Save yourself huge amounts of time by reusing your own work! Teacher Marguerite Rendelfs has developed a plan to create reusable resources that saves her between five and ten hours every week.
One major shift in my mindset that she learned through the 40 Hour Teacher Workweek program that has helped her in many situations is this:
We often focus on saving time right now. Considering how we can use our current work to save time for ourselves in the future can be a game-changer.
Marguerite shares, “Last school year, I’ve realized I can build templates while I’m doing my daily work, which saves time and batches the work I’ll be doing in the future. Now I love templates. They boost my productivity and focus my attention. When I notice that I’m repeatedly spending time on the same type of task, I evaluate whether a template might be helpful.”
Templates are most effective when a task is repetitive, generalizable, detailed, and time-consuming. If a template might be effective, you can build one as you work. Listen as Marguerite shares her process for using 3 kinds of templates:
Then, check out her article at TruthforTeachers.com to see step-by-step instructions, examples of her templates, and more.
Click here to read the transcript and participate in the discussion or, join our podcast Facebook group here to connect with other teachers and discuss the Truth for Teachers' podcast episodes.
You can decide this school year to find a sustainable approach to your workload.
How? By not trying to work until everything is done. It’s NEVER all going to be done, which means you’re always either going to be working or feel like you should be working.
Instead, I’m going to teach you a principle I share in the 40 Hour Workweek programs I run for teachers, instructional coaches, and school leaders. It’s the Target Number Planner.
You can create a schedule in which you determine — at the start of each week — how much time you’re willing to spend on school stuff, and how you’re going to allocate those hours.
Choosing a target number of hours to work is not about perfection, it’s about intentionality. You’re simply deciding in advance how many hours you’d like to allocate to work, and being mindful of how your time is being used. This is the start of a mindset shift more than anything else, as you practice fitting work into your life instead of life into your work.
If you want support with setting and sticking to a target number, remember that the 40 Hour Teacher Workweek Fast Track program is open to new members all year long.
Click here to read the transcript and participate in the discussion or, join our podcast Facebook group here to connect with other teachers and discuss the Truth for Teachers' podcast episodes.