If you’re a teacher, you’re probably tired. Just a few weeks into the school year, and you might feel like you’ve hit a wall.
In August, our brains go from summer mode to overdrive. There is no easing into it and it takes a while to build up our teacher stamina again. In August, we make our miles-long teacher things-to-do lists and get going. Adrenaline kicks in.
Every day becomes a race to check off as many of those back-to-school prep items as possible. Somehow, most things get done! By the third or fourth week of school, we might start feeling like we’re in a bit of a routine and even slowly building up our stamina.
But now – weeks into the school year – we’re tired. Can anything be done about it?
Thankfully – yes. And it doesn’t have to be “just get more sleep.” As I get older and wiser, I’m realizing a few things: #1 is that “sleep” and “rest” are two different things. And #2 is that rest is essential to success.
We can’t just keep pushing and pushing, thinking we’ll rest when everything gets done. If you’ve been teaching for more than one year, you know that “everything” is never done! Constantly pushing ourselves to do more and accomplish more leads to exhaustion and burnout.
“Rest is not this optional leftover activity. Work and rest are actually partners. They are like different parts of a wave. You can’t have the high without the low. The better you are at resting, the better you will be at working.”
So how can we incorporate rest into our teaching lives?
This TED Talk from Saundra Dalton-Smith helped me understand the seven different aspects of rest.
Physical rest
This is the first one we usually think about. Examples of physical rest include going to bed earlier and napping, but you can also get physical rest from yoga, stretching, massages, and foot rubs! (Shouldn’t every teacher workroom include a nap area and a masseuse to provide chair massages and foot rubs?!)
While napping (or massages) may not be an option during your school day, here are other ways to get some physical rest:
*do some stretches
*do some yoga poses
*deep breathing. Simply take six counts to breathe in, then six counts to exhale. Do this five times.
*take a brief walk (preferably outside)
*take your planning or grading work to another location for a change of scenery
You already know this, but making sure you are getting seven or more hours of sleep every night is also enormously beneficial.
Mental rest
You know you need some mental rest when you feel as if you have “monkey mind” – when your thoughts are all over the place, jumping from one idea to the next.
Some ways to get mental rest during the school day:
*get all of those monkey mind ideas out of your head and into a journal (otherwise known as a brain dump)
*do some small cleaning task
*do some small organizing task
*read something
*schedule & take regular breaks
*get outside
*deep breathing and/or meditation – even for just one minute!
Sensory rest
You’ll know you need sensory rest when you have been staring at a screen for too long, or when you’ve been in a noisy or crowded space.
How to get sensory rest during the school day:
*take screen breaks (try not to grab your phone and mindlessly scroll when you get a break)
*take a walking break (preferably alone and outside)
*go somewhere where you can be silent for a few minutes (even if it’s the restroom)
*wear clothes that are soft and not too tight
*close your eyes, even for just a few seconds
Creative rest
You need this type of rest when you’re feeling unmotivated and uninspired.
*change your environment – spend your planning time in another location
*shake up your routine – can you do tasks in a different order or in a different place?
*take a walk outside
*deep breathing
*journaling or doodling
*do something just for fun – not to achieve anything, but just to take a brain break
Emotional rest
When you find yourself just going through the motions and not expressing your true feelings, you are in need of some emotional rest. This is going to involve talking to another person who loves you and is on your side.
*call or text a friend or family member
*vent to a trusted co-worker
*consider therapy. Does your school district offer free or low-cost options?
Social rest
If you continually have events on your calendar that require you to spend time with people you’d rather not see (or not see as often), you need some social rest.
*can you cancel or reschedule and spend some time by yourself or with other people you love?
*schedule some daily alone time for yourself. This might be early in the morning, right after you return home from school, or later in the evening.
*say no. Set some boundaries around when and how long you will spend time with people who drain your energy.
Spiritual rest
If you feel like you’ve lost your purpose or your “why,” you might need some spiritual rest. Here are some things to try:
*attending worship services or a Bible study
*volunteering for an organization that inspires you
*joining a club to spend time with people who have similar interests
Instead of waiting until you are burned out and exhausted, think of how you can incorporate different kinds of rest into your life on a daily basis. Just try one and see how it works for you! Remember that rest is not the opposite of work. Rest helps you be more successful.
