Teachers have many demands on their time. One of the most critical parts of the job is planning and preparing for teaching.
Unfortunately, sometimes that time dwindles as you work on completing all the other tasks that come up and seem more urgent.
This post will give you some quick tips for blocking out time for the necessary planning and prep while also blocking out time to complete the other required tasks.
First, we’ll use time blocking to structure your weekly to-do lists.
Time Blocking in 4 Steps
1 – To do this, start by reviewing your weekly and daily schedule and identifying the blocks of time you have to complete prep and planning work.
Here’s this might look for me. (The navy blue blocks are times when tasks could be completed.)
2 – Create a giant brain dump list of everything you need to do every week, and when I say everything, I mean every little part of the task.
For example, lesson planning for ELA involves lots of smaller parts. It might include planning your whole group lessons, choosing whole group text, prepping that text for each day’s lessons (what you will do, what your students will do, what questions you will ask), and planning the students’ independent assignment.
It might also involve planning for several different small group lessons differentiated for your students’ needs. That may also involve selecting texts, prepping that text for the day’s lessons, and planning assignments.
You will also need to list locating the texts if those are not provided for you.
Then you will need to list the assessments you will do along with time to grade the assessments and possibly upload grades to an online platform.
Whew! And that’s just one subject! This may sound tedious (and it is), but it helps identify the different tasks so that you can plan to do certain tasks at one time in your day or week and other tasks at other times.
3 – Put time estimates next to each task. If you’re not sure, err on the generous side and estimate more time than you think you will need.
4 – Indicate how often you want to do the tasks. Daily, weekly, twice a week, monthly?
Now, let’s batch those tasks and plan when to finish them.
Task Batching in 2 Steps
Task batching organizes our to-do lists by grouping similar tasks and completing them in identified time blocks.
There are many ways that task batching helps make you more productive. Every time we switch tasks, our brains have to reset, which takes time and energy. When we batch our tasks, we group tasks that have the same “cognitive load” or the same demands on our working memory.
Doing all the same types of tasks at a designated time cuts down on distractions and helps make us more efficient.
Here are some examples of cognitive load categories: creative, decision-making, logistics, and quick tasks.
Creative tasks might include lesson planning and writing (report card comments, newsletters, parent emails).
Decision-making tasks might include grading and analyzing assessments.
Logistics might include making copies, completing paperwork, and changing anchor charts on the board or wall.
Quick tasks are anything that doesn’t require brainpower and can be completed in 15 minutes or less. (These might even be good tasks to get your students to do for you or turn them over to parent volunteers or teacher assistants.)
Now – back to that giant brain dump of tasks.
1 – You’ve got your task list, time estimates, and how frequently the tasks should be completed. Now identify what kind of cognitive load the tasks need.
If it’s a creative task that requires your thoughts and full attention, put a “C” beside it.
If the task needs your focus for decision-making, put a “D” beside it.
Logistics tasks get an “L.”
Quick tasks get a “Q.”
2 – Go back to your daily/weekly schedule with the identified blocks of time to work.
Plug your creative tasks into blocks of time when you have more time (15 minutes is probably not enough) and when you have the energy to focus on them.
Decision-making tasks can be plugged into smaller chunks of time, but still need a time of day when you can focus.
The logistics tasks and quick tasks can be plugged into the remaining time. (And remember – the quick tasks might be tasks you can delegate so you won’t have to do them!)
Now let’s look at how we can structure a weekly schedule.
Weekly Schedule
This can be structured according to your best work times, but here are some principles.
*Plan your lessons earlier in the week (Monday and Tuesday), then reserve Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday for the logistical details related to those lesson plans (collecting resources or making copies, for example).
*Speaking of resources and copies – it’s helpful to have storage drawers for keeping all materials organized for the days when you will need them.
*Do your decision-making grading work on one day, then enter grades online on another day.
*Some teachers keep their faculty meeting days open for logistical and quick tasks.
*Consider keeping one day unscheduled so you can complete anything that was not completed on its scheduled day.
*Instead of taking time to put materials away, you might use a dishpan or crate to hold all those materials. Then spend one day’s logistical task time to return the materials.
*Check email at designated times, preferably only two times a day.
*Any time you complete all your tasks for one day, get started on the next day’s tasks! (It might not happen often, but it’s awesome when it does happen.)
