so I have learned to manage my time as best as I can during the day with reality being that I would have to work outside of my school day. Yes that means weekends, holidays, and (gasp) even summer break! I typically look forward to these breaks in the school year, not only to take a little time for myself, but also so that I can have uninterrupted planning time as well as look for new inspiration!
While there is no avoiding working outside of the school day, there are some planning strategies you can use to make sure you aren’t burning yourself out! My go to is the master To Do list. I would not survive without my lists. I keep a running list of everything that needs done. There is actually a wonderful Google App I use to keep all of my lists straight called Google Keep. It lets you click the check box to physically cross an item off of the list or share the list with colleagues, friends, or family if you are working on a project together! Once I have my list, which does seem to grow faster than I can complete items, I always start with the quickest items that I know I can get done in a few minutes. This gives me a sense of accomplishment right away and gets my momentum going to tackle the bigger ones. Also, I always work ahead. Typically, my to do list and deadlines are set a week before they are due. This is my goal, but it doesn’t always happen as I find something else I would rather do instead, which brings me to my next point. I am an early riser, so I tend to get up, not do anything but tackle to do list items for the first few hours of my weekend, but then I save the rest of the time to do whatever I would like to do. It is tough to get into this habit, but when you do, it makes your life much easier. You feel accomplished so you are able to enjoy your free time even more because you do not have any major projects looming over you. However, it is also important to try to leave yourself one day of the week, or one afternoon/evening where you will not do school work unless it is an emergency!
I have found from year to year that it gets easier to do less work day to day outside of school, but every so often I get an idea that will take a lot of work up front, but then I have it for years to come, and it will only need a little tweak here and there. Putting in the work up front also helps to relieve some of this extra time necessary to be a teacher. Even though extra work time will never go away, there are strategies you can use like I mentioned above to help not burn yourself out quickly. I think it also helps to feel the passion in whatever you are reinventing; then it doesn’t feel like work!
Moral of the story: a teacher’s work is never done. As I write this post, I am thinking about what I need and want to do for my new adventure at school next year, but there are some days you just need to take a break. 😉
What are some strategies you use to balance the not so 9 to 5 job of a teacher?
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