Need some encouragement on how to manage your teaching time so it doesn’t take over your personal life? Join our Sustainable Teaching Membership on Patreon!
A few years ago, I worked as an instructional coach for our state’s department of education. In one school, I saw the school leadership insist that every teacher begin the first day of school almost like a college class – go over the “syllabus” (as in: “welcome to first grade and this is what we’ll learn this year”), define the rules and consequences, then immediately start teaching content.
A few teachers went “rogue” and did a good bit of community-building and relationship-building activities prior to beginning content teaching. They went even more rogue by continuing these activities throughout the first few weeks of school and any time they felt the need to strengthen the community throughout the year.
No surprise: the “rogue” teachers built the most positive relationships with students, had the most cooperative and collaborative groups of students, actually enjoyed their classes, AND got stellar academic results. Bonus: these teachers enjoyed teaching and enjoyed their students.
What about the teachers who followed the leadership directions? Well – let’s just say that their results were not so good. (Part of my job was to make suggestions. Changing how we started the year was the first suggestion I made.)
One important aspect of building a classroom community is to create routines/rituals/traditions in your class. Think about rituals or traditions that you might do with your family. These activities build a sense of belonging and give everyone something comforting and familiar to look forward to doing together. Creating some of these in your classroom will have that same effect.
Here are 7 ideas to try in your first week or month of school. Start small. Plan one thing to do each day and add on as you feel ready.
1 – Start a morning meeting routine. Community-building activities can happen throughout the day, so don’t limit yourself to morning! Here’s how to get started.
There are four components of morning meetings: Greetings, Share, Activity, and Message. (This isn’t a requirement – just a suggested framework.)
Greetings can take many forms. Here are some ideas from Responsive Classroom. At the beginning of the year, you might focus a bit more on making sure everyone knows every student’s name and the correct way to pronounce it.
Share should always be kept optional. Sarah Gardner has some great ideas HERE.
The Activity part of the meeting is meant to build your community and let students practice their social and academic skills with an interactive activity.
And finally, the Message part of the meeting is where you shift the students’ focus to the academic content for the day. Here are some examples from Responsive Classroom.
~share compliments or appreciation for another student. Sentence starters like “I want to compliment ____ for doing _____” and “I appreciate _____ because ______” are simple ways to start.
Encourage students to compliment/appreciate something someone else does rather than something they have or are wearing. Make this a voluntary, optional activity. I also find it helps if I start the compliments/appreciations.
Don’t be surprised if you don’t get much out of students at first! They will get more comfortable with this as they get to know each other better and if you consistently implement the routine.
~”Would you rather?” questions. Minds in Bloom has a great archive of questions to use at different times of year.
~Use these questions for Walk-Talk-Swap. (Distribute question cards to students. Play music and allow them to move around the room. When the music stops, they stop, ask their nearest classmate their question, answer their classmate’s question, then swap cards. When the music starts, they walk around the room again.)
5 – Establish classroom norms with your students. This post explains how to do that.
6 – Read aloud, read aloud, read aloud. Nothing brings people together better than a good story. Here is a link to my updated list of great picture books for upper elementary students, and a link to some great chapter books.
7 – Just like you started the day with a circle/meeting, consider ending the day with a closing circle. During this time, you might review the day, talk about what was good, what was more difficult, discuss what we’re going to do after school today.
Some questions I ask to get the conversation started:
*3 A’s – share an appreciation for something or something, an apology for something, or an aha moment (where you noticed something or mastered something)
*what was one rose and one thorn from the day?
*what was something challenging or new for you today?
*tell us about a time when you had to push through something hard today
*how were you creative today?
*what is something you did to take care of yourself today?
Taking the time to build this community at the beginning of the year is so important. Yes, we start teaching content pretty quickly, but taking the time to gather as a community and learn more about each other will give you more quality teaching time throughout the year.
Teachers are going back to school (or soon will be), hoping and praying for a better year after three years of COVID impacting schools and teaching. Besides setting up the classroom and attending endless meetings, the most important activities to plan are routines and procedures that build classroom community. Here are the most important routines and procedures to plan, followed by some teachers’ suggestions!
