Don’t have enough time in the day to get everything done? Overloaded with work? Being a teacher often leaves you with very little spare time; more often than not, you will be struggling to complete things on time. But there are ways to help you make your day just that little bit easier. Below are six useful tips to give you a little extra time in the day.
1. Outsource Teaching Material Printing
Printing off worksheets and teaching booklets is undoubtedly one of the biggest time wasters for a teacher. And it is totally unnecessary. There are many companies, such as The Print Group (check out their website at www.theprintgroup.com.au), that specialise in printing training material. Not only will you save an enormous amount of time not waiting for pages to print, but you won’t have to worry about binding pages together either.
2. Batch Similar Work Together
A lot of time can be wasted switching form one task to another. If you are constantly switching throughout the day, you will find you not only waste time, but your productivity decreases as well. Bunching similar tasks, such as marking or class planning, together will allow you to flow through your workload faster. Though repetitive work may be boring, keeping your mind on track will help keep your efficiency up.
3. Prioritise
Unless you are blessed with some kind of efficiency superpower, it is unlikely that you are going to get every little task completed during a busy day. Prioritise your workload so the most important tasks are kept on the top. Lesser tasks can be pushed down, especially if there is no rush to complete them. If you can, delegate minor tasks to others, or even get your students to help you.
4. Avoid Unnecessary Meetings
Meetings can be a great way to improve workplace understanding, achieve long term goals, and solve problems, but sometimes they can be a complete waste of time. And if time is not something you have to spare, it might be a good idea to avoid any meetings that will not benefit you or benefit from your presence. If you are worried about missing anything important, you can always ask a colleague to fill you in later.
5. Avoid Long Conversations
Another thing to watch out for is long, unwanted conversations. As a teacher, it is vital that you are there for your students to help and communicate with them. However, it is important that you keep your talks strictly business so you do not end up wasting your own time. Be polite and let them know why you have to cut the conversation short. The same goes with coworkers. When you have a busy day, there is no time for chit chat.
6. Do Work While You Wait
As a teacher, you will probably find yourself simply waiting a lot of the time. Whether it is waiting for students to arrive, meetings to start, or students to complete tasks, there will always be times in the day where you will have the chance to complete an extra amount of work. Any work that you can stop and start at any time is perfect for this. Marking is generally that work.
There are many things you can do help you save time and deal with your busy day, but the most important thing is to be in charge of your own actions. How do you deal with being a busy teacher? Leave your comments below.
