80. 3 Simple Ways to Transition from Overwhelming To-Do Lists to Repeatable and Automated Systems for Teachers [Simplify & Systemize Series]

Nov 10, 2023

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As teachers, our To-Do list can get to be a mile long and be a source of serious stress. One of the reasons that teachers are so mentally drained and burned out is because of the overwhelming amount of work we have to do. And it's because you have an incredible mental load that you are carrying—the load that maybe not everyone sees, the anticipation of other people's needs as well as classroom needs and your own needs.

In this episode, we focus on transitioning from the never-ending to-do list to repeatable and automated systems to reclaim your time, energy, and capacity. We'll share three essential steps that will allow you to work within your contract hours and live your best life inside and outside of the classroom without sacrificing effectiveness or efficiency.

From prioritizing tasks to delegating and automating, this episode provides actionable steps to reduce workload and stress levels. So, if you're ready to take control of your teaching experience and find a better work-life balance, this episode is for YOU!

TOPICS COVERED:

Transitioning from chronic obsession with to-do lists to repeatable and automated teacher systems
Three things to prioritize time, energy, and capacity for work-life balance
Importance of reducing workload and stress levels
Prioritization and recognition of urgent, repetitive, and non-expertise tasks
Strategies for eliminating time-wasting and energy-draining tasks
Overcoming fear of judgment and emotional attachment to tasks
Delegating tasks and seeking support from others
Creating standard operating procedures to allow delegation to students and parents
Automating teacher tasks and utilizing technology to streamline processes
Importance of trusting others and adjusting mindset for delegation
Significance of automating responses to stress for productivity
Importance of flexibility and time-management for teachers
Encouragement to take action and seek support within the resilient teacher community
The three essential steps to reducing your overwhelm & stress
- Cutting Out Unnecessary Responsibilities as a teacher
- Overcoming Challenges in Delegation in the Classroom
- Creating Standard Operating Procedures
- Enhancing Efficiency Through Automating Your Classroom & Creating Repeatable Systems

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TRANSCRIPT:

Transitioning from overwhelming to-do lists to repeatable systems

[0:00]

As teachers, the to -do list can seem never -ending and really, really overwhelming.

So in this episode, I wanna move you from this chronic obsession with to -do lists and help you transition into repeatable and automated systems, because especially when we get busy and especially when things get busier, like around the holidays or just really any time of the year for teachers, we go back to what comes natural to us. And I wanna help you try to get out of that.

So I'm gonna give you the three things that are gonna allow you the time, the energy and the capacity to feel like you can finally work just your contract hours and live your best life inside and outside of the classroom without sacrificing your effectiveness or your efficiency.

I know that you just want to sit down and enjoy a Netflix show in your spare time without grading papers at the same time or really just sit down without feeling guilty that you're not checking things off the to -do list or getting more and more behind and so this episode is going to give you the essentials and the step -by -step to reduce your workload and your stress levels once and for all. So what do you say? Let's get into it.

Using principles of automation to reduce workload and stress levels

[1:07]

It is the second episode in the Simplify and Systemize series here on the podcast.

And in the first day, I kind of failed to mention that I actually used the principles that I talked about in order to create that podcast episode.

Literally, I woke up at 4 a .m. and I gave myself an hour and a half to get that episode So totally completed with the Parkinson's law that I talked about.

[1:28]

So if you think that it doesn't work, let me tell you, it really does.

And if you haven't listened to that episode, it's a shorty, so it's really quick and really easy.

And I could literally spend hours creating a podcast episode if I gave myself the unlimited time.

I'm almost positive that you're probably one of those people who's giving yourself unlimited time to get things done as well.

So go back, listen to that, and then head over here and keep the series going.

And so more specifically, last episode, I really wanted to get you guys thinking about your actual priorities as a teacher in the classroom.

Because so often what happens is we feel like everything is a priority.

Three simple steps to achieve work-life balance and efficiency

[2:06]

And that really leads to nothing truly being a priority, right?

So today what we want to talk about are these three simple things that we can do to transition from this never -ending to -do list of stuff and more into systemizing it so that we can actually get back our personal time and have that work -life balance we all crave.