In my first year of teaching, a wise veteran teacher told me one of her secrets to success: “never let them see you sweat.” She explained that if you feel prepared with routines and procedures, you will feel more calm and confident as a teacher. Your attitude in the classroom is contagious. Knowing what you want students to do will ensure that your calm is contagious!
Routines & Procedures to Plan
Here are some routines and procedures to plan in advance so that you can have that “calm is contagious” feeling of confidence!
*Morning routines (entry and what they do first)
*Attention signals
*Classroom areas – what areas students can use (and how to use them); what areas are “off limits”
*Class jobs/classroom care
*Whole class lesson procedures
*Small group procedures
*Independent work time
*Where, when, & how to turn in work
*Lunch
*Recess
*Student materials – how to access
*Pencils! (this is always a hot topic)
*Transitions
*Hallway
*Restrooms & water
*Snack
*End of day routines
(If you want to learn more about planning any of these procedures, here’s a free course!)
How to Teach Those Routines & Procedures
It’s important to explicitly teach everything so they know how to do it. Practice, practice, practice! Make everything as routine and consistent as possible. Here are four steps to do that.
1 – Introduce the procedure and tell students what you want them to do. Be clear and set high expectations. (For example: if “no talking” during a transition is one of your expectations, don’t settle for even a little bit of talking!)
2 – Teach the procedure with guided practice:
~I do (where you model the procedure). Show them what you want them to do. If you want to inject some humor, show them what you do NOT want them to do! If you decide to do this, make sure you then model, again, what you DO want them to do so the last “picture” they see is how to do the procedure correctly.
~We do (where everyone practices). As you monitor students practicing the procedure, assume the best. Assume they are trying to do it right. Narrate the positive, not what is going “wrong.”
~You do (Provide plenty of opportunities to practice the procedure, not just on the first day but in the first six weeks of school. Yes, six weeks! It often takes that long for everyone in your class to “perfect” some procedures.)
3 – Rinse & repeat! Challenge students to try to get better every time they practice. Challenge them! Try to complete the procedure within a certain amount of time, use a chant or a cheer, or try playing different songs to signal the procedure or transition. Ms. Bensko on Spotify is a great resource for classroom-appropriate songs.
4 – Once almost everyone is doing it perfectly, you can stop practicing. Redirect students every time they don’t do the procedure correctly. Use the language of “reinforce, remind, redirect.” (Responsive Classroom has great resources for teachers. This article explains that “reinforce, remind, redirect” language.)
~have a designated place for student to place paperwork or notes from home for you. My bin is called “Stuff for Mrs. Smith” – nothing fancy, but it covers everything!
~daily slides – there are lots of great resources on Teachers Pay Teachers, but you can also check “Bitmoji Craze for Educators” Facebook group for free, editable resources! These slides could be used to give students directions for what to do in the morning. Curriculum Corner has lots of great resources too.
~use resources like Question of the Day (I saw this free resource in a Facebook group. If you know who created it, would you let me know? I want to give them credit!)
~set daily goals as a class (at the beginning of the year, these could be related to those routines & procedures).
~add points on the board, pom poms or colorful cotton balls in a clear jar (or some other visible reinforcement) when your class meets their goals, makes quick transitions, earns compliments from another teacher, etc., then plan a whole class reward.
~use music playlists to signal different times of the day (Ms. Bensko playlists on Spotify work well for this)
*Class jobs:
Think about how to incorporate ways to take care of the classroom. Giving students responsibility for keeping the classroom clean, organized, and functioning smoothly is a great way to encourage students to work together and it helps everyone feel more connected.
~one popular idea is to create jobs for every student.
~if that feels like too much, you can designate one or two students a day to help do all the things. You can call them teacher helpers, teacher assistants, or VIP students – whatever makes the job sound extra special! These students could be the ones to pass out papers or supplies, collect papers or supplies, be the line leaders, monitor technology storage, pencil manager, etc.
