Personal Organization
One of the biggest challenges of teaching is staying organized and on top of the workload. Teachers have a lot to remember. During my prep I need to make copies for labs and grade the morning crew’s cool downs. I also need to text Jane’s parents about what happened at recess. During lunch I’m running a peer-to-peer group. I have to hand out my book club’s books before Thursday. Before I leave for the day I have to make sure next week’s lesson plans are done and ready for review. Oh, and I have a blog post due!
For me I need constant reminders about all my tasks to get them done, but I also can’t be so overwhelmed I can’t manage my list. Here are some great resources I’ve used to help me, simply, remember.
Task Completing Apps:
TeuxDeux
This is my most used app on my phone! The app gives you a to-do list for each day of the week, and you can easily move the tasks between days or weeks. You can also set up repeated events, which for me are PD meetings and email reminders. There is also a web version, so I can easily see my list on any device!
Google Tasks
I used this before I found TeuxDeux. This option is great because it’s free, whereas TeuxDeux costs a subscription fee to unlock all features. I liked that I could connect this app with my work email and have all my needs in one place.
To Do (Microsoft)
A great alternative to Google Tasks if you use Microsoft!
Notion
I LOVE this app, it has everything. I used it when I was teaching and in grad school so I could make a ton of different lists and journal entries. This app has a lot of features and is great for those of us who wear many hats.
Reminders App for iPhones
If you have an iPhone you are probably familiar with this already. A great additional feature is you can set the reminder to go off when you arrive or leave a place. If I need to make copies in the morning before students arrive, I’ll set a reminder to go off when I arrive at the building in the morning.
Visibility
Not an app but a tip! If my to-do list is not directly in front of me, I will immediately forget half of it. Try and find a system that you will visually see multiple times per day. I use TeuxDeux so often that it's usually the first app I open on my phone. I leave sticky note reminders around my house - “take trash out” is stuck to the house alarm, so I’ll see it right before I leave the house!
Most importantly, these reminders are right in front of my face where I can’t ignore them. So easy a child could do it! (I have, in fact, made sticky note reminders for my students to stick to their doors so they remember to bring their homework back.)