*Once you have a weekly task list system that works for you, consider making a daily checklist. Then, you can check off the work as you complete it.
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2—Consider creating a digital “hub” for your yearly scope and sequence and weekly plans. This will help you map out the curriculum for each quarter and include links to digital resources. Google Sheets works well for this. This is one of those tasks that takes a bit of time to set up the way you like it but will have time payoffs throughout the year and for future years.
3 – Another option is to create a document with links to various resources, organized by unit and by standard.
4 – Think about how you want students to keep their “stuff” organized. Will they use binders or folders? Where will these be kept? Will they have supplies at their seats? If so, what supplies and how are they expected to clean up or replenish when needed?
6 – Make/keep a list of “sponge” activities that are good for soaking up a few minutes of extra time when you have it. Read aloud is always a good option. Other options might be whole-class math games or quick review questions about a content area.
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Nine things you can do or plan during the school year
1 – Create a “new student” bag and list of stuff you give out/use for everyone at the beginning of the year. This way, whenever you receive notification of a new student coming to your class the next day, you’ll be semi-prepared!
What to include?
*anything that will include their name
*any notebooks/folders that you give to all students at the beginning of the year
*a few pencils
*any parent/caregiver information that is provided at the beginning of the year (school supply list, information about you and/or your classroom, any back-to-school night information, etc.)
2 – Create a spreadsheet of student information. Type student names vertically. Then create columns for whatever information you need to keep for each student. This might include parent/caregiver phone numbers/email, allergy or health issues, IEP/504 or any other academic need information, any student interests you learn about during back-to-school community-building activities, etc.
3 – Communicate with parents/families often! Send brief class newsletters with any classroom/school updates.
It’s effective if you choose a few students weekly and send something personal by email, phone, or text. Focus on something you appreciate about the student. Parents/families love hearing positive news. (And it makes giving negative news easier because they’ve already heard positives from you.)
4 – If you teach math, complete the math practice you are assigning before giving it to students. That will prepare you for any questions or misconceptions they might have.
5 -If you teach ELA (or read aloud to students in any subject), read the books in advance. There might be difficult topics in the book, and you want to be prepared to stop and discuss if necessary. (Or to choose another book if something is problematic for your students or school.)
6 – Create a checklist of names and make multiple copies. These checklists will come in handy over and over throughout the year. You can use them to check off student classwork, homework, permission slips, other school forms, etc.
You might also use them for formative assessment of student classwork.
7 – Color code everything! ELA materials, notebooks, etc., could be one color, and math materials could be another color, etc.
8 – Consider assigning numbers to every student. Then, you can label cubbies, mailboxes, journals, clipboards, and whatever supplies you use with numbers instead of names. If you do this, you might also make a large chart paper poster of each number beside each student’s name and post it. Then you and others can reference the poster at any time to remember a student’s number. Students learn their numbers very quickly and find this system easy to manage.
9 – Think about how you might want to organize classroom jobs. There are many great ideas on Teachers Pay Teachers. Here are some jobs I find helpful to have in upper elementary grades:
*Someone to change the date & write announcements/reminders on the board
*Someone to change the lunch board choices
*Pencil sharpeners;
*Class librarians who keep the class library organized (you need a few of these!)
*Tech support (makes sure that any technology is plugged in and charging)
*Recess equipment manager (takes recess equipment outside and collects it to bring back inside each day)
*Mail sorters (puts school fliers and other info into student mailboxes to take home)
*Electrician (turns lights on or off, so you don’t have 20 kids hopping up to do that job every time you suggest turning off the lights)
*Paper passers (pass out papers or other supplies)
*Paper sorters (organize papers for you to check or grade. I usually have them put them in number order for me.)
One key tip to remember: never do anything a kid can do! Give your to-do list a quick scan (often) and look for tasks you can give students to do for you.
I hope you found a couple of tips that will save you time and energy this year!
All of my content is intended to save teachers time and energy. Making good teaching sustainable – while also having a life outside of teaching – is my goal. Let me know how I can help YOU with this quick form!
Summer is a great time to think about changing classroom routines for the following year. While we get caught up in our standards-based teaching during the school year (as we should), we don’t usually have the time (or the bandwidth) to think of ways to change the routine.
I have collected random ideas from teachers I have worked with and social media. Try one, or try them all throughout the year!