~use baskets labeled by subject (or by class, if you teach more than one)
~place a class checklist beside the basket so students can check off their name when they turn in work. (Keep extra copies in the bottom of the basket.) Class checklists come in handy for LOTS of classroom organization tasks, by the way (checking off permission slips or other forms).
~assign every student a number (list names alphabetically by last name). Teach students to include their number at the top of the paper when they write their name. This helps with putting papers in order by number (to check for completion or to grade student work). If you do this, it’s also helpful to make a list of these names & numbers on a piece of chart paper and post it. You can use the numbers every year to label cubbies, bags of math manipulatives, etc.
~think about what you want students to do after they turn in work. Some teachers set up an “Early Finishers” file with puzzles or various activities that students can access when their work is “done.” Other teachers keep an anchor chart with options such as: independent reading, math practice on a website, review science notes, etc. Still others might keep a list on the board so they can change it easily.
*Transitions:
~count down from some number or use a timer for transitions. (If you count down by number, it’s also fun to include fractional numbers.)
~use a ”magic word” that means “go, get started.” Your students will have to listen to all of the directions and not move until you say the magic word! (You ould keep the same word all year, or change the word with student suggestions weekly.)
*Restrooms:
~use hand signals so that your teaching is not interrupted
~use a bathroom pass. One option is to have students keep the pass on their desk and then return it to its place when they return. You could only provide one or two passes to limit the number of students who are out of the classroom at one time.
*End of day routines:
~have a standard cleaning routine (clean up around seat; clean the table surface; return materialsto cubbies, technology cart or shelves; stack chairs; wait to be called to line up).
~play music or a fun kid-appropriate podcast while they are cleaning.
~have an end of day reflection time (my favorite is three A’s).
~challenge your students by thinking of a mystery routine/procedure/work habit/act of kindness. The “mystery” is that you don’t tell them what it is! Then at the end of the day, you reveal the mystery and review the day, telling them when and where you saw them do this correctly. If that didn’t do so well, don’t lecture, but do encourage them to do better the next day. Then use that same “mystery” again, a few days later.
~another fun challenge is to hold occasional cleaning competitions between tables (or transitions or whatever other class goal you have set). Announce the “winners” at the end of the day. (Keep it simple. There is no need to reward them with anything. The recognition is enough.)
My Favorite Routine
Nothing ever goes according to plan during that first week of school. It’s helpful to have a stack of books to read aloud during times when you need something quick and fun. The best part? All of this read-aloud builds classroom community since stories are one of the ways we build connections with each other.
If you want to implement one of my favorite activities – Classroom Book a Day – into your routine, here is my post about getting started. And if you want a list of some fabulous picture book read-alouds for back to school, here’s my list! I have products that include discussion questions for some of these books in my TPT store. (Keep checking back because I will be adding more soon!)
And finally – plan your own routines for yourself.
*What will you do when you enter your classroom in the morning?
*What will you do during your planning or prep time?
*How about right after school?
Whew, I know that’s a lot! But take it from me (since I’m now a “veteran educator”) – thinking through these routines and procedures plus having a plan for them will ensure that your students never see you sweat!
If you’re a teacher, I don’t have to tell you how busy and overwhelming the back-to-school season gets. It ranks right up there with the hectic holiday season. Let’s focus on what we can do to help ease the anxiety and feel optimistic about the new year ahead!
Four steps to calm the overwhelm:
1 – get a notebook or planner to jot down your ideas and thoughts because they’re going to come at you like a tsunami. Having one place to write everything down will ease your overwhelm.
You can take this a step further and label some pages with topics.
Here are some examples. Use the ones that work for you.
*room set-up
*room decor
*organizing tasks
*curriculum things to do
*meetings & important dates
*routines/procedures to teach (watch for my next post about these!)
*first week activities
*first day activities
*organization needs
*classroom supplies
*stuff to make
*stuff to buy
*stuff to copy
If you’re like me, when you’re busy working on one thing, you’ll think of an idea or something you need to for another category. Instead of interrupting yourself and getting off track, you can note the idea on the appropriate list and keep on going, knowing that your ideas are written down for when you can get to them.
