Organize and Prioritize: Teacher "Time on Task"

By: Jenny Neff, Director Summer Music Studies

It’s back to school time! For teachers it can be an exciting time that brings on thoughts of getting back to it. But it also brings a long list of to-dos. We often talk of “time on task” for students, but how much time do teachers have to stay on task with a long list of things to accomplish? How can we minimize the time we spend on things we have to do, while maximizing the time we spend on things we want to do—like teaching kids through music?

When we think about the word “productivity” we often associate it with terms like efficiency, production, yield, or capacity. In our world as teachers, productivity can mean any of these things, but mainly it translates to “getting it done.” But what about on those days when you feel like you have no time, the list is taking over, or you can’t find the motivation to tackle it? Recently, I changed my job and was faced with a new set of to-dos. Along with reflecting on and redesigning my current systems, I also explored new ways to prioritize and get things done.

Systems for getting organized and prioritizing to-do lists have evolved, from the forever handwritten lists, to Palm-Pilots (remember those?), to more recent bullet journals and apps. How do you organize and prioritize your day without feeling overwhelmed? What helps you execute a project? How do you get done what you need, while staying on top of your teaching game?

I recently read a book by David Allen entitled Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity. While the idea of “stress-free” was not so familiar to me as a music educator, there were many ideas that struck a chord. He presented things I had used over the course of my career in some fashion, as well as suggestions that could be easily adapted to the “Teacher To-Do” list.

Read Jenny's tips on expanding roles and getting things done.