And while prioritization is a huge piece of recognizing, you know.

[2:29]

What we actually need to do in order to move the needle forward as educators in our classroom, to help our days run more smoothly, to help our students progress, at the end of the day, it's definitely not going to remove that mental, emotional, and physical overload.

We are still tasked with a crap ton to do. And I'm not oblivious to this, and I'm sure you're not either.

So while I'm all for using technology to automate, in this episode specifically, we're not really covering those technical things yet, OK?

[2:59]

Instead, we're going to talk about how to move away from that chronic brain -dumping to -do list.

I used to be this person that wrote down every task that I needed to get done and for a while that was fine.

Like I really enjoyed marking off each thing that I did.

It gave me a little bit of that external motivation to just be able to cross those off.

But the goal here is not to keep doing this over and over and over.

I think this is okay for a short amount of time if you're looking to get some of that dopamine and that motivation back after a really hard season of lack of motivation and burnout.

[3:38]

But the goal here is to move from that into these repeatable, automated weekly systems, especially when things are busy.

But I'll tell you that when you start to move into these automated ways of working, you're going to instantly become less busy.

And you guys know that from Episode 51, where we talked about how to handle busy seasons, that I don't like the term busy.

So if you haven't listened to that when I'll drop it in the show notes, but one of the things that I hear from my students and the teachers that I work with in school districts across the country are that when they start doing this, they never knew how much time they were actually wasting on things that they, that should never have even been thinking about or doing over and over and over again.

And I can imagine that you probably struggle with that.

Maybe it's like, oh, here we go again. I got to do that thing that I just did yesterday or that thing I just did three days ago, right?

Or I just finished grading. how am I back to this again? Or I just sent out these emails.

[4:36]

Why am I doing the second half of this three days later? Or why didn't I get it all done in one sitting?

Oh yeah, that's right. I'm so fragmented all the time that I can never actually complete something, move on from it, complete another thing and move on from it.

[4:51]

This desire to write things down so you won't forget it has a lot to do with the fact that you're holding everything thing in your head and you're not automating things. It's a lot about...

Thinking about it and holding it. And so in order for you to get out of the weeds of teaching, you've got to do some mowing of the grass every once and again, okay?

So what I want to do today is really give you these three things that you can do with your priorities or your to -do list so that you can start taking them off of your to -do list.

So much of what you're experiencing with the overwhelm, the exhaustion, the feeling flustered at the end of the day is because you've been working your butt off, but you actually don't know what you got done.

That is completely avoidable, and you are in control of this in so many ways. Not all ways, right?

We still have to work at it. No matter what way we look at this, we're either gonna work our tails off running in circles, or we're gonna work our tail off actually feeling more accomplished.

That's just what we do as teachers. We work our tails off. So it's a lot to manage our workload as a teacher, our classroom management, our organization, our mental health.

It's a lot to be a teacher and support yourself through this whole process.

But it is totally possible for you to find a different way to set up an established routine and a system to be more concrete.

[6:21]

One of the reasons that teachers are so mentally drained and burned out is because of this overwhelming amount of work that we have to do as teachers.

[6:30]

And it's because you have an incredible mental load that you're carrying, the load that maybe not everyone sees, the anticipation of other people's needs as well as your classroom needs, your own needs.

What are these things that you are committing to memory?

That's why I challenged you in the last episode to really pick apart those priorities.

So if you haven't done that, what are you waiting for? Go ahead, get some accountability here, put it in the group, it's free.

You've got access to me and hundreds of other teachers in that group.

So the first thing I want you to do is look at your to -do list and find those priorities and find tasks that either always seem urgent.

[7:12]

Are repetitive or are not solely within your expertise wheelhouse.

Your expertise as a teacher is to teach, to help students progress.

So these other little minute tasks are not necessarily within your wheelhouse as an educator.

And so when we can look at these things on our to -do list, we can start to pull those weeds and to mow that grass.

So you've got your to -do list and Maybe you want to highlight those urgent repetitive or not within your wheelhouse tasks if that makes sense So you could highlight them you could star them some type of indicator.