2 – when you find yourself running around like a chicken with its head cut off, just STOP. Sit down. Take a deep breath. Or maybe several deep breaths. (My favorite is 4-7-8 breathing. Inhale for a count of four. Hold your breath for a count of seven. Then exhale for a count of eight.) Imagining yourself in a relaxing place helps too.
3 – when you feel calm again, ask yourself three important questions about your current tasks:
*Is this a must-do task (in other words: does this HAVE to be done before students enter the building on day one?)? If so, put a star beside it.
*Is this a would-be-nice-to-do task? (That bulletin board would be really cute, but for right now I could just put paper and border on the board and add the other cute stuff later.)
*Is this something I could delegate or drop altogether, or save it for later when I have time? (Tasks like cleaning out file cabinets or organizing a closet. They might be great things to do, but do they really have to be done before students enter the building?)
4 – organize your to-do list before you set foot in the building.
Here’s how to do that:
*Take those must-do tasks and plan when you will do them. Be realistic, knowing that you’ll also want to visit with school friends (but try to keep those visits brief) and that you’ll be sitting in meeting after meeting.
*Add those would-be-nice-to-do tasks to the list, but in a separate area (so you don’t get them confused with your must-do tasks).
*Before you walk in the door every day, have your list made for that day’s work. Put a star beside your top three tasks for the day. When/if you finish those tasks, then choose another task. Continue for the amount of time that you are in the building.
*Speaking of time, set time limits for yourself. You know as well as I do that school tasks expand to fill the time available. If you set a deadline (and a timer!) for yourself, you are more likely to work like a beaver during the time you’ve set.
*Make your to-do list public. Write it on the board! This way, when folks come into your classroom, they’ll see you working and they’ll also see your list on the board. It’s a subtle reminder that we all have a lot to do so visits need to be brief!
On my Instagram Stories, I asked teachers what they love best about summer. I got lots of replies and it made me wonder – how can we keep the summer vibe going as we begin another school year?
First – think about what you love about summer.
Here were some responses to my IG story.
Longer stretches of time to work on tasks or projects
More sunlight
More time outside
More time with family or friends
More sleep or rest
Time to watch movies/TV/Netflix/etc.
Time to read books for fun
Time to read education books I don’t have time for during the school year
Time to scroll Pinterest and Instagram and find great ideas for next year
More leisurely mornings with coffee and a book
Less of a schedule
Now think about how can you keep some of this in your schedule/routines when you go back to school.
Here are ways to do that.
To have more time to work on personal tasks or projects:
Plan your week at home. While you will definitely have less time during the year, scheduling even 15 minutes once a week will help you make some progress and feel like you’re getting a chance to work on projects that matter to you.
More sunlight and time outside:
Arrange your day to take advantage of hours of daylight.
Could you get up earlier and spend a bit of time outside before you go to school?
Could you walk around outside at some point during the school day?
Could you eat your lunch outside or do some of your planning/prep outside?
Set a “stop time” for work every day (or as many days as possible) so that you can come home earlier and take advantage of daylight hours.
More time with family & friends:
I’m going to sound like a broken record here, but plan your week at home! When you do this, you can build in some time every week to do something fun with friends or family.
Sad to say but if you do not schedule the time, it won’t happen since school work will always seem to take precedence and will fill the time available.
More sleep or rest:
While we won’t be able to stay up as late as we want or sleep in as long as we want, we can still think about ways to get more sleep during the school year.
Think about how much sleep you absolutely need. It’s probably around 7 – 9 hours (although I’ve been guilty of trying to get by on six hours).
Think about a bedtime and wake-up time for yourself that will ensure you get the rest you need. Now make it a goal that you will stick to those times as many nights as you possibly can. You might also schedule time for a nap on the weekend if you can manage that!
Time to watch movies/TV/Netflix, etc.:
Keep a running list of the shows you want to watch. When you do have an evening to yourself, you’ll have a list and won’t waste the time scrolling through your options.
Even if you don’t get a chance to watch anything during the school year, you’ll have a list for your weekends, long weekends, or your next break!
Time to read books for fun:
Keeping a running list helps here too. It also helps to plan to read for a few minutes at bedtime. You probably won’t get through any book as quickly as you can during the summer, but at least you can carve out a little bit of time to read for fun.
