79. Take Control of Your Time as a Teacher: Strategies for Efficiency and Productivity [Simplify & Systemize Series]

Nov 08, 2023

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The number one thing that teachers say they don't have enough of is time. 🕰️ It's a universal challenge that every educator can relate to. We've all been there, feeling like the clock is working against us, constantly chasing deadlines, and struggling to maintain a healthy work-life balance.

In the hustle and bustle of the teaching profession, it's not just about managing the hours we have; it goes much deeper. The sheer volume of our workload often turns us into unintentional workaholics, tirelessly chasing an ever-growing to-do list.

In our Systemize and Simplify series, we're here to offer practical solutions to this age-old problem. We're going to help you not only manage but also create more time within your hectic schedule. 🚀

In this episode, we explore how to make more time when it feels like there is no time, and what might be eating up your precious minutes. But that's not all. In the next episode, we will give you three actionable steps to take back control and elevate your energy. We'll discuss how to automate your planning process, reduce mental overload, and share some favorite tools and tips for creating efficient systems. So, if you're ready to shift from being reactive to proactive, and transform your relationship with time, you won't want to miss this episode.

TOPICS COVERED:

The issue of a lack of time for teachers
Feeling overwhelmed and struggling to balance work and personal life
Chronic obsession with to-do lists
Understanding Parkinson's Law
- Tasks expanding to fill the available time
- Setting intentional, realistic deadlines to increase efficiency
Applying Parkinson's Law in teaching
- Avoiding procrastination by setting strict time limits
- Using timers or productivity apps to stay on track
Prioritizing tasks based on importance and impact
The Pareto Principle
- 80% of results come from 20% of efforts
- Identifying the most impactful tasks to focus on
- Your permission slip to stop focusing on perfection
- Prioritizing and focusing on the vital few tasks daily

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TRANSCRIPT:

Introducing the Systemize and Simplify series

[0:00] Before we get into this episode, I wanted to let you guys know that this is the first episode in the Systemize and Simplify series, which we will be releasing two episodes per week for the next couple of weeks to really hone in on this.
And here's what we're going to be doing. First of all, today, we're going to be talking about how to make more time when there is no time as a teacher and what might be eating up your time as a teacher.
I know you're struggling with not having enough to be able to do what you want to do. You might feel like teaching is taking over your life or your work -life balance is just non -existent.
And so in the second episode I'm going to give you the three tips and steps that you can do to take back your control Elevate that energy because if you're anything like me don't have a lot of energy at the end of your day We're also going to be moving from you being in this chronic obsession with to -do lists and helping you transition into.

[0:53] Repeatable and automated systems, especially when we get busy and especially when things get busier like around the holidays or any time of the year really for teachers, we go back to what comes natural to us and I want to help you get out of that.
We're gonna dive into ways to automate your planning so that you can feel less stressed about the actual content.
I'm gonna be talking about automating the templates that you use to reduce that mental overload and some of my favorite one -stop -shop automations, and even cover the four reasons why your systems and automations are not working to reduce your stress. And that one's a real doozy.
So make sure that you're following along on your favorite pod player so that you will get updates when each episode goes live.

The recurring theme of time management for teachers

[1:37] So time, or the apparent lack of it, that's a recurring theme for.

[1:43] Every teacher, right? We've all been there. We feel like the clock is against us.
And it's not just about managing the hours that we have.
We explored this in Episode 74.
It's so much deeper.
And it's an issue that's tied to really the sheer volume of our workload.
This intensity can inadvertently turn us into these workaholics.
We're constantly chasing the clock in the profession where, you know, the to -do list never seems to shrink.
So last week, we took a step back. We really examined this whirlwind.
We discussed how to reclaim the reins in teaching, and we pinpointed the five areas where we can assert control immediately. But really, that's just the beginning.

Practical strategies to create more time in our schedules

[2:29] Today, what we want to do is delve deeper into the practical strategies that can not only help us manage but actually create more time within our hectic schedules.
I want to explore how we really shift from being reactive to proactive and how to transform our relationship with time from one that's scarcity to more of abundance.
In Tim Ferriss's book The 4 -Hour Workweek he talks about Parkinson's Law and this is a principle that states work expands to fill the time available for its completion.

Understanding Parkinson's Law and its impact on tasks

[3:03] And so what happens is tasks tend to take longer to accomplish than necessary because we're unconsciously allowing them to fill up the available time.
Think about it. How often have you set aside a whole week for grading only to find out it takes exactly that long?
It's not that grading couldn't be done quicker. It's the time that we're allocating for these tasks that often stretches to fill the space that we give it.
By understanding this law, we can start to see the power that we have over our schedules.
If we give ourselves two days to complete a task, it's going to take two days.
But what if we only gave ourselves three hours?

[3:41] This isn't about rushing through our workload, but it's about setting intentional, realistic deadlines that really push us to be more efficient and more focused.
When we have a deadline, or a specific amount of time to complete a task, we tend to stretch that work to fill that timeframe, even if the task could be done quicker.
One, because this principle really leads to procrastination.
If we're given a week to complete a project, we might postpone starting it until closer to the deadline, which results in last -minute rush.
This is leading us to inefficiency and wasted time.
Unnecessary delays, extended timeframes, those are counterproductive.
So if you're giving yourself unlimited time, you're not going to have the incentive to use effort to get it done quickly.

