How to Actually Get Stuff Done for School This Summer [episode 67]

Emily
Hey there. Thanks for joining us today. In today’s episode, we’re talking about how to actually complete your summer to do tasks and sharing a teacher approved tip for finding motivation with painless prep.

Heidi
We start our episodes with a morning message, just like we used to do at morning meeting in our classrooms. This week’s morning message is what win have you had this school year? And we were in a little bit of a different boat, but what wins have you had this year?

Emily
Well, we’ve been diving into learning as much as we can about the science of reading this year, which has been a fun adventure and I would definitely call that a win.

Heidi
Yes, definitely. That has been a good win for us.

Emily
How about you, Heidi?

Heidi
I am finally finished with the fourth grade morning work, which has taken me almost a full year.

Emily
It’s like your birthday baby.

Heidi
With lots of sharp edges and like hats off to all of you fourth grade teachers that curriculum is no joke.

Emily
It’s very dense. But the morning work came out so good, and it’s done a huge win.

Emily
We also have some awesome wins from our community, Maggie said finally putting my physical and mental health first. I’ve worked hard to create new boundaries between work and home, focused on my nutrition and exercise and created more efficient routines to make teaching sustainable.

Heidi
Wow. Way to go, Maggie. We need to be taking a course from her.

Emily
Yeah. Robin said I am taking the LETTERS training and I am very excited about it. I have learned a lot and already implementing many changes in my reading instruction.

Heidi
Yay, go Robin.

Emily
Sara said I taught 20 kindergarten kids to read. They can read words with blends, digraphs, long vowels, and two syllables. Yay for SOR.

Emily
Teresa said lead successful one book one school program that encouraged students to read, create projects and love reading. It also had community connections and outreach parents and students are still talking about it and reading the sequel to our book. And so I had to follow up and ask the book they read was The Wild Robot by Peter Brown, which is a really good book.

Heidi
That is an awesome program. Way to go, Teresa.

Emily
Shannon said, I’ve been dabbling in Building Thinking Classrooms with my math intervention students. And it’s been so much fun to watch them actually thinking and grappling with problems rather than just mimicking what I’ve taught them to do.

Heidi
Yeah, way to go, Shannon. That’s a good book.

Emily
It’s a really good book. Yeah. And last, but certainly not least, Marsha said, one of my more challenging students asked me one day to eat lunch with him. Oh, it’s a big win. I love it. So sweet. We’d love to hear about your wins, so please come share them over in our teacher approved Facebook group.

Emily
It’s time for the resource of the week our word sorta visual instructions. Whenever possible, we like to use visual instructions to help our students keep track of the directions when doing an activity. We found that using visual instructions was especially helpful when asking students to do different types of words sorts.

Heidi
The word sort visual instructions resource includes no prep visual sorting instructions for 16 different types of words sorting activities, like buddy sort and speed sort and lots of other fun ones.

Heidi
Each poster comes in full page, half page and quarter page sizes. And protip, these look so good printed on Astro bright paper. Yeah, they do. And we even have an editable version that lets you create your own sort instructions too.

Emily
You can find a link to the word sort visual instructions at the link in our show notes.

Emily
If you joined us a couple of weeks ago, we talked about your summer to do list. As a teacher your to do list might be sit by the pool every day till September.

Heidi
And if that is the case, we are cheering you on.

Emily
Yeah, just don’t forget the sunscreen if you’re going to do that.

Heidi
But most likely though some of your summertime also needs to be back to school prep time.

Emily
But if we’re going to sacrifice pool time for unpaid work time, we want to make sure we’re getting the biggest bang for our buck.

Heidi
Yeah don’t waste those precious summer hours, randomly hacking at your to do list. Instead, take the time to identify the tasks that will have the best outcome for you and your students. In Episode 64, we shared three important lists that will help you zero in on the most important tasks.

Emily
Yes, so to reassure memory, we’ve got a Tada list, which is a list of your wins from the year, we’ve been talking about those wins, let’s celebrate them. These are things that went well and you want to make sure to repeat.

Emily
Your fix that list is the list of struggles from the year, we take the things we want to repeat and the things we want to fix and use them to make our to do list.

Heidi
After making three lists your to do lists might be getting a little lengthy, but that’s okay. The episode walks you through how to prioritize your tasks so you can put your energy where it has the biggest impact.

Emily
We break it down in way more detail in Episode 64 so make sure to go back and listen if you missed that one.

Heidi
Once you have prioritized your to do list, it’s time to make a plan for when to work on it. In Episode 65, we talked about how to make room for both recovery and readiness in your summer plans.

Emily
Recovery is vital because we’re just setting ourselves up for trouble if we start the new year as burned out as we are at the start of summer.

Heidi
But you know, we also can’t pretend that fall isn’t around the corner. Most teachers probably need to include some back to school prep in their summer plans.

Emily
And if you’re like us, there may be a temptation to lose your whole summer to the tyranny of the to do list. We have done that many a summer.

Heidi
And that set us up for a whole other set of problems.

Emily
So it’s really important to maintain boundaries around our work, because that helps keep recovery and readiness balanced. Episode 65 breaks down the different types of recovery you might need and helps you identify how to set your goals and boundaries for getting some work done.

Heidi
So check that one out if you want some help designing your summer.

Emily
Okay, so now you’ve identified what tasks you need to do. And you’ve set some goals and boundaries around how you’ll tackle them. But how do you actually get them done?

