Too Many Tasks, Not Enough Time

I always chuckle to myself when people tell me that teachers have it easy. They say teachers just work a couple hours a day and then they have all those vacations off. Oh, if they only knew! We know that teachers work many more hours, many more days, and many more weeks than the general public thinks.

The average classroom teacher will make more than 1,500 educational decisions every school day. In an average 6-hour school day, that's more than 4 decisions every minute.

What Does the Research Say?

Educational studies and conversations with teachers have shown that the number-one time robber is classroom discipline. Studies revealed that more than 15 percent of an average high school day is devoted to discipline or student behavior matters.

Grading papers after school and on weekends, volunteering to coach various athletic or academic teams, coming in early to set up a special lesson, and spending holidays and vacations doing research or looking for new teaching ideas are all part and parcel of the life of a teacher. On top of that, you can add all the daily interruptions, distractions, unanticipated problems, or visitors and the myriad decisions that must be made. It's no wonder many teachers feel stretched to their limit by the end of the day.

What steals your time? Or what consumes your time so you're out of time for other tasks and duties? In conversations with teachers at all levels and in all types of schools, I have found that they most often cited the following chores, duties, and assignments:

• Classroom discipline

• Taking attendance

• Noninstructional activities

• Visitors

• Noises, distractions, and unplanned interruptions

• Distributing and collecting papers

• Talking and telephone calls

• PA announcements

• Paperwork and clerical tasks

• Bus duty, hall duty, or cafeteria duty

• Grading and record keeping

A number of educational research studies have shown that more than half of a typical school day is consumed by noninstructional matters.

Taking Control of Your Time

Think about this: time is about control. When you allow time to control you, you never have enough of it. On the other hand, when you control your own time, you can allocate your time available to complete tasks and duties.

Time Chunks

When your friendly author (that's me) was asked to write the book The Complete Idiot's Guide to Success as a Teacher, I was quite excited. Then, my friendly editor told me I had to write the 25 chapters of the book in just 12 weeks (in addition to holding down a full-time teaching career). Was I disheartened? No, because after writing around 90 books, I've learned that the best way to write a multi-chapter book is to break it into chunks.

By dividing an assignment (such as a book project) into smaller pieces, it becomes more manageable. I didn't look at the book as a 25-chapter project; rather I looked at it as a series of magazine articles. Each “article” would be between 12 to 14 single-spaced manuscript pages long; would have about 4,600 words, and would go through approximately 12 to 15 drafts. I pictured the project as a collection of short articles, rather than an overwhelming 115,000-word book.

“Chunking” a task or assignment into smaller pieces is a key time management tool that helps make the overall assignment more manageable, allowing you to complete larger tasks in less time. You can do as I do: after I finished each “article” for the book, I checked it off a master list. As I went along, I saw more and more check marks on my list. That was a positive stimulus and a positive incentive. Imagine how I would have felt if I just listed the entire book on my “To Do” list. It never would have been checked off until the end, and I might have become weighed down by the enormity of the project.

Here are some tips you can use for managing any major project:

• Decide how much time should be allotted for each task by dividing the project into smaller, more manageable chunks (lessons instead of a whole unit; paragraphs instead of a whole report; columns instead of a whole spreadsheet).

• Record each individual chunk separately on a list.

• Focus on completing one chunk at a time.

• Check off each individual chunk as you complete it; then move on to the next chunk.

• Track the amount of time is takes to complete each task. Look at how rapidly your check marks accumulate on your list, and use that as motivation to keep going.

• Look at how rapidly your check marks accumulate on your list, and use that as motivation to keep going.

• Give yourself a reward for the completion of two, three, or five chunks (I reward myself with macadamia nut cookies for every three chapters [or “articles”] I write).

Just Say “No”!

Teachers are special people. We love working with others—students, parents, colleagues, and maybe even our administrators. By our very nature, we are “people persons.” We like to go out of our way to help others and especially to help our students succeed.

But as teachers, we have a tendency to say “Yes” too many times, which leads to too much multi-tasking and eventually burnout. We volunteer for too many projects; we get on too many committees; we get involved in the lessons or units of our colleagues; or we willingly take on duties simply because somebody asked us to. In the words of a former first lady, teachers need to “Just say no!”

Teachers tend to be workaholics—it's the nature of the job. As a result, you're likely to be confronted with lots of requests and lots of “invitations.” Create a healthy work-life balance and use these ideas for saying “No” with style and grace this school year:

• “I'd really like to, but I'm overcommitted right now and don't think I'd be able to do it justice.”

• “Thanks for asking, but I really need to spend some more quality time with my children … my spouse … my friends … myself.”

• “I appreciate your confidence in me, but I have other tasks that demand a lot of my time.”

• “I have a lot of assignments already on my calendar. Can I get back to you at a later time?”

• “No thank you. I'm not ready to take on that additional responsibility just yet.”

Share Responsibility to Save Time

One of the best ways you can increase the amount of time available to you in your classroom is to share the responsibility of certain (often daily or repetitive) tasks with your students. Teachers traditionally make more than 1,500 educational decisions every day, but you don't need to! Give your students classroom responsibilities and decision-making power, and you'll increase your available time.

So Much to Do, So Little Time

Numerous tasks, chores, and assignments must be accomplished every day, from taking attendance to taking lunch count to handling late-arriving students or getting instructional materials. Most teachers do these out of habit or because they see them as "teacher jobs" or responsibilities.

Tip-Top Time Tips

You have a lot of things to do every day in your classroom. How can you get a grip on it all? The answer: turn some of those responsibilities over to your students. "But my students are too young … too old … too dependent … too …," you wail. Not to worry; any child can benefit from taking on classroom responsibilities. The ultimate benefit will be more time for teaching and more time for learning.

It's Elementary

When students arrive in the morning, have each student remove a clothespin with his name printed on it from a special coffee can. Then he clips his clothespin to one of two strings strung across a bulletin board. One string is labeled "Packers," the other string is labeled "Buyers." You quickly have a count of who brought their lunch and who is buying it in the cafeteria.

Secondary Thoughts

Instead of using paper passes for students to leave and use the restroom, make a large block of wood for the restroom pass. Make the block large enough so it won't fit inside a student's pocket. Paint it a special color, and print your name in large letters along the side. Hang it by a chain in the back of the classroom.

• Post library pockets on a special bulletin board for attendance tracking
• Use Styrofoam cube flags for student assistance requests
• Implement a classroom greeter system
• Assign materials engineers for supplies management
• Create morning task checklists
• Use picture cards for restroom management
• Implement a tool master system for pencil sharpening
• Set up color-coded homework bins:
  • Red: Completed homework
  • Green: New assignments
  • Blue: Missed assignments
  • Yellow: Incomplete work

Remember to properly train students in these routines early in the school year to ensure their effectiveness.