I used to love my teacher planner. Every summer, I would set aside some time to go and buy my new planner. I took my plannering seriously. But this year, I sort of couldn't be bothered. It was annoying having to carry it everywhere, if I didn't get something done one day, I needed to copy it over to the next page. I decided to take a different approach.
It could be more streamlined, I'm sure, but there are three aspects to it:
- Outlook/Microsoft calendar
- Trello
- Post-it Notes for Learning™
Outlook/Microsoft Calendar
One of the big things I used my paper planner for previously was to keep track of what I was teaching when. Now, I use the calendar on my computer. At the beginning of the year I synced all my lessons from Arbor (our MIS) and then went through and colour-coded them so I can very quickly see who I'm teaching when. I tend to colour-code only a few weeks in advance because it's annoyingly time-consuming, but it makes my life easier, so it's worth the payoff. This calendar also syncs with my phone, so when I'm away from my laptop, I can still easily check what I'm doing.
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| [This is the significantly lighter of the two weeks] |
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| [Irritatingly, the colour-coding doesn't transfer to my phone.] |
We're a Teams school, which is useful because it means everything syncs across everything. If I set up a meeting on Teams, it will show up on my calendar (and my phone) without my having to physically go in and add anything. No more starting to write it into my planner, then having to double check I got the time correct. Also, if someone cancels or rearranges, there's no crossing out!
Because we use booklets, I don't have to keep track so much of what I'm teaching. I just put an arrow in my copy of the booklet marking where I got up to, and then go from there next time.
Trello
I was already using Trello for Life Admin type things, and my department use it to keep track of meeting agendas and actions, so I figured I'd use it for my longer-term stuff [see below, although I've had a good clear out recently, so it's looking rather empty.] One of the useful things about Trello is I can copy a card (one of the white boxes, containing a task) from the department board to my own to-do list, so I can keep all the long-term things in one place. The GCSE chemistry booklets card in the image below is one such copied card. If there's anything in particular that requires my attention, my HoD will add me to the card on the department board. This means I get notifications that something requires my attention, and that a due date is arriving. The little red bell icon in the top right is one such notification (I was added to a card about y11 mock marking). Again, I have Trello on my phone, so even if I'm away from my laptop, I can still check on stuff.
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[This is what my personal work board looks like. Below is the departmental board, shared with permission. Way more impressive!]
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Post-It Notes for Learning™
Sometimes, you're in the middle of something, and you remember you need to do X. Or you're teaching and you realise you're going to have to set the students some homework on Y. Or any number of other scenarios where stopping and opening Trello is less than favourable. Sure you could do it, but it's quicker just to jot it down somewhere. This is where my post-its come in. I keep a pad of post-its [other brands are available] in my pocket at all times, along with a few pens. If I need to jot something down quickly it goes on the post-it. If I'm in a meeting and it would look unprofessional to be on my phone, it goes on the post-it. At the end of the day, or when the post-it is full (whichever comes first) it gets stuck on my desk. Once everything is crossed off, it goes in the bin. The benefit of this is that I'm not constantly flipping back and forth in my planner copying over stuff from yesterday that didn't get finished and needs to be added to today's To Do list. It's still there. On my desk. Where I left it. It's also way more satisfying than it should be, crumpling the completed list up, and tossing it into the bin. I'm also wasting a lot less paper.
Some people will probably object to having various work-related apps on their phone, but it isn't something that bothers me. I find it much easier to have everything I need to work in my pocket. Sure, I'd rather use my laptop, but if needs be, I can use my phone. And my post-its.
TL;DR
Use tech. And post-its.
Addenda:
1) I've been reminded you can link Trello with your outlook calendar so your deadlines show up on your calendar. I don't do this but only because I don't like the way it looks when I do lol.
2) There are fancy ways of colour-coding timetables using Excel, but I'm not convinced it's enough of a time saver to make fighting Excel worth it!