Okay, and eliminating those energy draining tasks and Elevating your energy is so powerful I was talking with a teacher at a school in Michigan the other week when I was presenting in person up there and the teacher was like, I have to take data on this and data on that, and it really takes up a lot of my time. And I was like, well, what are you doing with this data?

And she didn't have an answer. And she was just like, I just, I just, I have to.

[8:17]

And so I think it weirded her out that I asked her what she was going to use the data for, because so often we hear data this and data that.

But if we're not actually using it, that can be eliminated.

You know what I mean? I think we all have good intentions for using data, but if at the end of the day we don't have a system in place for using it, it's really irrelevant.

And now I'm not saying all data is irrelevant. There are certainly ways to automate that and use it, but when we're just taking data to be taking data because that's just what we do, that's not a priority.

We are not doing anything with it.

You see what I'm saying? So when I mention eliminating tasks from a teacher's to -do list, they always freak out.

And I get it. Like, I understand why.

Because either somebody told you that you needed to do it or something like that, right?

Many teachers feel pressured to meet certain external expectation, whether it's from administrators or parents or whoever.

So the fear of eliminating tasks arises from concerns about not meeting those expectations.

But that's where open communication is really the key.

We have to have this dialogue with those who are setting those expectations, and you can explain your reasons for considering task elimination and seek ways to really align your goals with those stakeholders.

Prioritizing tasks based on impact and student learning

[9:42]

Sometimes, there's room for that negotiation or that compromise.

And one of the things I hear with the students and the teachers that I work with are that they believe that every task is crucial for their students' success.

Yes, they worry that eliminating something might have a negative impact on their teaching, but here's what I tell them to do.

[10:02]

Prioritize tasks based on their actual impact on your student learning and your students and your own wellbeing.

If you can't prove that that specific task actually does anything for your students, like with data, then likely it doesn't matter.

Eliminating those non -essential tasks really allows you to focus on what truly matters, ultimately benefiting those students.

Another thing I hear is you may fear being judged by your colleagues or your superiors if you cut down on certain tasks.

There's often a sense of comparison and competition within the teaching profession, which I think is kind of toxic, but that's why I think getting into a community like the resilient teacher community or other teaching community outside of your school is so cool because you can really foster a culture of support and understanding where you can have these open conversations about workload and well -being and start to recognize that everybody's circumstances are really unique.

And so comparison and judgment, those are not doing any good in the teaching community.

Letting go of emotional attachment tasks and adjusting mindset

[11:15]

I also experienced in the classroom some emotional attachment tasks, and I see other teachers deal with this too, where they develop these emotional attachments to these tasks because they've been doing them for a long time.

[11:28]

So letting go can be emotionally challenging, especially if you're perfectionistic or you're high achieving. But here's the thing.

[11:36]

We have to recognize the emotional aspect and really allow ourselves some time to adjust.

Start with some really small tasks and gradually work up to more significant changes.

That way, we have the time to really change our mindset and focus on the benefits that come up from freeing up our time and our energy.

Human beings in general tend to resist change, so eliminating tasks represents a change in our daily routine, and that can be kind of unsettling.

So with any change, we kind of have to put at the forefront that focus, such as the reduced stress, improved work -life balance, better focus on teaching.

And so that's really the first step, to start eliminating those time -wasting, energy -draining tasks. I have a 10 -minute Audit Your Work -Life Balance workshop that comes with a workbook to really help you start to take control of this.

So if you haven't done that yet, highly recommend heading over to teachingmindbodyandsoul .com slash audit to help you with this as well.

Transition to automated tasks and delegating for support

[12:36]

The second thing that we can do to transition to more automated tasks instead of this draining to -do list is to start delegating, to get support from other people around you.

I've been that single mom, so I know what it's like to feel like there's nobody to delegate to, like it was just me, there was two kids, one was a baby and one was a toddler.

And to me, at that point in time, like in the classroom, students were incapable of understanding what I needed to get done. But here's the truth.

[13:06]

I didn't know what needed to get done. There was just so much.

And so many teachers will say, well, I don't have anybody to delegate to.