General Tips
Think about what would make something fun for YOU. If you are having fun teaching, your students will have fun learning.
And here is a list of my favorite upper elementary picture books. These are specifically identified as being great for back-to-school, but they can also be used at any time of year.
3 – Besides all of the assessment and data tracking you do, consider doing some “kidwatching” to look for positives you see in students’ work habits, social skills, and behavior.
This information can be shared with students’ parents/caregivers as a quick email/text/phone call, or you can keep the information together to share as part of conferences, progress reports, or report cards.
Here is a quick way to do this: use five post-it notes per day and put the names of five students on the notes. For that one day, closely “kidwatch” those five students and jot down the positives that you see. (If a day gets extra busy and you don’t get to everyone, just continue the next day.) When you’re done, move on to five more students!
5 – Speaking of Ditch That Textbook – Matt is a high school teacher, but his site has great tools and ideas that can be incorporated in upper elementary as well. Here is a link to some of his back-to-school tips.
6 – Have you heard of Classroom Transformations? I learned about them in a Facebook group, and it reminded me that I used to do them occasionally but have not done them recently.
Here is a link to Lifetime Learner on Teachers Pay Teachers so that you can get an idea of what these are like. This link is for fourth-grade math class transformations.
7 – Use Kagan’s cooperative learning strategies! This explanation of five strategies will get you started.
Morning meeting/end of day routines/SEL tips:
8 – If you need guidance in starting a morning meeting routine, here you go!
9 – Learn something about the National Day of (whatever)! This website is a great resource for choices.
10 – Make “student sub plans” for when you’ll be out. I also saw this in a Facebook group, but cannot remember who to credit for this idea. (If it was you, or if you know who suggested it, please let me know!)
This is a brief checklist for students that lists what they need to complete at different times of the day. It helps them feel more responsible for their own learning on days you are absent. The list can be posted on your online learning platform, or you could ask your substitute to print and copy for each student.
11 – Celebrate birthdays! We’re not allowed to have food to celebrate birthdays in our district, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do special things.
Create a Padlet for the student called “What We Like About . . . “ and let everyone add something. (You can still preview the Padlet if something is shared that would not be appreciated.) Then you can share them digitally with the student and family, or print it out.
You could also do this on a large piece of construction paper or chart paper and let the student take it home.
17 – End the day with 3 A’s – appreciation (kids can thank someone else or share appreciation with a classmate publicly), apologies (kids can apologize to someone specific or to the class), a-ha moment (kids can share something that they learned or something that made sense to them during the day).
We have also added questions to this mix. Kids can ask you or each other questions. (I always give students the right to decline answering a question by asking, “Are you taking questions right now?” before the question is asked.)
24 – Have an occasional Beach Day or Camping Day to add novelty to independent reading! Allow students to bring blankets/towels (for a “beach towel” or “campsite”), stuffies, and possibly flashlights (for Camping Day). Put a campfire video or beach video on your interactive whiteboard, allow students to set up their reading spot, and read! Super easy and fun.
25 – Use Free Rice as a fun way to learn vocabulary words.
26 – Create flashcards in Quizlet for any book or content area. Allow students to study the flashcards, then play Quizlet Live!
28 – Incorporate math stations to give you more time for small group instruction.
A typical model is the MATH system:
M – meet with teacher
A – apply it (independent practice of concept)
T – technology (facts practice or some other math website assignment)
H – hands-on (an activity or game)
29 – If you’re not ready for math stations, here’s another way to give small group instruction time.
Post a list of “must do/may do” activities, then pull small groups as needed.
Content area tips:
30 – Participate in a postcard exchange as a way to learn about different states! Join a Facebook group for your grade level and search “postcard” to find ways to incorporate this activity.
31 – Explore the Wonderopolis Wonder of the Day. You could choose something related to your current content area of study or just select wonders you and your students are interested in.
33 – Incorporate Reader’s Theater about content topics. See tip #23 above.
34 – Go on a virtual field trip! See tip #21 above.
35—Try EduProtocols! I have not used this, but it looks interesting. Here is a link for more information. Let me know if you use this and tell me how you incorporate it! I’d love to credit you and share your ideas.
There you have it! 35 tips for adding fun and novelty to your upper elementary classroom next year.
Which tip will you try first? Do you have suggestions to add? Comment below or email me at stillteachingstilllearning@gmail.com.
