The Time Management Hacks Every Teacher Needs (But Few Know About)

Time Management

Hi teacher friends,

Feeling overwhelmed by your teaching load? You’re not alone. Teaching is a rewarding profession, full of purpose and impact, but it’s also demanding, often leaving educators stretched too thin. Many teachers experience the pressures of an ever-growing to-do list that can lead to stress and burnout. But with mindful strategies for time management, you can regain control of your schedule, protect your energy, and maintain a positive outlook.

Below, I’ll walk you through three effective methods, supported by research, to help you manage your workload and find more balance in your day.

Strategy #1: Using the ABC Method to Prioritize with Purpose

The ABC Method is a simple yet powerful way to organize your tasks according to their importance. This method has been shown to help with cognitive load and time management by clarifying which tasks are most crucial to your goals and which can wait (Tricco et al., 2017).

Here’s how it works:

A = High-priority tasks: These are non-negotiable tasks that are crucial to your success, like finalizing lesson plans or prepping for an upcoming presentation.
B = Important but not urgent tasks: These are tasks that matter but can be scheduled for later, such as updating your teaching materials.
C = Low-priority tasks: These are tasks that are nice to complete but not necessary in the short term, like reorganizing your desk or planning a school social event.

By assigning tasks to these categories, you immediately clarify where to focus your energy. This is especially valuable for teachers, who often juggle many small tasks with varying levels of urgency (Macan, 1994).

Action Step: Look at your current to-do list and categorize each task into A, B, or C. Focus on A tasks first, and allow yourself to set aside B and C tasks until the high-priority work is done.

Strategy #2: Preventing Burnout with the Pomodoro Technique

The Pomodoro Technique breaks your workday into focused 25-minute intervals followed by short breaks, designed to maintain productivity while preventing burnout. Recent studies have shown that regular, timed breaks improve both concentration and task performance (Pope et al., 2017). This technique helps you sustain energy throughout the day, which is critical for teachers managing intense and diverse workloads.

Why it works: These short bursts of focused time, paired with consistent breaks, enhance your concentration and reduce mental fatigue. Knowing you only have 25 minutes until your next break can create a sense of urgency and focus, helping you power through tasks without distraction (Cirillo, 2018).

Action Step: Set a timer for 25 minutes and work on your most important task. Once the timer rings, take a 5-minute break. Repeat this cycle four times, and then take a longer 15- to 30-minute break. When you’re overwhelmed, try one cycle at a time to make tasks feel more manageable.

Strategy #3: Reclaim Your Schedule with Time Blocking

When the school day feels chaotic, time blocking can provide the structure you need. This technique involves dividing your day into dedicated blocks of time for specific tasks. A 2020 study highlighted that time blocking increases productivity by reducing decision fatigue and encouraging single-tasking, rather than multitasking, which is often less efficient (Mark et al., 2020).

How to use time blocking: Designate blocks of time for different activities to prevent tasks from spilling over into each other. For instance, you might allocate 8:00 am - 8:30 am for checking emails, 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm for lesson planning, and 4:00 pm - 4:30 pm for preparing materials for the next day. With time blocking, each task has its own slot, which minimizes the tendency to multitask and increases focus.

Action Step: Take a look at tomorrow’s schedule and map out specific blocks of time for each task. Commit to these blocks and avoid switching between tasks within each one.

Conclusion: Take Action and Embrace Positive Change

By embracing these prioritization and time management strategies, you can transform your workday, reducing feelings of overwhelm and freeing up mental space to fully engage in the parts of teaching that inspire you. Research supports that proactive time management positively influences job satisfaction, reduces burnout, and promotes mental well-being (Leiter & Maslach, 2016).

The best time to start is now. This approach will empower you to take ownership of your time and create a balanced, mindful way of working that supports both your personal and professional well-being. Start today and experience the positive changes these strategies bring to your teaching life.

Take a deep breath, and remember: you're doing meaningful work.

Liz 💛

Join The Quiet Teacher community and grab my free guide—8 Essential Steps to Declutter Your Classroom—and start simplifying your life today! See below.

Reference List

Cirillo, F. (2018). The Pomodoro Technique: The Acclaimed Time-Management System That Has Transformed How We Work. Random House.
Leiter, M. P., & Maslach, C. (2016). Understanding burnout: New models. In The handbook of stress and health: A guide to research and practice (pp. 25-42). Wiley-Blackwell.
Macan, T. H. (1994). Time management: Test of a process model. Journal of Applied Psychology, 79(3), 381-391.
Mark, G., Iqbal, S. T., Czerwinski, M., Johns, P., Sano, A., & Lutchyn, Y. (2020). Email duration, batching and self-interruption: Patterns of email use on productivity and stress. ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction (TOCHI), 27(5), 1-38.
Pope, K. S., Luce, C., & Stein, C. (2017). Productivity and performance benefits of breaks: A review and meta-analysis. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 26(4), 394-400.
Tricco, A. C., Ashoor, H. M., Cardoso, R., MacDonald, H., Cogo, E., Kastner, M., ... & Straus, S. E. (2017). Sustainability of knowledge translation interventions in healthcare decision-making: A scoping review. Implementation Science, 12(1), 1-11.