A teacher is never off duty. Well, maybe not never, but for the good part of a school year, most educators are swamped with various responsibilities, to say the least. Even though teaching is a truly noble profession with various perks such as summer and winter holidays, opportunity to pursue one’s interests on the side, and a decent salary to top it all off, it may get a bit hectic and even unmanageable at other times especially if the educators lack proper training. As an educator, you must see to it that your productivity doesn’t suffer as a result.
Nowadays, rampant advancements in the field of education have changed the ways of teaching and learning forever. Schools have focused towards increasing productivity with the help of various teaching and management tools such as LMS portals, smart classes and likewise. Moreover, since the coronavirus pandemic, when schools and college campuses were shut down, locking millions of students and teachers across the entire nation out of the classroom, teaching and learning activities for the most part are being carried out through online education app and e-learning portals. Amidst changing circumstances, it is more important than ever for the educators to find ways to enhance their productivity. Here are some of the most effective productivity tips for educators which might be just what you were looking for….
Keep your workspace well organized-
Organization is a sure shot way to achieve greater productivity, whatever be the situation. The better planned and well organized an educator is, the better they can handle tasks as they come along and the better, they can tend to their students’ learning needs. When teaching from home, make sure to keep your designated work area free from all the clutter, noise and interruptions. Organize your workspace in a way which saves time and looks presentable at the same time. Decluttering your workspace also gives you a psychological boost and helps you in keeping a positive mindset. Not to mention, a well-organized workspace means that you don’t have to constantly search for things as everything is in its designated place. This saves time while keeping you from feeling grumpy and frustrated as well.
Reduce your priority list-
As an educator, on any given day you might have a lot on your plate. The trick is to identify the really important tasks which require your immediate attention as well. Chances are apart from 2-3 tasks; others can be kept on hold. With this simple adjustment you can avoid spending your time and energy on doing the mundane and unimportant tasks just because they came up before the important ones. Prioritizing the really important tasks and making sure that you complete them in a timely and efficient manner, will greatly improve your productivity as an educator and will also provide you the mental satisfaction of getting the job done.
Sometimes good is good enough-
We all wish to be perfect at everything that we do. In an ideal world it would be so, but in the real world chasing and expecting perfection in everything is like living in a fool’s paradise. As an educator you must always strive to achieve a balance between perfection and optimal. It is good to wish to be perfect, but we must keep our eyes on the ball which is getting the job done. You can work towards perfection while making sure to get the job done in the best possible manner.
Don’t try to reinvent the wheel but try to improve it-
As an educator, we must not get carried away while trying to be good at our jobs. Always refrain from taking drastic measures such as creating a whole new class order, or rebuilding stuff from scratch. Think and observe to find areas where improvement is long overdue and then move up from there. This is the best way of helping our students learn in a better way while not overburdening yourself under a ton of work which could have been easily avoided and might actually make things worse.
Challenging at times though it may be, teaching is a job which provides deep satisfaction and a sense of achievement. In order to be a truly great teacher we must focus on improving our productivity. Certainly, by following the productivity tips discussed here, any educator can enhance their productivity thereby improving their job performance and becoming more successful.