We’ve reached the end of another school year. Chances are, you are exhausted and ready for a break.
You might also be thinking about what you want to do better or differently in your classroom next year.
So this post will give you five tips for wrapping up the school year, but I’m also giving you two levels of suggestions.
Level one will be for the “I’m ready to think about this!” folks.
Level two will be for the “I’m at low capacity right now” folks.
Please know I am not suggesting you do any school work or planning over the summer. Summer is a mini-sabbatical for teachers, a time to rest and rejuvenate. But sometimes, even as we rest and rejuvenate, we still get great ideas for next year. That is fine too! Creating materials or anything that will help make your teaching life easier in the fall is also fine to do, as long as it gives you energy.
The bottom line is that your summer should be spent doing what works for you.
Tip #1 – Clean and organize
I’m ready to think about this!
As you clean up and pack up your classroom, resist the urge to cram everything in the cabinets or closet and race out the door. (I know it’s a strong urge!)
Think about “future you” and what will make you happy or ease your stress when you see those cabinets or closets in August.
If possible, use this time to toss, recycle, or give away every paper or resource that you have not used (and probably never will).
Some good places to start: your classroom library (weeding out the ratty books or books that nobody ever reads anyway), centers or game resources, teacher resources or files.
I don’t have the capacity right now.
If you can’t go through everything, just choose one part of your classroom to clean out/organize and save other areas for back to school time.
Tip #2 – Prepare for next year’s first week of school
I’m ready to think about this!
What can you prep for next year’s first week of school? Are there activities or resources that you enjoyed using this year? Could you go ahead and make those copies or prep those resources in some way?
Consider creating a “first day back” box. Put the supplies you will need to set up your classroom in this box. Then you don’t have to hunt through several boxes to find your stapler.
Some suggestions for your “first day back” box: stapler and staples, a paper planner for next year (if you use one), your favorite pens, Expo markers and an eraser, tape, and any back-to-school resources you want to have handy. You get the idea.
Store this box where it will be easy to access quickly, or think about taking it home and storing it there until August.
I don’t have the capacity right now.
If you don’t have the capacity for any of this, just list the activities or resources you might use next year. You might even categorize the list by what needs to be copied, what needs to be prepped, etc. Then leave it alone until you’re ready to look at it again.
Here are some questions to get your thinking started. You don’t have to answer them all!
Jot down whatever comes to mind in list form and know you can always return to this list later and add more detail.
You might want to use a separate page for each question or just answer the questions in any order that works for you. There is no right or wrong way to do this reflection.
*What worked well?
*What are you most proud of?
*What drove you crazy?
*What part of your day annoyed you the most?
*What drained your energy?
*What took up too much of your time?
*What would you like to spend more of your time doing?
*Which classroom procedures worked well?
*Which classroom procedures did NOT work well?
*What is something you would like to try or implement that you did not have the bandwidth for doing this year?
*What teacher professional books or courses or learning would help you for next year?
*What children’s books would you like to read to prep for next year? (These could be for reading groups, book clubs, or read-alouds.)
*What were some good habits that worked for you this year? (These could be personal, work, or healthcare habits.)
*What habits would you like to implement or be more consistent with next year?
I’m at low capacity right now.
Save these questions for later in the summer or when you’re in back-to-school mode.
Enjoy a “Sloth Week,” then do some planning so you’ll have an awesome summer.
Here are my easy directions for “Sloth Week.” Once I get out of school, I will spend the next week (or so) as a sloth. I will do nothing besides family /friend events I want to attend or participate in. No medical appointments. No errands I do not want to run. No reading anything education-related.
Here’s what I will do: spend time outside, spend time alone (or with my very favorite people), sleep more, watch anything on TV or streaming that I want to watch, and read beach-type books. I highly recommend Sloth Week. It helps me recover from a busy and stressful school year and eases me into a relaxing (but somewhat productive) summer.
Tip #5 – Planning for next year
I’m ready to think about this!
If you want to do some planning, here are some areas to prioritize:
*how you’ll organize your literacy block
*how you’ll organize your math block
*changes for content area instruction
*routines & procedures that you want to change or implement differently next year
*spending time with your PLC or grade level team (even just one coffee or drinks date)
*thinking through your pacing guide for the year (literacy, math, content areas)
*a homework plan/policy
Something else to consider for next year – are there any big projects or field trips you would like to implement next year?
