Good-bye vacation, hello new school year! After getting used to a calmer daily routine, back to school time can hit you like a ton of bricks. All of a sudden you start feeling overwhelmed by a growing to-do list that seems to never end. Here’s a few tips to a more stress-free start to your year.
- Anticipation – Unless you’re a beginning teacher that’s never taught a day in his or her life, you probably know more less what will be asked of you the minute school starts. This could be emergency lesson plans, textbook inventory log, course syllabus posted online, bulletin board set up with key school information, etc. So start thinking about what demands were put on you last year, and tackle them ASAP.
- Report to school one day early – This is taboo for a lot of teachers because they feel teachers already get shortchanged with their salary, but I’ll tell you, my sanity is worth it! Sometimes I rather get there early to sign out my classroom keys or beat everyone to the copy machine so that I start off the year a little less stressed. Go in to your classroom and check to see its condition. Do you have all of your chairs, desks, garbage cans? Most classroom floors are waxed over the summer and usually all of your things get put into the hallway. Some items just don’t make their way back to its original owner. So getting to school one day before you have to report might not be such a bad idea.
- Keep a to-do list and take it everywhere you go – The minute you get a deadline, write it down. The minute you’re in a meeting and your department chair says I need a list of all school supplies you need by this date, or I need a copy of your class syllabus by this date, WRITE IT DOWN. Then reorganize your to-do-list by date due. Start checking things off as soon as possible.
- Delegate – Do you have any nieces, nephews, children, or maybe there are some athletes around the school? Perhaps a retired husband or an out of work cousin? You probably have someone that you can nicely ask to help you set up your bulletin boards or take old file folders to the recycling bin. Maybe you can get some students that are on campus to get those last three desks you need so that the number of desks in your class matches the number of students on your roster. As much as possible, delegate delegate delegate! Consider giving them a nice thank you card or maybe a Starbucks gift card to express your gratitude.
- Keep a journal for next year – Yes, I know. You haven’t even started the new school year and I’m already telling you to plan for next year! The truth is, you will get through this year’s first day of school. And yes, you will get through this school year. Before you know it, you’ll be back in this position NEXT year. So what better way to make next year even smoother than to keep detailed reminders of what worked for you this year and what things you’d do differently. Trust me! This simple journal will become your lifesaver.
How do you avoid feeling overwhelmed during the back to school hustle and bustle? Share it below.
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