Teacher Time Saver: Before and After School Routines {Free Checklist}

Routines are time savers. They us create good habits and be more efficient.

Starting off our day feeling together and ending on the right foot makes all the difference in getting and staying organized.

As teachers, we often live and work at 100 mph. By the end of our school day, we are left feeling worn to the bone. It's so easy to just pack up a few things and head home. However, leaving items to be put away in the morning or prep for tomorrow undone until that morning is like leaving the dinner dishes in the sink over night. It sets us up for a hurried morning where we start out feeling behind.

Take 30 minutes to tidy up, decompress and get set for tomorrow. Create a checklist of items you want to take care of each day for your shutdown routine. Then, create a morning routine to get you going. It will change your whole perspective and set you up for success each day.

Here's mine. 

AM

Check mailbox. Quick hellos. Hydrate, pray, organize all the materials I will need for the day and have them in bins by subject. Check my planner for any notes or meetings, duties and what I will be planning for that day. Check/prep student supplies and stations. Check email and deal with as much as I can quickly. Urgent items first. File and delete anything I can. Move on. Bathroom break. Hit the ground running.

PM

Bathroom break. Hydrate. Check mailbox. Pray. Tidy up. Check planner for the next day. Set a timer for 3 minutes. Quick write - reflection on my day (3 wins and one thing to grow on.) Organize materials for tomorrow. Check email. Deal with all items- respond, file or delete. I have a waiting for response file I check ever day as well. (I like have nothing in my inbox :) Clean out inbox on desk - organize and schedule any grading I don't have time to do right now. Grade and record what I can. Get outta Dodge.

Want my list and a blank copy to write your own as well? Grab them here!