Spend some time jotting down some notes about that. What needs to be planned in advance? Who might need to approve the project or field trip?
You don’t have to do any of these things now, but if you break down that big project into smaller steps, you’ll have a to-do list ready for when it’s time to do the big planning.
Another tip for big projects and field trips: consider planning these for January through April. Those are the months when we often get in a funk because we’re tired. Having something fun or unexpected to look forward to during those months will boost everyone’s energy!
I’m at low capacity right now.
Ignore this for now. Come back to it when you’re ready.
Tip #6 – Learn new things!
I’m ready to do this!
Look back at your reflection list. What are the areas where you want to improve or make some changes? What are some topics you would like to learn more about?
If your district or state offers free professional development in the areas you are interested in, consider taking advantage of it.
Other options are to look for free or low-cost professional development sessions online. Google is your friend.
Same with professional books. Does your school or district reimburse you for books you buy for yourself? (Our PTA provides a small amount of teacher discretionary money, for example.)
If not, consider whether buying the book is within your budget. Even if it’s not, you can still learn about topics by reading blog posts or searching for other free content online.
Another option is to join Facebook groups for your grade level or subject area. You can often find great ideas in those teacher groups.
I’m at low capacity right now.
Read or watch content just for fun. You likely did not have enough time for that during the school year anyway, so take this time for yourself and do not feel guilty!
I hope you take some much-needed time to rest and reflect over the summer! If you want a 5-day self-care routine, try my free course!
You need easy, low-prep ideas for the last days of school and I’ve got some great ones for you! These ideas are also good for those afternoons after standardized testing.
1—Have a read-in for as much of the day as your students can handle! Let them bring pillows, stuffies, and towels to lie down on. Let them stretch out around the room and create comfy reading spots. Everyone should have a good supply of books and magazines. Snacks and drinks are optional. Try reading for 30 minutes, take a 10-minute break, and then repeat! This makes for a great time for you to get paperwork done.
2 – A variation on the read-in: have a camping-style or beach-day read-in.
For camping: let students create “tents” with towels or blankets and use flashlights for reading. You might display a campfire image or video on the board. Make s’mores for snacks! (If you have one nearby, you can make these in a microwave.).
For beach day: set up towels as “beach towels.” Display a beach image on the board. Eat goldfish crackers for snacks. (Yes, I know that goldfish are not ocean animals, but they’ll do as a fun snack!)
3—Create a graffiti wall. Display some butcher paper on the wall and keep markers available for students to write about their favorite memories of the year, compliments for classmates, the best books they read, etc.
4 – Let groups of students rehearse and then present reader’s theater skits. Here is a site with lots of fairy tale-type stories and this site has some picture book and fairy tale-type stories.
5 – Have board game tournaments! Allow students to bring board games from home if you don’t have any in your classroom.
6 – Show different movies in different classrooms and allow students to choose which movie they want to watch.
7 – Have your students write ABC books on how to survive your class or grade. Then you can share these with next year’s class in the first days of school! Tell your students to include their best advice for how to stay out of trouble, how to stay on your good side, etc.
8 – Make tessellations! This site gives directions.
9 – Write letters! Suggestions: write a letter to themselves reflecting on the past year and setting goals for the future; write thank-you notes to people in school (both adults and students) who have helped them throughout the year; write letters to next year’s students.
20 – Write collaborative stories! Use Story Cubes or let students just start their own stories and leave them on their desks. Give a signal, then have students rotate to the next desk, read the story and then add to it. Keep rotating as many times as you want. Let students know when it’s the last rotation so they can wrap the story up.
21—Take the reading, writing, math, or whatever lesson outside! Or just take a walk in the sunshine.
27 – Make a list of places where you can read this summer! Ideas: at the park, by the pool, at the doctor’s office, on a boat, in a fort, on the beach, at the lake, in the mountains, at camp, at a sleepover, on the computer, on the bus, on the couch, in a swing, etc.
28 – Use Kahoot (or any online game site) to play trivia games appropriate for your grade level.
29 – Make sidewalk chalk art. Let kids be creative or have them draw things that reflect some of what you’ve learned this year (state landmarks, different ecosystems, an electrical circuit, etc.)
