There’s only so much time in a day, and it has a tendency to fill itself up with far more than a single person can feasibly do. Or so it often feels. This can be especially true for instructors whose jobs do not end the moment they step out of the classroom.
Here are ten tips for making life a little easier.
1. Set an alarm for everything. Calendars and reminders are your friends. It’s easy to tell yourself that of course, you’ll remember, but reminders help ensure that you do. Professionalism is all about being where you say you’re going to be when you say you’re going to be there. A timely reminder helps you do just that.
2. Work on one thing at a time. Interruptions are the bane of productivity. So why, then, is it so easy to interrupt oneself? Set aside time to answer emails, grade essays, and make lesson plans. Then, keep that time sacred. Working on one thing at a time allows you to establish flow, increasing productivity and decreasing the amount of time needed to finish.
3. Delegate. TA, TA, TA. A teacher’s assistant is a beautiful thing to have. They are there to help: whether with grading or office hours, TAs provide additional manpower to fulfill the obligations that come with helping students be successful.
4. Automate. Figure out what needs your personal touch and what you can automate. Quizzes and tests are just one example of something you can automate, as is running student statistics. (MyEducator is more than willing to help, with auto-graded assessments, robust analytics, and LMS integration.)
5. Get to know your colleagues. Get to know your fellow instructors. Not only does socialization do a person good—and being on friendly terms with the people you work with is always a boon—but there’s always a chance that your fellow instructors have discovered tips and tricks to teaching a subject or handling students that can benefit you.
6. Schedule time to relax. Schedule time to relax, or time will force it on you. It’s simply not possible to go continuously 24/7 without eventually breaking down and being forced to recuperate. Take time to relax now so you’re not forced to later. Life doesn’t stop outside the classroom. In the work-life balance, life is just as important as work.
7. Avoid perfectionism. Perfectionism is the enemy of success in every element of life. Doing things well—from cleaning the kitchen to writing that test—is better than doing things perfectly. More often than not, perfectionism is an unobtainable goal that stops you from moving on.
8. Use good practice. Good practice is good practice wherever it is found. Organizational skills, time management skills, social skills? These skills have application in all corners of your life, professional and personal. While you might want to compartmentalize your time, you don’t want to compartmentalize the tools needed to be successful.
9. Set time aside for research. For many instructors, the work doesn’t end in the classroom. Research is a fundamental element for professional success, but time for research is not magically going to appear. If you don’t set time aside for research, you’ll find months down the line that nothing has been done.
10. Bring your research to the classroom. If you’re doing meaningful research, that research will inform what you do in the classroom. And that’s great! What better way to teach than to teach what you love?
Life hacks are here to make your life easier. But there’s one important thing to remember—the ultimate life hack—summarized so eloquently by John Wooden: If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?
Don’t forget, you can work smarter, not harder. But always make sure you’re working to do it right. Your future self will thank you for taking the time now to learn the life hacks of a successful and satisfied educator.
