Special Educators Resource Room Podcast: Real Talk for Special Education Teachers

129. The Simple Time-Saving Shift Every Special Educator Needs

• Jennifer DeBrosse

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If you're a busy special education teacher looking for tips, tricks, and resources to save you precious time, I've got you covered! I'm here to help you regain your confidence in the classroom and feel calm and collected as a special educator.

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Speaker 1:

Welcome back to Special Educators Resource Room. I'm your host, jennifer from Positively Learning. Today, we're going to be talking about something we could all use a little more of time. More specifically, I'm sharing a simple shift that you can make this week. It's going to save you time, reduce last minute scrambling and give you a sense of control, even when everything else feels a little chaotic.

Speaker 2:

a sense of control, even when everything else feels a little chaotic. Hey, special educators, I'm Jennifer from Positively Learning. Welcome to the Special Educators Resource Room. If you're like me, you're always looking for ways to save time and streamline your work. That's why this podcast was created to give you the systems and solutions you need to get your time back. Tune in for tips, tricks and tools that will help you manage your workload and make the most of your time. Whether you're brand new or experienced, all are welcome in the Special Educators Resource Room.

Speaker 1:

Today we're going to be talking about one time-saving tip that you can use this week to save time. It isn't a complex system. It's not a color-coded planner or a magical app that promises to streamline your workload. It's something I started doing a few years ago and once it clicked, I never looked back. But first let me set the scene. You've probably been here before, but first let me set the scene. You've probably been here before. It's Friday afternoon, your brain is fried, the copier is jammed for the third time today and in the back of your head you're thinking I should probably prep for next week. Or maybe it's Monday morning and you've walked in ready to tackle this week, only to realize that you forgot to print math centers, the behavior chart needs updating and your first IEP meeting starts in 20 minutes. Does this sound familiar? Because this was me.

Speaker 1:

Week after week, I was relying on Fridays and Mondays for prep, which meant I was often stressed, reactive and one forgotten stack of copies away from a disaster. So I made one simple change I moved my prep day to Wednesday and I hope you heard that Prep day, not days why Wednesdays work. Now I know Wednesdays might not sound revolutionary, but please hang with me. When I started doing the core prep tasks like copying, laminating, updating materials, reviewing next week's IEPs on Wednesdays, three things happened. Number one I got some clarity by Wednesday. I'd seen how the week was going so I wasn't guessing what I'd need. I knew If a student was flying through math fluency, I knew to prep the next level, if the small reading groups needed a new anchor activity, I had time to adjust. Number two why Wednesdays worked it was giving me a buffer. If I didn't get everything on Wednesday done, I wasn't going to panic. I had Thursday or even Friday morning to catch up. That never really happened when I relied on Fridays alone. And the third reason why Wednesdays worked, and probably my favorite, I stopped starting off the week in a rush Because when Mondays rolled around, I already had most of the materials ready to go. It changed my whole vibe because I wasn't reacting. I was already in control.

Speaker 1:

So here's how you can test this time-saving strategy out for yourself. Number one designate a prep block on Wednesday, even if it's just 20 to 30 minutes. Do you have any time before school, after school, during a PLC, during a planning period or while students are working independently? Step two grab a folder, bin, basket or clipboard and label it to prep or to copy. Keep this in a visible spot as you realize what you need, whether it's fresh data sheets, extra number cards or Monday's adapted book. Drop it in that bin. No more sticky notes all over your desk. And the third step to save you time batch those tasks On Wednesday. Pull out that bin and knock them out. Print, copy, laminate, cut whatever you've got. Don't overthink it, just focus on getting the most important things ready. And here's a bonus tip In the last podcast episode episode 128, we talked about taking one thing off your special educator plate and delegating.

Speaker 1:

This is a great opportunity to delegate.

Speaker 1:

Do you have anybody who could help you? Even just 10 minutes of downtime midweek? Maybe they could take over your copy basket or help with prep Could be just restocking centers, cutting Velcro, reassembling task cards. They're going to be saving you time and it's also going to help them feel like a true partner in your classroom. Such a simple strategy.

Speaker 1:

But let's talk about what happens when you do this. You're going to start to feel a shift almost immediately because you're not going to be prepping in panic mode, you're not going to be printing while students are walking in the door and you're not going to be spending Sunday night wondering what Monday is going to look like. Instead, you've already taken care of it on Wednesday. So let's talk about momentum. This may be the biggest thing to take away from this podcast episode. You do not need a brand new system to save you time. You just need a simple routine that's going to fit into your actual week, not your ideal week.

Speaker 1:

Wednesday prep is not flashy, it doesn't look like a color-coded checklist or going viral on Instagram, but it works and it's sustainable and it's going to build momentum because it's not overwhelming. So when you start stacking small wins like this, you're going to be creating more space in your day for the things that really matter, like supporting your students, collaborating with others or even just taking a moment for yourself. This one tiny shift can make a huge difference in how you feel heading into the work week, and if you try it out, I would love to hear from you. You can always send me a DM on Instagram at Positively Learning. And if you're loving these time-saving strategies, don't forget to check out the Taskbox Dollar Club and the Complete Independent Work Club, because these are designed to give you your time back with so many ready-to-use tools and systems that just work. Thanks for spending your time with me today. I'll talk to you next week in the Special Educators Resource Room in the Special Educators Resource Room.

Speaker 2:

Thanks so much for tuning in, and I'm dying to ask what'd you think? Be sure to hit the follow or subscribe buttons so that you never miss an episode. You can find the show notes and links for everything mentioned in this episode at positivelylearningblogcom. See you next week for more special education solutions.