30 – Pass the plate activity! Get some paper plates and colorful markers. Let students write their name in the middle of the plate, then start passing the plates around! Each student should write complimentary words to describe each classmate, then pass it on to the next student. This makes a great keepsake!
I used to think that time management was all about getting up earlier, staying up later and cramming as many tasks into the day as I could possibly do. Now I think that managing my time is more about being intentional about my use of time. It means doing the right things at the right time.
Some days I may look at my to-do list and see very few things crossed off, but when I think about my day as a whole, I realize that the things I did do were all super important (going to a doctor’s appointment with my mom, making a dinner that my husband loves and which I don’t make very often, taking a nap because I haven’t been getting enough sleep, catching up with a good friend who needs a listening ear).
So what are my best time “management” tips?
What I try to focus on now is “scheduling” all of my routine things to do into “blocks” of time, setting limits on how long I will work on different routine tasks (grading papers and doing laundry are always going to be on the list and are never really “caught up”), and being efficient with chores and the routine tasks so that I can spend more time on what is most important.
So my definition of time management now is not just about getting stuff done. It’s also about doing the right stuff.
And making lots of lists!
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
~Aristotle
First, here are eight general tips that have helped me.
8 General Tips
1 – Write it all down. It sounds compulsive, but it’s the best way to stay on top of all the things you need to do. It also helps you plan what days will be best to do which tasks.
For example, you would not plan to complete lots of cleaning or organizing tasks on the days when you have a later working day or lots of kid activities to coordinate. It also serves as a great boost when you look back on the week and see all the things you did complete!
2 – Some people like to keep all their lists and a planner on their phone. There are some great apps that will help you do this.
Other people (like me) prefer paper and some favorite pens. (My favorite are Flair pens!)
But honestly – my favorite way to plan is to grab a sturdy notebook and carry it with me everywhere.
Carrying it with you everywhere allows you to use it for everything: your weekly cleaning list, weekly menus, grocery list, workout log, list of outfits, things to do at home, things to do at work, holiday planning, goals — all the lists you need for your busy life.
In addition to pages of lists, you just start a new page for each day, write the date at the top and list the things you need/want to do that day. Whatever does not get checked off gets added to the next day’s list.
3 – Two important tips for planners and lists:
A – write everything down. Do not rely on your memory. (When you’re carrying your planner around with you everywhere, you will always have it handy when you think of something else you need to do.) This is why many people prefer using their phone.
B – check your planner several times a day. Put a notification on your phone if you have to, but make sure you are checking your planner at least once an hour.
4 – Go to bed earlier and get up earlier. I know — sleep is very important. But sleeping late every day is not important. If you start training your body to get up earlier, you can also train your body to go to sleep earlier. Aim for 6 – 8 hours of sleep per night.
As for what time to get up each day: one tip I’ve used is to think about what time I need to get up in the morning, then subtract one hour. That is the time I should be getting up.
What can you do with that extra hour? Plan your day, pray, meditate, do yoga, work out, work on some goal project of your own. (See my morning routine post HERE.) That extra hour, first thing in the morning, that is just for YOU will help you to be better in all areas of your life. Just try it for a couple of weeks and see what you think!
5 – Get some help. I know, I know — we think we should be able to do everything ourselves. But look around and identify someone you know who appears to “do it all”. Then ask her how she does it. You will undoubtedly hear that she doesn’t “do it all” herself! No one does.
Look at your list of things to do. What are the things that only you can do? (Tuck your kids into bed, for instance.)
What are the things that someone else could do for you? (Clean your house? Drive your kids to sports practices? Shop for groceries?) Think about delegating some tasks to other people. Everyone that lives in your house (spouse, children above preschool age) needs to contribute to the family chores in some way.
Could you use different services to do some tasks? (Ordering groceries online for instance and paying for delivery or picking your order up in an express lane at the store.) Could you hire someone to clean your house or run errands for you?
6 – And while we’re talking about getting some help — it’s okay to say NO to tasks or activities that don’t fit your time availability and your current priorities and goals.
This is another hard one, I know. We want to help as many people as possible and we want to please everyone. But think about what and who is most important in your life right now. Judge each task that you are asked to do against that list of priorities.
Will the task you’re being asked to do affect one of those priorities in a negative way? (Taking you away from home too many evenings, for instance.)
