I’ve been thinking a lot lately about productivity, time management, and scheduling. Working from home has never been a strong suit of mine. Whenever I need to get a lot of work done on the weekends, I always have to work somewhere else…school, a cafe, Starbucks. If I don’t, I am so distracted by things at home that I just procrastinate all day until I stress myself out and end up staying up late on Sunday night and then don’t even get half of my list done!
What started me thinking about time management was my students’ reflections on virtual school last week. All but one said the hardest part of online learning was time management and managing distractions. Same for me, guys. To help them learn more time management techniques, I went on a deep dive on YouTube, because let’s be honest, I’m not the model for this skill! I found 2 really good videos (here and here) for them and they’ve been using the new techniques to create a daily to-do list and schedule each morning, which they submit to Seesaw. I’ve seen improvements this week in their ability to submit assignments in a timely manner. If we are still online after spring break, I’ll tackle the distractions element!
While researching for my students, I came across a YouTuber named Amy who is a time management, scheduling, morning routine, and productivity expert. I’ve watched way too many of her videos this week! With tomorrow being our last day of virtual school before a much-deserved week off, I’ve been reflecting on how I will improve how I approach the planning and execution of virtual school and how I will take some time for myself on my isolated spring break. Here’s what I’ve planned so far.
Things to do during Spring Break
Daily:
-Exercise
-Blog/Slice
-Read
-Skincare routine
-Sleep well
Fun:
-Puzzles!
-Try new recipes
-Catch up on my shows
-Movies and popcorn
-Coloring books
Organize:
-Clean out closets
-Cook and freeze meals
-Create a daily schedule for Spring Break
-Create a daily schedule for virtual school (if it continues after next week)
-Decide what to pack/move and what to donate
Work:
-Plan ahead for the next week
-Film all lessons for the next week
-Student feedback
-Catch up on curriculum work
-Brainstorm how to do an entirely online PYP Exhibition (if it comes to that)
I’m hopeful for next week and want to be productive, not succumb to binge-watching Netflix every day, because we all know how easy that would be!
This video from Amy is sooo helpful and applicable now! Anyone struggling with working from home should watch it. She gives great tips!
my heart is happiest when i travel. read. write. connect. 
Constantly learning from and with you. I have fewer discrete tasks to manage but I just got the book, “How To Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy” by Jenny Odell. Recommended to me at least 3 times already, it’s time for me to have another look at how I manage my online presence.
Thank you so much! Glad it was helpful. You should write a review once you’re done reading it. It sounds really interesting.
Your slices are so helpful. I hope that you rest fully during the break.
Thanks Terje! I’m working on it…:)
Yikes your list made me tired and guilty about sitting in my chair all day (not today). Awesomeness. I’m going to watch this video…tomorrow.
I too struggle with time management when working from home; however, I find making lists and setting clear goals works best for me. I appreciate your links!
Thanks Anita…hope they help!
I like the time management videos for your students. I may use those for my kiddo. He was diagnosed with last month, and we are working through a lot of learning around time management and focus and not freaking out with anxiety because he thinks he cannot meet all his deadlines because he somehow loses entire days of project work time whilst staring out the window at school… Having some down time at home is actually slightly nice because we have more time to calmly and casually read together and talk about issues and strategies, and it is working much better than doing that after an 8 hour school day. On the other hand, right now, spending next week’s spring break alone on my couch and binge-watching Netflix sounds like a really darn good idea! Not going to happen, but moms can dream, right?
We all need a little help in the time management dept. Hopefully he will be able to learn some coping skills in a controlled and safe environment. Binge-watch away!!
This was such a useful slice! Thanks for the recommendations. I’m totally with you on my productivity being terrible at home. It is so hard to resist all of the distracting temptations.
Glad it was helpful! Now I just need to put it into practice…haha
Thanks again for your input and suggestions, especially the video, I’m sure that Amy’s views are increasing substantially at this time! Hope you get a good break over spring break and can then return to class afterwards!
I’m hoping that I can do a good job making a schedule for virtual school tomorrow…that’s my morning task!