Why Teacher Time Management is So Important

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Teacher stress has a direct correlation to student academic and behavioral outcomes (Herman, et. al 2018). As you know, one main cause of stress in teachers is the pressure to get many tasks done, and fit so much teaching into a single school day … all with very limited planning time. 

Teachers are exhausted and overwhelmed. Maybe that’s you right now. 

Now more than ever, we need simple time management practices, so we can limit stress, teach effectively, and get our prepping done efficiently.

WHY IS TIME MANAGEMENT IMPORTANT FOR YOUR TEACHING?

We all know that in order to teach our students well, we need to be using researched best practices for reading, writing, math, and of course, classroom management. 

But what about time management? 

It would be easy to push that to the side and continue trying to fit it all in. You could easily tell yourself – “good teachers work late” or “I can’t take a break because I still have so much to do.” Or maybe you’ve even said “it’s just not possible to get it all done.” 

Well, friend, this is where we as a teacher community are getting it wrong (and I’m guilty of having done this too). 

Your time management as a teacher is literally the key to everything.

OPTIMIZING SMALL POCKETS OF TIME = MORE PRODUCTIVITY

Managing your time well as a teacher means being more productive, and using those small pockets of time to work on what actually matters. This has a complete ripple effect when done well. 

It also means having a plan for what you’re going to work on and when, so that you’re making less decisions in the moment. 

Saying this reminds me of one of our TTU Members, who went from having prep time but working constantly, to having literally 0 minutes of prep time, but getting her planning done EARLY and enjoying time with her family after school. 

Without simple time management practices, it’s hard to make even the tiniest dent in your to-do list. We need our time management in check, in order to get the planning, prepping, and organizing parts of our jobs done.

YOU CAN BE MORE PRESENT

Having a solid grasp on what to do during your planning time and how to get your important tasks done, will allow you to be more present when teaching (and even when you’re not teaching). 

Picture this: 

• You enter your classroom on Monday morning *NOT* rushing to make copies for the day before your kids get to school. 
• You know exactly what you’re going to teach each day, and you even have a plan for how to support each of your small groups. 
• You leave work on Friday afternoon WITHOUT a stack of papers to grade and are ready to enjoy time with your family.

All of that is what’s possible when you know how to get your important tasks done during the school day. 

TEACHING IS MORE SUSTAINABLE WITH SIMPLE TIME MANAGEMENT

When you know how to make the most of your time, day in and day out, it makes teaching more doable. I’m willing to bet that you got into teaching to make a difference, that the part of your job that you love the most is TEACHING. 

I get it. Same here, actually. But in order to be able to focus on teaching, and to make your job as a classroom teacher doable, we have to know how to get the back end stuff done. Planning, prepping, and organizing absolutely is an important part of our job. It has to be done so we can focus on the best part of our job – the kids.

Simple time management is the key to teacher sustainability. 

KEEPING IT SIMPLE

Ok so you know that teacher time management is important because it affects all of these things we just talked about. But where do you start?

You’re in the right place. Making time management simple for teachers is kind of my thing. I know you feel like you’re rushing throughout your day. You’re rushing your teaching to fit everything in. You’re rushing during prep time because there’s so much to do. 

That ends today. 

Here’s what to do next:

HERE’S ALL THE VALUE YOU’RE GETTING FROM THIS ONE GUIDE:

I can’t wait for you to start reclaiming your prep time with these simple tips!! Happy planning!