One of my favorite ways to say no is to say, “Thank you for thinking of me I would love to help, but my schedule is too tight right now and I would not be able to give it my fullest attention and energy.” They may be disappointed for a moment, but they will quickly move on to the next person to ask. Plus, they have to respect the fact that you don’t want to take on a task that will not get your best effort.
7 – Schedule EVERYTHING on your planner. If it does not get scheduled and assigned to a certain day or a certain time, it’s not going to happen.
If you want to work out every morning at 6 a.m., write it down. If you want a weekly date night with your husband on Fridays at 7 p.m., write it down (and make sure he does the same!). If you want to catch up with a friend in person or over the phone, write it down.
8 – Make sure you are scheduling time for you to do what YOU want to do and what is important to you. If you don’t do that, other tasks or demands will take over that time and you will eventually feel burned out and resentful. You can prevent that from happening, or change it if it’s already happening. Schedule some daily time for yourself and plan for what you will do with that time.
At the beginning of each month, I draw a quadrant on a piece of paper. I label each quadrant with the week’s dates for that month (December 3 – 9, December 10 – 16, etc.). Then I list the calendar dates that are already scheduled in each quadrant.
I make a list of what I would like to get done in that month and which week will be best for that task. Some tasks come from my calendar (birthdays, appointments, meetings, events), and some are from my goal-setting work. (I will be posting soon about how I set goals.)
I leave lots of empty spaces because unexpected events occur throughout the month that will also need to be included. This list gives me some control in the sense that I can see what is coming up that month, but it also gives me the flexibility to change the priority of anything on the list.
Plan your week in advance. While you can do this on any day, I prefer Sunday. It helps get my new week off to a good start when I have some time to think about last week and to look ahead to how I will use my time going forward.
Start by looking over your general monthly plan and looking at last week’s lists. What went well last week? What needs to be rescheduled or tweaked for this week? What goals do you want to accomplish this week?
Make a list of tasks you need to complete for the upcoming week. Include appointments, meetings, kids’ scheduled activities, etc. What appointments/events/meetings/important dates are coming up this week? What do you need to prep for those dates? (Example: buy a birthday card and gift, review notes for a meeting, etc.) Plan time for the prep as well as the actual event! (See the planner and list tips above.)
*Cleaning routine — I keep a list of all tasks that need to be done in my home daily, weekly, monthly, and seasonally. Having such a list does not mean you have to do all these things (you might delegate to others or you might pay a cleaning service to do some), but it helps you stay on top of what needs to be done around your house. Each week I list what I need to do for that week, then figure out which days will be best for which tasks. This varies from week to week, depending on my work schedule and other commitments.
*Menus — I plan my menus for one month in advance. Look at your calendar and decide which meals will best fit which days. Then you can make your grocery list! Are there meal prepping tasks you could do in one batch on Saturday or Sunday that will help make the upcoming week easier?
*Workouts — choose which workouts you will do on what days and schedule those on your calendar. This is SO important. I schedule and plan for workouts because they will not happen otherwise. Be realistic. If you have an especially early start and lots of appointments one day, don’t try to schedule one of your longer workouts. Look for a shorter workout you can do on that day. Consistency and intensity are more important than the length of your workouts.
*Clothes/outfits — check the weather forecast and temperatures for the week, then list some possible outfits you will wear. As part of your evening routine, lay out the clothes you will wear the next day.
*Review your budget and finances. Check your balance and your account statements. What bills are due this week? How well are you sticking to your budget? What changes or adjustments could you make?
*Stick to your evening routine. If there is ever a time that I am strict about my evening routine, it’s on Sunday night. I usually try to go to bed a little earlier as well.
*Try batching some tasks into 15 or 20 minute segments. For instance, as a teacher and I will have assignments to grade until June 10 (our last day of school). I am never really “caught up”. The assignments are not going to magically grade themselves. I am never going to find some huge chunk of time to get them all graded and then be “done”. So I grade assignments for 20 minutes a day.
Many times, at the end of that 20 minutes, I decide to continue for a bit longer. Sometimes I don’t have any more time that day, so I stop. But the point is that I am being consistent in getting that task “done” daily.
Other ways to use this tip: to get started on an overwhelming organizing or cleaning task or to keep focused on one task at a time (instead of getting sidetracked into checking email or googling something). It’s a lot easier to tackle some big task or to make progress on your goals when you know that you only have 15 or 20 minutes.
