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It’s 7:30pm on a Sunday, I’ve just finished my roast dinner with my family and the busy week I have ahead of me is creeping in…
At the start of my teacher training, I used to get the ‘Sunday scaries’ where I would freak out about the following week because I had not got everything prepared for the next 4 days. This is how I tackled this…
Plan, plan and plan.
If you are like me, NOT a morning person, then planning the night before is essential to a successful day. Future you will thank you!
Here’s what I did:
This goes without saying – ensure that lessons are planned well in advance.
Not only to meet your deadlines, but for your own confidence in the classroom. Everyone feels much more confident when they are talking about something they know inside out.
Prepare your lunches for the week on Sunday.
This will save so much time in the morning and evenings when you are planning lessons. It is important that you have a decent meal for lunch because you’re normally working on lessons until around 6pm. You need a meal that contains protein to keep your energy levels up.
Pack your bag the night before:
This may sound completely obvious, but again, this will save so much time in the morning. Packing the night before is so much more beneficial because you aren’t in the process of waking up and trying to pack a bag – you have your head (somewhat) screwed on the night before, therefore you are less likely to forget important things for that day.
Filing days – this will save your life.
Dedicate a day in the week where you update trainee files, teaching standard files, evidence bundles etc. It is so important that you keep on top of evidence, not only to fulfil training requirements, but it is amazing for your professional portfolio for when you finally apply for your dream teaching job. You will find that you are always adding and taking away things from your files, but it is always better to be doing this rather than waiting until the last minute!
Utilise your school planner/diary.
I never used to be a diary person until I started my ITT, and I will leave myself important reminders to mark books etc. but also smaller reminders such as ‘don’t forget to speak to your mentor about …..’ When you are doing your ITT, you have to think about a million things all at once, leaving yourself simple reminders to eat, send emails, talk to someone will really help you stay on top of the smaller jobs that can become time consuming.
To do lists!
Make small to do lists throughout the day for you to complete. Make sure that these are realistic goals/targets otherwise you will burn yourself out trying to accomplish 5 big tasks in one day, rather than smaller tasks and then dedicating time for the bigger tasks. It is also super satisfying to tick everything off once you have done!
I hope this helps,
Yours truly, Miss Baker.
Proud to be part of the