Time to read education books:
In my first year of teaching, a wise older teacher suggested that I give myself 10 minutes three days a week to read something related to education. It could be a book, a blog post, an Education Week or Edutopia article, whatever.
I started doing that and I have been amazed at how much reading I am able to do during the year when I devote that time. This may not work for you, but if you can carve out a few minutes of time (even five minutes), you’ll probably be surprised at how much you can read!
Scrolling social media for classroom ideas:
I love doing this too. The problem for me is that I can easily let 30 minutes go by and not even remember what I’ve seen.
So I have a couple of suggestions here:
One suggestion is to set a time limit for your scrolling – 5 minutes? 10 minutes? Whatever you can spare.
Another suggestion: if it’s an Instagram post, set up a page in the Notes app of your phone and share the link to the appropriate note. If it’s Pinterest, you can pin it.
Then the last suggestion is to schedule a time to look at the fun things you saved or pinned and decide if you want to use the idea.
Leisurely mornings:
I am a big fan of having time to drink one (or two) cups of coffee, reading a devotional (Just Rest by Melanie Redd is my current book), and just generally having time to get my day started without feeling frantic.
So I started thinking about all the things I would like to do before my teaching day starts and how long these tasks would take (if I weren’t taking my sweet time, that is). I then developed a morning routine that gets my day started in the right way for me. (If you want my tips, here’s a link.)
School mornings will never be as leisurely as summer or weekend mornings, and that’s okay. But starting my day with routines that help me get the day off to a positive and productive start helps a lot.
Less of a schedule:
This is a hard one to keep in your school year routine. I try to look at this as just part of the rhythm of the year. For instance, I love it when everything slows down when school ends. But I also try to see getting back into a “schedule” as a positive part of the late summer/early fall routine.
I live in a college town. When the students leave in mid-May, suddenly the traffic eases up, we can get into our favorite downtown restaurants much more quickly, and everything seems quieter. Then – just when we’re getting bored with the quiet – the students return in mid-August and there is new energy to the town.
I try to look at the positive sides of both times of the year. So enjoy your summer with less of a rigid schedule, but also look at how you can keep the fall schedule from becoming insane. Limit your kids’ after-school activities to one or two, try not to schedule too many appointments or meetings in any one week, and leave some “white space” or buffer time in your calendar so that you can have time to do whatever you want to do.
Enjoy what remains of your summer and let me know which one of these tips helps you!
As a teacher, you know all about planning for school. But what about planning for your life outside of school? If you find yourself struggling to stay organized or get to all the things that you want to do, try some weekly planning for your personal life!
During my second year of teaching, I reached a breaking point. I was spending hours every day after school on teacher work (which expands to fill the time available). Then I was returning home to piles of laundry and an empty fridge. I was forgetting about meetings at work and social events and birthdays at home.
Hot tears filled my eyes and my heart was pounding as the anxiety built. Everyone else seemed to have their act together, but I did not. I knew this was not sustainable. Sound familiar?
The biggest game-changer for me was when I started planning my week outside of school. How big of a game-changer was it? I was surprised when I started seeing the benefits that very next week.
1 – I was more productive at school because I knew exactly what I needed to do AFTER school.
2 – I was more productive with all the chores and tasks I needed to do at home.
3 – I scheduled time to “pay myself first.” (More about that later!)
Getting all the “stuff” done gave me more time for myself and my family.
One important thing I have learned about productivity: it’s not about getting MORE stuff done. It’s about getting the MOST IMPORTANT stuff done.
Planning for what you need to do and deciding when you will do it helps reduce your decision fatigue throughout the week. Deciding once means you will have the energy and motivation to get to all the most important things that matter to you.
With that in mind – let’s get started! In this post, I will show you how I go about planning my week in advance. I’ll show you how I do this step by step, so it looks like a lot. But I promise you that it really only takes about 15 minutes.
TIPS TO GET STARTED WITH WEEKLY PLANNING
*Make this time into some kind of pleasant planning ritual. Grab a cup of tea or coffee, sit somewhere pleasant (outside if the weather is nice), and use some kind of pretty notebook or journal. Make this into an enjoyable ritual.