You will be amazed at how much you can accomplish in a short batch of time by the end of a week or month! See the time blocking tips below for more about batching tasks.
*What if you plan out your work in this way, but there is still too much to do? Take a look at your plan.
Some weeks it does feel as if everything important needs attention in that week. But often I find that I am trying to do too many things that don’t matter as much. Not everything is essential. I can’t say “yes” to doing everything that other people want me to do.
So think about what matters most to you. What can you cut out of your schedule? What can be delegated? I love the saying, “Do fewer things, but be awesome at them.” Not sure where I heard that, but it is wise advice. See the time blocking tips below for more about how to realistic about time and doing what matters.
*Schedule time for your own self-care. This is another area where being intentional about scheduling this time is key to making sure it happens. Being stressed and burned out leads to less productivity. Take a few minutes every day for yourself.
6 Tips for Time Blocking
1 – I have been doing a version of time blocking for years, but this post totally makes sense and explains it in a fun way. Jordan Page recommends setting your day up in blocks that fit your particular stage of life. Then, in each block, list what you will get done during that time.
Jordan’s tips:
~stick to 2-3 hour blocks
~don’t micromanage your day. Emergencies and interruptions will happen – don’t stress about it. Just rearrange and move necessary tasks to other blocks
~use the alarm on your phone to remind you of upcoming blocks
~use the alarm to alert you when a block is ending
2 – Another reason to use time blocking is to help you plan and be realistic about how long different tasks will take. I have noticed that when I have a tight time schedule (with appointments, meetings, etc.), I am more efficient with getting things done but on days when I don’t have as many time pressures, I just kind of fritter the time away and then wonder why I didn’t get anything done.
So I plan for what I will do during a time block, allowing extra time for interruptions or unanticipated events. This makes me focus on how much time I actually have and how long some tasks will actually take, helping me develop more realistic time blocks for the future.
It also cuts down on the urge to procrastinate. I’ve already made the decision to do certain tasks at a certain time, so I just get started and do them! Nothing will ever be perfect, but if you have a plan for a block of time, you will get more done.
3 – Within those time blocks that Jordan recommends, I set shorter time limits for dedicated work time.
For instance, if I decide that I am going to work on school work such as grading papers, researching resources for plans, or creating assignments, I set specific time blocks for just one task (i.e., grading papers for 20 minutes), and work on that one task for just that amount of time.
Chipping away at something every single day helps you get stuff done. Instead of being overwhelmed by all you need to do, just focus on that one task for one short time block. Then, when you spend time with your family, you can give them your undivided attention, knowing that you made progress toward your most important work tasks.
4 – Other than using your phone’s alarm to alert you when it’s time to stop a block, turn off your phone notifications when you need to get something done OR when you are spending time with your family.
Unless you need to be available for some kind of emergency, stay off the screen and focus on what or who is right in front of you. This can be really hard since we all use our phones for just about everything. But try it and see how it works for you.
5 – Schedule both your chores/tasks/things to do in your time blocks, but also think about scheduling things you want to do.
If you go into a weekend with the hope of doing certain things with your family or friends, schedule that activity for certain times of the day! (And make sure that your family and friends know what time you’re scheduling the activity! 🙂 You will find that you enjoy your leisure time more when activities are planned and scheduled because they will actually happen, instead of just being hoped-for activities that you will do “some day”.
6 – Plan your day backwards. For instance, if you want to leave work by 5:00 p.m., plan your work time blocks with that “limit” in mind. Some days/weeks are busier at work, but if you set some boundaries, it helps you keep better work/life balance and forces you to be efficient with your use of time.
A similar thing happens at home. If you set your wind-down/bedtime for 9 p.m., plan your time blocks with that “hard stop” limit in mind.
Conclusion
Finally – make sure you are doing “first things first.” What is the “deep work” that uses your abilities and talents best?
Can you cut out incessant email checking (I’ve been guilty of this), incessant social media scrolling (same), and mindless TV (uh, same again)? I’m not saying that you need to be a hamster on a wheel all the time.
Just try focusing on what matters most to you: what people you want to spend your time with, what tasks or activities will make your life better or more organized,and what tasks or activities use your talents and creativity best. You will find that your stress level will go down and that you will have MORE time for the activities and the people that you love.
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
