Teaching from Home Tips
8:00 AM
Working from home was something I never thought I would be doing in my career as a teacher. I have to say, there were days where I was little envious of my friends that could. Waking up a little later, drinking a coffee while it's still warm, and working in leggings sounded kind of magical.
Fast forward to now, a time where working from home is a reality for thousands of teachers. To say that most of us got thrown into this unprepared, would be a bit of an understatement. Regardless of your home-office situation, or your "preparedness" for this new work environment, I have compiled my favourite tips for creating a productive teach-from-home routine!
#1. SET UP A SPACE
While most of us don’t have the luxury of recreating our classrooms at home, there are few things we can do to create an environment that brings us joy and allows us to be productive.
Find a flat space/desk that you can work at. In an ideal world, this is an actual desk in an office, but even your kitchen table or dining table will work. Try to avoid working in bed or on the couch as I find this kind of blurs the lines between “me-time” and “working-time”. In whatever space you choose, make sure you have:
- Good lighting (windows, overhead lights, lamps... whatever works for you)
- Comfy chair
- All of the materials you need (laptop, iPad, chargers, read alouds, binders, etc.)
- A couple of things that bring you JOY. Think candles, flowers, flair pens, etc.
Keep this as your workspace. If you have to work in a common area in your house, pack it up and put it away at night. If you can't do that everyday, at least clean up on the weekends!
#2. MAINTAIN WORKING HOURS
Set a “start” and “end” time everyday. We no longer HAVE to take planning and marking home with us, and have a lot more flexibility in our schedules. Make sure you take advantage of this and set a schedule so that you are not working 24/7.
#3. CREATE A SCHEDULE AND STICK TO IT!
Having a daily schedule and a to-do list has helped my work-from-home routine immensely. Whether you track it on Google Calendar, in a planner, or elsewhere, maintaining a consistent schedule helps make things feel a bit more “normal”.
I always write out my three non-negotiables for the day (focusing on 3 really helps keep me productive) and then schedule them in between any staff/class meetings I have.
I have provided a FREE schedule template for this below. You can download it and use it in Google Slides, or download it as a PDF onto your iPad for Goodnotes or Notability.
These are definitely strange times for us as teachers, but I am hopeful that these tips can help you power through until we can get back in our classrooms.
xx,
Katarina
by Katarina from Lessons for Learning
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