But you've got kids in your class who are part of a classroom community.

And I think we often don't realize that because our workload is not simplified. It's not systematized.

It's not as easy to delegate without those two things.

And I hear teachers say this all the time. My students won't help.

My parents won't help. And it's like, Like, they don't know the drill.

You don't even know the drill. There's nothing systematic in place.

It's just kind of willy -nilly. It doesn't actually make sense.

You're just frustrated that nothing's getting done, but the class is on a roller coaster and your cognitive overload is on a roller coaster and your students or their parents or whoever, they don't know how to get on board with that.

Implementing standard operating procedures to streamline tasks

[13:54]

But in order for you to delegate, you have to have a system in place.

[13:58]

That's why one of the things that I teach teachers to do is to create these SOPs in the classroom. These are standard operating procedures.

I talked about this back in episode 72, but this is what can help you to know what you can delegate and then you have a specific format to give it to someone to do for you.

Your students are more than capable of helping you run your classroom, but in order for us to reduce that burnout and overwhelm to stop doing it all, we have to have some procedures in place to really streamline that.

These can be used with parent volunteers, teacher assistants if you're lucky enough to have one of those.

And so if you haven't listened to episode 72, that one is a great one to go back to.

I'll also give you a free toolkit with templates that's going to help make this process super easy.

When I tell you that I'm doing this series to give you some step -by -steps and I want to help you, I'm serious.

Like, I have free resources out there that will give you that support, those tools, that validation.

You deserve to make this job sustainable.

[14:56]

Any of the episodes that I mentioned throughout this series, you can also get in the show notes.

So don't feel like you have to stop and go back another episode right when I'm talking about it.

And I think one of the biggest reasons that teachers don't delegate is because delegating requires trusting another person to complete tasks to a satisfactory level.

And at the end of the day, we might have some concerns about the competence or the reliability of allowing somebody else to do that, making us reluctant to delegate.

But when we have these standard operating procedures in place, it's really easy just to hand it over because we already have these step -by - steps created.

And teachers are often hyper -independent. I know I was.

And so, I don't know who needs to hear this, but I see you tirelessly pouring your heart and your soul into your classroom, your students, your craft.

Your commitment to excellence, that is, that's truly commendable.

[15:53]

But it's time for a little heart to heart here, okay? Even superheroes need a sidekick sometimes. It is not a sign of weakness.

Automating tasks for consistency, stabilization, and reduced stress

[16:01]

It's a sign of wisdom and strength to recognize that you cannot do it all.

Imagine what you could do with the time when you free up by delegating.

You can focus on those things that actually move the needle forward for your students.

Those priorities. Heck, you could even prioritize your life outside of the classroom.

The possibilities are endless. There is no shame in giving your students some of the responsibility.

It doesn't matter what grade you teach, okay? Or getting parents to be a more active participant.

There are ways to get that to happen, but it requires a little bit of a mindset shift for you.

And lastly, my favorite, automating. Creating these repeatable systems.

Okay, now obviously, like I love to use technology to automate and really delegate tasks to technology in the classroom, which obviously we're going to talk about later in the series, but initially what I want you to understand is that when you have these repeatable systems for your teacher tasks, it's not holding space.

[17:07]

Knowing that framework of what needs to be repeated, of what needs to be done every week, touch it once, get it done, so your brain is completely free to handle any of those extra duties that come up. Right now you don't have that.

Stress often comes from this unpredictability and so what automating does is it, Really makes those things more predictable chaos breeds an environment of stress And we have the ability to take control over certain things Automation gives us some form of consistency and stabilization and that's gonna drastically reduce your stress Automation is what is gonna help you create freedom for your mind to do that more meaningful work to reduce that decision fatigue There are teachers who will say well, I don't know how to automate and I'm gonna shift that mindset really quickly for you You already are you already have an automated response to your stress.

Maybe it's screaming. Maybe it's freaking out. Maybe it's Another automated response to a stressful situation fight flight freeze fawn So what we want to do is we want to shift it into consciously and intentionally rewiring our automatic reaction to be more productive and less stressful.