Setting boundaries and deadlines to increase efficiency

[4:31] Best way I can just think of this is my husband and his word working.

[4:35] One of my friends had this Halloween inspired wedding and she wanted a till death do us part theme and so she asked my husband she's like create a wooden arch in the shape of a coffin so this was I guess February and he began hit the project in March he knew it had to be done by October and while he pittered with it for five months the bulk of the work that he did was literally done within a week time span because he knew he had to get it done so the same goes for grading or at least how it worked out for me like I would have nine weeks to get grading done and I would put it off to the last minute and get it all done the last week before grades were actually due.
So instead of giving yourself this unlimited time to do things you have to set those boundaries in place to really protect your time.
This not only increases our focus and our efficiency but it's also freeing up our time that we can use to recharge and engage with our lives outside of work. So how can we apply this?

Using timers and prioritizing tasks for better time management

[5:35] Well number one, we need to set strict time limits.
Allocate a specific time block for tasks like grading papers or lesson planning and really commit to finishing within that set time frame.
Knowing that you have a limited time is increasing that focus and that efficiency.
Number two is to use timers.

[5:59] Utilize those timers or productivity apps to keep yourself on track.
For instance, I use a Pomodoro timer on my Chrome extension and it just allows me to dedicate that 25 minutes to a task and then take a five -minute break.
And this cycle really maintains that productivity.

[6:19] Number three is to actually prioritize the tasks, but How do we decide which tasks to allocate our limited time to?
Not all tasks are equally important.
They're really not you guys have probably said Oh, there's so many emails in my inbox right now 80 % of the emails that you get are not Important there. I said it.
I don't know I don't care who it's coming from you likely have a hundred emails and only 20 % are irrelevant to what you actually need to spend time on.
There's probably some random newsletter in there from Target, like, how did that get to your work email? We'll never know.
Hit that unsubscribe button.
You probably have emails from there and there from somebody who hit reply all. That's rude.
That's an email that probably had nothing to do with you.
And so instead of checking your email 15 times a day, there needs to be a simpler system in place where you're only checking it once a day or twice a day at most.
If there's anybody at your school who needs to contact you, they can come find you, they can pick up a phone and call you. Simple as that.
This is where we want to start using what is called the Pareto Principle.
So we talked about Parkinson's, but then there's the Pareto.
So really this principle tells us that roughly 80 % of results come from just 20 % of our efforts.

[7:39] Imagine the possibilities with that. When we can identify the most impactful tasks and we can focus on those, we create more time for ourselves and reduce that burnout -inducing workload.
So if you're a perfectionistic teacher, like we talked about back in Episode 70, take this as your permission slip that it does not matter how much time you spend or how perfect you get it, 20 % of the effort is tailoring the 80 % of results.
So we talked about Parkinson's Law, now this is Pareto.
So what we want to do is we want to pinpoint the vital few.
We want to prioritize those at the top of our daily tasks.
These tasks deserve our primary focus and attention.
So what are those tasks for your classroom? Write that down.

[8:29] Ensure that you allocate your energy and your time to those high -impact tasks first because Because we are often prioritizing everything because it feels like a priority.
And if we're completely honest, not everything is a priority.
Remember, it's about quality, not quantity.

[8:48] Prioritizing tasks based on this Pareto principle that's allowing you to achieve more meaningful outcomes with less effort.
Really ultimately just reducing that burnout and increasing your job satisfaction.

Simplifying workload and systemizing tasks for teachers

[9:02] These two principles are the first steps to simplifying your workload and systemizing your workload.
Find those top priority tasks as a teacher. What are those 20 %?
Find the block of time in your day. Set that strict time limit.
Use a Pomodoro timer if you need to.
It's really eye -opening what a timer can actually do for your productivity.
And then commit to getting it done in that time period.
It's about working smarter, not harder, and get those things done as teacher that we actually need to do.
Parkinson's Law can be a real game changer, especially in teaching where that to -do list seems endless, but, it's about setting those boundaries and creating a sense of urgency that can really lead to more efficiency.
If you're one of those teachers last week who said, well, I don't really know what I can control when it comes down to my task, it is so liberating to hone in on that 20 % that really moves the needle forward in your class.
So I'm challenging you right now, write down those top priority tasks as a teacher, and once you've written those down, come share them in the Resilient Teacher community.
And if you're not over there, come join us. It's teachingmindbodyandsoul .com.

Discovering Priorities: A Shift in Perspective

[10:11] It's completely free and we're going to be doing a special event over there that I'm going to share later about in the series.
Either way, write them down, come post them in the community for accountability and I want you to see what other teachers' priorities are too.
It's going to open your eyes.
This might just be the thing that you need to see to realize that all of these tasks that you are putting on your to -do list, they're not in fact a priority.
So that that's where we can simplify.
Speaking of to -do lists, in the next episode in the series coming on Friday of this week, we're going to be talking about moving you from this chronic obsession with to -do lists and helping you transition into these repeatable and automated systems.
So if you have a teacher friend who is struggling, just don't have enough time to get it all done or just with get some value out of hearing this too, please do share this episode with them, grab the links, send them a text, share it on your socials.

Sharing the Journey: Supporting Fellow Teachers

[11:05] I would love for them to take a listen as well. my goal is to help as many teachers as possible realize that they can actually thrive as educators and live their best lives inside and outside of the classroom.
Don't forget, you are a resilient teacher.
We're in this together. You've got this.

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