Productivity - The Bear and Badger

Yossarian

Not the most exciting of subjects, but there you go.

Having started teaching I now have a job in which I have to organise my own time, something which I'm absolutely terrible at. If I have a task I tend to put it off or completely fail to concentrate on it until the deadline is looming and I have no choice but to do it. As a result, work is taking up far more of my time than it should.

I'm currently trying out the Pomodoro technique for focussing on the task at hand which worked excellently for a couple of hours in a cafe yesterday, then I got back home and managed to put off starting my next pomodoro until it was too late to do anything.

I'm also looking forward to getting an iPhone so that I can run Orchestra to keep track of everything I need to do on a class by class basis (I think it'll do the job, anyone here use Orchestra?).

So, any tips for organising your time and working

Kow

Stop using the forum while you should be doing other things, in fact turn off your computer. Not a joke.

Spock

You need two things and two things only to teach: rigour and vigour.Probably like you, the vigour bit's easy but the rigour! Keeping all your shit together, marking, dealine planning etc is perpetual battle for me. Write list, loose list, write new list, get bollocked, drink, write list repeat.

Aaroncupboard

I would say the best thing is to prioritise. Teaching is a career where there is an endless list of things to do. There will never be a single moment where there wont be plan to write, marking to do or some form of report to fill in. Therefore you just have to focus on whats the most important at that time.

Theres also the fact that its just as important to have time to yourself too. I'm on my NQT year and my tutor is constantly asking me how my work/life balance is. Take it one bit of work at a time.

Dark Soldier

Make the smartest kid(s) in your class give the lesson while you sit underneath your desk/in the stationary cupboard and drink meths until you shit yourself.

Yossarian

Kow wrote:

Stop using the forum while you should be doing other things, in fact turn off your computer. Not a joke.

Just stopping doesn't seem to work for me, which is why the Pomodoro technique seems to be useful at the moment. 25 minutes of focussing on the task in hand followed by five minutes of pissing about on here is a good compromise.

Dark Soldier wrote:

Make the smartest kid(s) in your class give the lesson while you sit underneath your desk/in the stationary cupboard and drink meths until you shit yourself.

Actually, one of the joys of teaching TEFL is the focus on learner autonomy. The less I'm doing in the classroom, the better I'm doing my job.

Dark Soldier

Living the dream, son. Keep it up.

Aaroncupboard

Could you adapt that Pomodoro technique and just extend/adapt it.
For example:
Plan a week of lessons then take a thirty minute break. Mark ten/fifteen books then take a longer break.

Mod74

The missus is a teacher and uses OneNote to keep things organised. I use it as well actually.

It's super flexible so you can use it to organise pretty much anything however you want. Being able to dump powerpoints and other materials in a page alongside lesson plans is really useful. Plus it's available on the PC, phone and online wherever you are.

I've no idea what Orchestra is, if it's a dedicated classroom tool then that might be better but you can certainly bend OneNote to whatever you need it to do.

As for productivity, try

http://lifehacker.com/productivity/

Go to the bottom right and there's dozens and dozens of tips/tricks/software
(Stupid Gawker site layout)

Kow

Another trick isÂ justÂ to stop preparing things and wing it instead.

Aaroncupboard

You got to remember as well that you can have extra time off this weekend as its a four day week next week. Which means less planning and less marking!

@Kow: I've had to do that before, it is surprisingly terrifying. The kids can tell. I don't know how, but they know.

Yossarian

Not in Egypt it's not. Thanks Mod, I'll have a look at that One Note.

Aaroncupboard wrote:

Could you adapt that Pomodoro technique and just extend/adapt it. For example: Plan a week of lessons then take a thirty minute break. Mark ten/fifteen books then take a longer break.

Possibly. At the moment I'm just glad to be getting on with things even in short bursts. I'm a terrible procrastinator, but I work well within a rigid framework of rules. Usually, rules that I set for myself go right out of the window, but somehow this one seems to work for me.

Aaroncupboard

Then it sounds like a great plan. I might even give it a go as I've just been told the first deadline for reports is coming up!

And apologies, didn't realise you were Egypt based!

Kow

Don't your students follow some kind of coursebook? What's to plan?

Aaroncupboard

There are coursebooks/schemes to follow, however they need to be adapted to each class really. I for one need to as my lot are far lower than they should have been when they started my year. I've had to change and adapt everything.

Yossarian

Are you teaching TEFL as well then Aaron?

Aaroncupboard

I'm primary so I teach everything basically. I do teach Spanish for half an hour every week...

Yossarian

Ah, I believe you're a couple of rungs up the hierarchy of teaching from me, then.

Aaroncupboard

Have you just started? I'm still only in my first year teaching. Halfway through my last term. Bring on the summer.

Kow

You must teach your students "Que te den por saco, profe".

Aaroncupboard

Do you know what, maybe I will!

Kow

And then you can roar back "Â¿QUE HAS DICHO, HIJO DE PUTA? Â¡TE MATO CABRÃ“N!" and then kick the shit out of them.

Aaroncupboard

When I start up a 'I've just been fired so I have loads of time to play games but no money to buy any' thread you will know I have followed your wise words.

Yossarian

Aaroncupboard wrote:

Have you just started? I'm still only in my first year teaching. Halfway through my last term. Bring on the summer.

A bit over a year for me. We don't do proper, year-long terms, but rather lots of two month terms which pretty much go year round, with the exception of a couple of months in the summer when we do summer school. It's not much different from the other terms except there's more kids around.

I have got to say, I had no idea how badly human beings can smell until I did a two and a half hour lesson with a room full of teenagers in a Cairo summer with a broken air-con.

@Mod74 I forgot to say, I do know Lifehacker, it's great for Mac software, but I do find the relentlessly efficient and upbeat tone to become quite grating. It only takes two or three articles on there before I start to feel like I've wasted the vast majority of my life so far.

Kow

Lifehacker is where MacGyver went.

Aaroncupboard

I have got to say, I had no idea how badly human beings can smell until I did a two and a half hour lesson with a room full of teenagers in a Cairo summer with a broken air-con.

Haha, I hate going into the Year 6 rooms after a full day as they have just begun to stink. I can only imagine how bad your situation was!

tigersgogrrr

Aaroncupboard wrote:

I'm primary so I teach everything basically. I do teach Spanish for half an hour every week...

How are you finding it? I'm considering applying for a Primary GTP when I return to England next year.

For some reason all the text in this field is huge. Apologies if it posts like that.

Aaroncupboard

I've been really enjoying it so far. It is a lot of work and a lot of hours but its definately worth it.
It's especially nice now we are in term three. You can have great banter with the kids (I'm in year five) and yet they know what is expected of them. Above all, its a fun job with something different everyday. I would definately recommend.

JonB

Kow wrote:

Don't your students follow some kind of coursebook? What's to plan?

Aye. As long as there's a coursebook you can get away with it in TEFL. 10 minutes before the lesson is usually enough to get going, and then when they're busy doing an exercise you can read ahead to the next one.

Admittedly, I was never the most entertaining teacher.

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