It’s every teacher’s dream to leave the classroom as soon as all students are dismissed. We have things to do at home, and we’re ready to decompress after a long workday. Some days it’s impossible to get out the door, though. These six tips on saving time will help you get out the door on time each day. Keep reading to see how you can prioritize your day and leave school at a decent time.
Utilize Planning Time
I know, easier said than done, but use any planning time you are given wisely. It’s so tempting to go chat with co-workers, but this is the ideal time to get some work done. Use this time to grade papers, organize items on your desk, plan future lessons, make copies, or set up new centers.
If you can multitask, get these things done while talking with coworkers. Just keep in mind that if you fall behind on the paperwork and tasks, you won’t be leaving the building as early as you’d like.
Have Students Help
Put students to work. Yes! Kids love to help, and since we’re fostering a classroom community each and every day, give them tasks, so the classroom stays neat and tidy. At the end of the day, have student organize their desk spaces. This will keep clutter off the table tops and floors, which means less cleanup for you (and the janitor).
Assign jobs that help with organization, like a paper passer, a sweeper, a desk wiper, or even a homework collector. These will take one small thing off your plate and allow you to leave work on time.
Marking Tips
While grading, focus on the standard. Sure, students may have tons of grammatical mistakes, but focus on correcting to the standard and leave other mistakes for another time. If you nit-pick every single mistake, you’ll be grading all night, and you’ll never get home.
Streamline your grading as much as you can. Pick a day each week that will be dedicated to grading, and make sure you do it. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself spending late nights in the school building grading on Friday nights.
Stay Organized
The key to getting out the door is staying organized. If you’re looking for tips on saving time, this is at the top. Organize everything from binders to bins, to drawers, and more. Here are some of my favorite things to organize so I can get out the door as early as possible.
Label Binders – Use pretty binder covers to label classroom binders, lesson planning books, and even student materials. Every paper will have a home and won’t end up lying on your desk in a stack.
Drawer Cart Labels – Many teachers use these drawer carts to collect homework, store lesson plans and materials, and store sub plans. Use fun labels to make sure students, coworkers, and subs know where everything goes at the end of the day.
Put Labels on Everything – Labeling book bins, baskets, table tops, drawers, and everything in between will ensure that every material and paper has a home. You and your students will know exactly where items go, minimizing clutter.
These tips on saving time will definitely help you get out the door on time at the end of the day.
Try these FREE Boho Rainbow Labels to get you started. Use them to label tables and other classroom essentials.
Set Boundaries
Setting boundaries applies to minimizing chit-chat and checking emails. Make it a rule that you won’t check emails after a certain time each night or before a certain time each morning. Don’t spend too much time scrolling through emails. Respond to the important ones and save the others for later.
If coworkers are holding you up in the hallway, don’t be afraid to let them know you’re on a time crunch.
Make To-Do Lists
To-do lists go a LONG way in saving time in the classroom. Make a list for each day (or each week) and focus on completing those tasks. I know the to-do lists are constantly growing, but prioritize what needs to be done and save the rest for another time.
Done is better than perfect. While you don’t want to make mistakes, getting the job done is sometimes better than it being perfect. Do the job right, but don’t spend too much time on tiny details that won’t matter in the long run. Tons of teachers are perfectionists in how their slideshows look or how the clipart is formatted on a worksheet. The kids won’t care, so don’t spend too much time when you can be headed home to decompress.
I hope these tips for saving time help you get out of school sooner rather than later. Burnout in the school setting is real, so I’m here to help! Take these tips to heart and get home to relax; you deserve it!
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