*Choose a day and time to do your planning. Some people prefer Sunday afternoon, some prefer first thing on Sunday morning. I have recently been doing my weekly planning on Friday afternoon. That way, I go into the weekend with more of a sense of relaxation, since my next week is already planned. It cuts down on the “Sunday Scaries” for me. But experiment and find the day and time that work for you.
*If your head is constantly spinning with all the tasks to complete, start keeping a running “brain dump” list. Your brain dump list doesn’t have to be pretty or organized. This is a running list of whatever comes to mind at any time during the week, not just during your weekly planning time.
This list helps your brain stop spinning. You will know that everything is written down, you don’t have to keep obsessing about it, and you can get back to the task at hand.
*One place to start your brain dump list: clean out your email inbox and make a list of things you need to do or where you need to follow up.
(I actually do this at a separate time. I clean out my school email inbox on Fridays and my home email inbox on Sundays. It doesn’t matter when you do it, but choose a day to go through your inbox and add those tasks to your brain dump list. Then, when you’re ready to plan your week, that list is handy.)
WEEKLY PLANNING – 5 STEPS
CHECK YOUR CALENDAR
1 – So now you’ve got your brain dump list, including any tasks or follow-up tasks from your email inbox.
First, review your calendar for appointments, meetings, and other scheduled tasks or obligations. Include work-related meetings that take place after school like faculty meetings, PLC meetings, IEP meetings, etc.
You will need to plan your things to do around these scheduled events because they have specific times. (If you have a lot of these, you will need to put fewer to-do items on your weekly planning list. More about that later.)
Make sure you include family obligations that you do daily or weekly, even if they’re not written on your calendar (child care for instance!)
What about weekly errands, such as grocery shopping? Think about when it’s best for you to do tasks like that.
Now you’ve got your calendar events and time blocked off for appointments and meetings.
PAY YOURSELF FIRST
2 – Next thing to plan – how you’re going to pay yourself first. This is how you’re going to create boundaries between the things you HAVE to do and the things you WANT to do for yourself.
Schedule your personal self-care time and your relationship-building time. These do not have to be huge blocks of time, but go ahead and schedule them first.
Scheduling these tasks helps to make sure they actually get done!
If you’re a runner or you go to the gym, when will you plan to do those things?
Add time for the important relationships in your life. Maybe that is a weekly date night or a night out with friends. Maybe it’s a weekly family event like family game night or visiting a park. Schedule whatever helps you stay connected to the most important people in your life.
And finally – make sure to schedule rest or downtime for yourself. This might be a consistent bedtime and wake-up time, time for a long nap on a Sunday afternoon, time when you’ll take a break from your family and spend time by yourself. Whatever will help you to get the rest you need, schedule that!
Now you’ve got your scheduled events (step one) and your time for yourself and your important relationships (step two).
DAILY DAILY ROUTINES, & BUFFER TIME
3 – Schedule your daily planning time, your morning and evening routines, and buffer time. When will you plan your week (like you’re doing now)?
When will you do lesson planning, unit planning, and daily planning for school? (Hopefully, you are getting that done at school. If you need help with your teacher to-do list, here’s a link to my post about that.)
When will you make your daily to-do list for your time outside of school?
What time will you start your morning routine and what will you do each morning to be ready for a great day?
What time will you start your evening routine so that you can get the rest you need for the next day?
Finally, schedule some buffer time because nothing ever goes as planned! I try to schedule one afternoon a week with nothing planned so I can catch up. I also like to schedule some time every day, when possible, even if it’s just 15 – 30 minutes.
Now you’ve scheduled your events and appointments (step one), your self-care and relationship time (step two), your planning time and some buffer time (step three).
TIME FOR YOUR GOALS
4 – Next, think about your goals and what you are working on in your life right now. If that goal is still important to you, schedule time to work on it or it will not happen.
Start with just scheduling 15 minutes every day. (You can always build up time later.) Is 15 minutes too hard right now? Start with five minutes.
Is your goal to do some writing, organize your closet, study the Bible, or read to your kids every day? Whatever it is, make note of it and plan the times when you will work on that goal.
A goal doesn’t have to be related to your home or your family. A goal could be something that is just for you.
