Summary;
- Plan your lessons beforehand
- Prepare the night before
- Be organized
- Sleeping habits
- Get some morning energy
- Arrive a little earlier
- Prioritize
- Automate
- Delegate
When I was a student, I really admired the teachers I saw in American high school movies for one reason – the teachers and students walked out of the classroom as soon as the bell rang. It’s not the case in Ugandan schools. This is because teachers usually aren’t that good at saving time. Here’s why;
- Some teachers live far from the school, which means they have to get up earlier and travel faster – which they probably won’t do all the time.
- Few teachers are just not all in on their jobs.
- Some schools don’t have strict time management rules and penalties.
- Disincentives and demotivation like low salary.
Once a teacher gets used to being late and getting away with it, there’s almost no hope unless you decide to re-organize all affairs in your life in the following ways
1. Plan your lessons beforehand
Planning is not fun, and I say this as a person who has tried and failed any times. But if fun is all you’re looking for, then you are in the wrong profession. If you want to be good at keeping time, you have to learn to plan everything including;
- How many classes/ lessons you have to teach
- The time within which you’ll teach
- How long every lesson will take
- What you will teach them within this period
- Detailed structure of your lesson
Sounds like a lot of work, right? But it’s worth it, because then, you are doing everything consciously. This also gives you an organized delivery of notes, and your students find it easy to grasp what you teach them.
2. Prepare the night before
If women could wear al their makeup the night before, and it could still work the next day, maybe they would be a little more punctual. To be punctual enough, you have to prepare everything the night before. Things like;
- Your books
- Clothes, shoes, etcetera
- Anything else you have to go with
- Hygiene, like cleaning your room
Many people fail to keep time in the morning because they weren’t foresighted enough to prepare at night which makes them rush to prepare, and they forget a lot of stuff sometimes, and walk too fast. It’s stressful.
3. Be organized
Being organized can feel stuffy at times, but it is the right way to get your work and personal life in order. Here are the key things you must organize
- The work desk
- Your room
- Notes
- The widgets in your gadgets.
Lots of research results have proven that you can’t effectively study, at least not for long if you aren’t organized.
But while we’re dealing with time, it’s as simple as failing or delaying to find what you’re looking for, which delays your work a great deal.
4. Sleeping habits
Your sleep is very important, and it determines not only your punctuality but your health too. Here’s a few tips;
- Go to bed early
- Wake up early
- Know how long you sleep
- Maintain your sleep schedule
- Avoid sleep-inducing or preventing drugs
- Don’t take an extra nap after you’ve woken up
Good quality and enough sleep gives you enough energy, thus efficient performance, and you just won’t doze.
5. Get some morning energy
I don’t know if you know this, but it is very important to start your day with enough energy. This can only be tapped into if you practice the right morning habits. Some suggestions include;
- Taking cold showers
- Playing chess
- Working out
- Watching motivational videos
- Swimming
- Taking a cup of coffee
There are so many habits that can kick start your morning with lots of energy. However, what works for someone else isn’t what works for you. Therefore, find what works and do that.
6. Arrive a little earlier
I know there’s no reward on this, and it might instead make your workmates see you as a nerd, but it is everyone’s best way of keeping time. This is because;
- You have enough time to prepare everything you need
- Allows you improvise if there’s anything different or inconvenient
- Settles your mind and saves you from panic
This is very hard for teachers that have already got used to their jobs and don’t have tight regulations on arriving earl at work. But it is essential.
7. Prioritize
We usually fail to keep time because there are other things that take our time when they actually shouldn’t. These include;
- Video games
- Social media
- Small talk with colleagues
- Entertainment
But once you’ve mastered the art of prioritization, you have no hard time organizing your work and thereby keeping time, because you know what’s more important than the other, thereby becoming a good time keeper.
8. Automate
For many teachers that have been in this business for more than 20 years, it’s quite hard to adjust to computerized devices, especially to use them for work. However, automating some tasks could be one of the ways you can save time, not only during one lesson, but over the whole syllabus.
Here are some tasks that you can automate;
- Making and giving notes
- Distribution of notes using social media
- Word check and grammar correction
9. Delegate
Sometimes, you will take long to notice how helpful students can be during class time. However, you should consider giving your students the chance to help you with some repetitive tasks like;
- Distribution and collection of work
- Making notes
- Communicating with their fellows
- Maintaining order in the classroom.
By delegating some of your tasks to your students, you reduce the amount of time that you would have spent performing other tasks, hence giving you a chance to prioritize better.
Conclusion;
Punctuality is the tendency usually practiced by the mostly disciplined people. You know why? Because you have to say “no” to many things and accept only those you want/ think you need. Now, this might be a little hard given that you might have friends, a spouse or even a family that might need more quality time together.
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