Maximizing Your Workflow

In education, it is all too easy to become buried in the myriad of meetings, communication, tools, and resources that are a part of everyday education. Many individuals default to either avoiding the chaos through various survival techniques or resent the hours spent trying to make everything fit. As I have grown as an educator, it is clear that for many of these individuals, the ability to maximize their workflow in valuable and functional ways is lost.

My suggestion for this problem is this: find one, two, or three tools that you believe (or have heard through credible resources) will make life easier and commit to them. Take the time that is necessary to really learn how to leverage the tools to your benefit and stick with it for a month. You wouldn't believe the training and tips that are available through YouTube and through searching the internet - don't wait for PD on the tools to be offered! At the end, determine what worked and what didn't and decide on another tool or two to test drive. While it seems like "one more thing" to add to your plate, the lasting benefits of finding quality resources that can be used to create an efficient workflow are tangible and make the flood of "one more thing"s more manageable!

Here are some of my personal recommendations for organizational and time saving tools. There are many more available and others that I use, but I tried to select the ones that have made the biggest impact on the following areas:

• Unit and lesson planning (formatting of the plans, organizing resources, etc.)
• Google Calendar
• Google Sheets
• Versal
• Communication with students and parents (about assignments, events, etc.)
• Google Calendar
• Sign Up Genius
• Remind
• Idea and resource organization (creating your own map as you navigate the interwebs)
• Evernote
• Diigo
• Daily Survival  (having exactly what you need at the touch of a button)
• Google Chrome Bookmarks Tool Bar
• Google Calendar ("To Do" lists specifically)
• Google Sheets

 

If you have other tools or resources that help you to maximize your workflow, please feel free to post them in the comments section below!