Remember that time you felt overwhelmed by that huge pile of essays on your desk? Sometimes, we feel that there is not enough time to get everything done. (Don’t you wish we have a 25 hour day instead of 24?)  If you’re a teacher, you know that you need to have good time management skills. So we put together a quick guide for you that you can use to help manage your time!

Create a to-do list.

Having a to-do list is can save you a lot of time. Start off by writing down the different tasks you need to do that day and organize them based on priorities. Try to tackle what you can do to day. If you still have some tasks left over, add it to tomorrow’s to-do list! By writing down your tasks, it can give you a clear idea on what you need to get done for the day. Also, it can help you focus on what are the most important tasks for the day.

Don’t take your work home!

Don’t you just hate it when you have to carry that HUGE bag of papers and reports home to grade? Home the place where you can relax and forget about grading. When at home, you should spend time doing the things you enjoy. When you are tired from grading, it will make you less effective in class. So take this time to relax at home and stay refreshed! Also, if you have a long commute home (like me), use that time on the train or bus to grade those papers! (It’s a great way to multi-task too!)

Saying “no”.

Are you the type of teacher who is constantly involved in school activities? Sure, it is important to be involved with school activities. If you feel like you have too much work to do, it is OK to say no. You don’t need to be involved with ALL the school activities but you can try to help out at one or two events each semester!

Have a clean desk.

If your desk looks like a pack of rhino just ran through it, maybe it’s a sign that you should clean it up! When we have a cluttered desk, it can be hard to work effectively. Don’t spend 5 minutes trying to look for a new piece of chalk, or that stapler that used to be under that pile of yellow paper. A cluttered desk can take time away from what’s important. Keep the top of your desk clean with only the materials you need. Everything else should be stored away in drawers!

Different teachers have different ways of managing their time. You are not limited to the tips we provided. It is important for you to find your style of time management. Let us know how you manage your time!

Until next time,

Eva D.

The Voki Team

Bio: Eva is the Community Manager for Voki and is part of the Marketing Team at Oddcast. She enjoys playing the piano and knitting on her free time. (She’s also a Rubik’s cube master!) She loves to hear your feedback and comments for Voki!