Are you crafty and want time to create? Schedule that 15 minutes.
Are you thinking about starting some kind of side business (like selling your teaching resources on Teachers Pay Teachers) or an Etsy shop? Schedule that 15 minutes. You get the idea.
You’ve now scheduled events and appointments (step one), self-care and relationship time (step two), planning time and buffer time (step three), and time to work on your personal goals (step four).
THINGS TO DO THIS WEEK
5 – Finally, the tasks that remain will be listed as “Things to Do This Week”.
You have scheduled all of the most important stuff. Now it’s time to think about how (or if) you can get to other tasks on the list.
Why have a weekly list? Because some days are better than others in terms of your energy or how much time you have to do something.
This list allows for that by not locking you into having to do certain things on certain days or completing a certain number of tasks each day. It helps you see the big picture for the week.
It also helps you be realistic about what you can actually get done and what might need to be postponed (or rescheduled) for another week.
One way to be more productive and effective with this list is to cnsider “batching” some tasks. Try getting all of your errands done on one day, for instance.
Other things to consider as you make your weekly to-do list
*Is this a week filled with lots of appointments or meetings?
If so, put fewer things on the “Things to Do This Week” list.
*What are the top projects that need to be done soon?
Put these tasks at the top of your list or indicate their urgency with some kind of symbol. Maybe a star or exclamation point or the letter A.
Examples: packing for a trip, prepping for hosting a social event at your home, getting ready for a move, etc.
*Does this really need to be done?
Honestly – can it just be eliminated? What is the point of doing it?
If I keep writing something down on my list, but don’t actually ever get to it, maybe it’s time to rethink the importance of the task. Does it still matter to me? If so, I’ll make it a priority to get it done. If it doesn’t matter to me as much now as it used to, I just eliminate it.
*Does this need to be done by me?
Can you delegate it, or get help with the project?
Some examples: can you form a carpool to get kids to and from extracurricular activities? Can you schedule a grocery order to be picked up or delivered instead of actually going to the store?
*Does it need to be done right now?
If not, leave it on the brain dump list for another time OR put it on your calendar for a future time when you might have more time or energy for it.
An example: I’m working on cleaning out my attic storage areas. Summer might seem like it would be a good time for this since I have bigger blocks of time, but it’s way too hot. So I schedule this for fall or spring when the temperatures are not as extreme.
The bottom line question to ask is:
*Does this task really matter right now, in this season of life?
During busy back-to-school time, for example, I eliminate or postpone or delegate tons of things because I know that my time and energy will be stretched to their limit.
This doesn’t mean that cleaning out my closet or making a doctor’s appointment isn’t important – it’s just not important right now, in this season. (By the way – it’s a good idea to ask yourself this question as you make your daily to-do list as well.)
Remember that the point of your to-do list is not to overwhelm you or to schedule yourself like an airport runway.
Your to-do list:
*helps you do the things you have to do (chores, etc.) more efficiently
*helps you schedule time for yourself, your important relationships, and your time for rest
*helps you focus on what really matters to you.
Keep your list manageable and focused on what really matters!
With that in mind: every week will not be the most “productive” week in terms of completing tasks.
If you get sick, or if a family member gets sick, and your time is spent caring for yourself or someone else, lots of tasks may not get done. That is totally fine! Your top priority – in that week, at that time – was to get well or to help someone else get well. That is the most productive use of your time, NOT all the other things.
Finally – and this is the most important thing: your weekly planning is meant to HELP you, not be the boss of you!
Things happen, emergencies come up. Give yourself grace when things don’t go according to plan.
Use your weekly planning as a way to focus on what is most important for you to do in THIS season of life.
Remember that you want to be productive, yes, but also effective – doing what is most important to do right now.
To recap:
5 steps for weekly planning:
1 – scheduled appointments, meetings, events, work responsibilities, family/child care time
2 – pay yourself first – time for yourself and time for your important relationships
3 – daily routines and buffer time to catch up
4 – time to work on a goal
5 – “things to do this week” tasks
I can’t wait to hear how these tips help to make you more productive and effective, doing the things that are most important to you!
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.”