[18:25]

So blocking off time for those repeatable tasks every week, those priority tasks every week, and obviously like using technology to delegate some of those repeatable tasks is where it's at and you guys know or you're probably about to find out how much I love to be able to use my brainpower for more important things and creativity by delegating to technology and automating with technology, but giving those tasks that couldn't be automated or delegating to tech a specific time of the day or a day of the week, that's where it's at.

Sure, maybe for a couple of hours every once in a while you might have time where you're working on random to -dos that came up or came your way, but that's it.

You might have one, two, three things on your to -do list because the majority of what we do as teachers is so repeated that it does not need to go on that to -do list.

So outside of that, your brain is completely free to bend and flex with whatever unexpected thing comes your way.

Freeing up time for flexibility and personal enjoyment

[19:27]

You're gonna be able to handle those behaviors, that negativity, those disruptions, great things, great opportunities.

Heck, watching Netflix at the end of your day, reading a book that has nothing to do with teaching. Like, do you know how good it feels to just sit down and have nothing to do?

I know you've probably forgotten that or maybe you've never felt like that before.

[19:48]

But I'm not talking about like sitting down and eating.

I'm talking about sitting down and knowing that everything you needed to get done was handled because it was systemized, it was simplified, it was automated, delegated, or just eliminated.

I wouldn't say that as a teacher I got to do that every day, but I got to do it a lot because I use these steps. There are many days that I got to be able to say, hey, it's planning time, and I already have everything planned. I've already done all of my meetings.

I did that IEP already. I can literally twiddle my thumbs.

I could go down the hall and talk to my teacher friend and not feel guilty that there was something I was missing.

That is such a good feeling, and I really feel like that's an individual process.

Flexibility and the Importance of Good Systems

[20:30]

So me telling you exactly what to automate or exactly what to delegate or eliminate, that's not going to be meaningful for every single teacher.

That's why I would rather give you the knowledge and the steps to basically DIY it.

Because if you think about what makes a good teacher, it has to do with flexibility.

And without having a good system in place, you cannot be flexible.

Because there's no time, there's no energy or any of that to be able to do it.

[20:57]

Systemizing, automating, delegating, eliminating, that's what gives you the energy and the time back.

That's why I believe that you need to get out of this daily crunching of tasks and move into a weekly automation system where you have a specific time to get those priority repeatable tasks done.

And so that's why we're doing this series. We're taking it step by step.

We are taking action because I know so many teachers who will listen to what I say and not actually take action So I'm giving you action steps to do.

[21:30]

Inside of these episodes and then go over to the resilient teacher community to give you some accountability To give you some feedback along the way during this series So day one you should have created your list of real priorities day two.

This is what we're doing I want you to look at your to -do list and start chunking into things that are urgent.

[21:51]

Repetitive, or are not solely within your wheelhouse, and give them an indicator, a star, a highlight, whatever, and start taking a look and see what could those tasks be done with.

Like, could they be automated?

Could they be delegated? Could they be eliminated?

And drop that into the group. And if you're like, I really don't know how I would do that, say so.

Like, ask. Like I said, there's hundreds of teachers inside of this group and we all need some support along the way don't just Sit on the sidelines.

You're listening to this episode. You want something to change?

You don't want to be burned out So it's up to you to take that action now that free community is over at teaching mind body and soul comm slash support squad And if you know a teacher who is struggling with getting everything done or feeling overwhelmed or just would get some type of value here please share this episode with them.

Grab the link, text it to them, share it on your socials.

We can make a breadcrumb trail to help other teachers around us.

And I truly believe that the only way that we're gonna make a difference in the system of education is to heal it from the inside out. That starts with us.

In the next episode in the series, we're gonna talk about more about the simplifying and systemizing with automation and planning so you can get out of the stress around the actual content, making it more manageable so you can spend less time with it and more time doing what moves the needle forward for your students.

[23:16]

So, make sure that you're following along on your favorite pod player, so you'll get updates as each episode goes live.

Remember, there's two episodes per week for the next couple of weeks in this series.

Don't forget, you are a resilient teacher. We're in this together, and you've got this.

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