Heidi
Yeah, that’s the magic question. In this episode, we’re sharing some tips and tricks for following through with your plans.

Emily
So the first step in getting things done is to know what needs to get done. If you’ve followed along so far, you should have a list of tasks to do. And a good idea of which of those tasks are the highest priority.

Heidi
Obviously, we want to work on those first. So if you haven’t made your list yet, this is your call to action.

Emily
Yes, do it please. Once you’ve decided what needs doing, you need to decide what you need to do it, which doesn’t sound confusing at all.

Heidi
To help me identify what each of my tasks needs, I literally just write it next to each task on my list. I like to use a Google Sheet because it’s convenient to access anytime I just happen to remember something that needs to be added like you know when I’m brushing my teeth or whatever.

Heidi
On the left side of the sheet, I write the tasks and in the column next to it, I list the task type. So copy, plan, prepare, laminate, find by email research, whatever the action is, I want to add it to the list.

Emily
After deciding what to do and deciding what is needed, it’s time to get what you need.

Heidi
So do you need to go to the craft store? Do you need to start scouring Pinterest? Do you need to start shopping back school sales? And probably yes to all three of those.

Emily
That’s why it’s handy to group your tasks by type, I can look at my list and take care of all my copying tasks at once, rather than making five trips to the work room during the summer. I can put everything that needs to be bought on my shopping list. It’s much more efficient to do similar jobs all at once.

Heidi
Yeah, batching tasks is a great productivity hack.

Emily
So now we’ve turned our ta da list and fix it lists into our to do list. We’ve prioritized our tasks according to our goals and our boundaries for work time during the summer. And now we’ve identified what we need for each task.

Heidi
Look at us! We are ready to start crossing off all of those pesky tasks. But I kind of want to finish this episode of Ted Lasso first.

Emily
I mean, maybe you should. It’s a really I love Ted Lasso.

Heidi
And I feel behind.

Emily
So how do we actually get this stuff done when not working for free is much more pleasant than giving up your free time.

Heidi
And the solution to that problem is it depends.

Emily
That’s super helpful.

Heidi
Oh yeah, genuinely unhelpful there. But unfortunately, there’s no magic solution.

Emily
The motivation to get things done depends on your why. Is your WHY or your reason for working during the summer compelling enough to get you moving?

Heidi
Motivation also depends on your when. What kind of limits do you have on your ability to work? If you are limited to working only when you have childcare, you just can’t get as much done as someone with a freer schedule.

Emily
That is a true story. One of the biggest influences that impacts your ability to get things done is your what and that’s what kind of person are you?

Heidi
It sounds like we’re about judge you but we are not. We all have complicated relationships with expectations and how and when we meet them, or you know, don’t meet them. And that’s why we really recommend the four tendencies framework by Gretchen Rubin.

Emily
And the summer is the perfect time to do this if you haven’t done it yet, so you might remember that we talked about the four tendencies in Episode 55. But here’s a recap.

Emily
Gretchen looked at outer expectation, which is things other people expect from us, and inner expectations or the things we expect ourselves. And then she made four groups around whether or not those expectations were accepted or resisted.

Heidi
So for example, if you are someone who meets both inner and outer expectations, you’re what she calls an upholder. If this is you, you probably are someone who likes lists and efficiency.

Emily
And you may also wonder why other people cannot get as much done as you can and can’t just get it together already.

Heidi
Upholders can be a little judgy. Yeah, and we can say that because we’re upholders.

Emily
Yes, there’s a downside to being an upholder.

Heidi
If you meet your inner expectations, but are resisting outer expectations, you might be a questioner. Questioners tend to have a clear view of what they’re willing to do, but they’re not going to implement something just because their admin says they should.

Emily
Questioners need to see the value of outer expectations before they can accept them.

Heidi
The opposite of a questioner so someone who accepts outer expectations, but struggles with inner expectations is an obliger.

Emily
A lot of people fall into the group of obligers. So if you are in obliger, you’re in good company.

Heidi
Obligers do great when there is a deadline, or when someone is counting on them to fulfill a responsibility, but they likely struggle to meet their own expectations.

Emily
Every tendency struggles with meeting inner expectations to some degree, being an upholder isn’t just the magic ticket that you will never ever have any problems getting anything done, unfortunately.

Emily
But it is really pronounced for obligers. If you’re someone who has no trouble getting things done for someone else, but doesn’t get the same things done for yourself, then you really might be an obliger.

Heidi
And then we have the rebels. Rebels are people who resist all expectations, the expectations other people have for them, and the expectations they even have for themselves.

Emily
When it comes to tackling your back to school tasks, your tendency matters. The techniques that motivate a questioner will likely be ineffective for an obliger or a rebel.

Heidi
It’s really easy to feel like one tendency might be better than another. But the truth is, they all have strengths and weaknesses. The key to being effective is playing to your strengths and minimizing your weaknesses.

Emily
We talked a lot about this in Episode 55 so check that out if you missed it. And also make sure to take the four tendencies quiz at gretchenrubin.com because knowing how to get things done without beating yourself up is genuinely a gift.

Heidi
So upholders, you’ve got your color coded, prioritized to do list, you’re going to do great. You probably just need the reminder to actually enjoy your summer and not make it all about work.

Emily
Yes. And don’t take on other people’s expectations that you don’t actually need to. Stick to the ones that really matter. Also true. Questioners, you need to know that what you’re doing matters. So have a clear reason for your summer goals. Taking a class or reading a professional development book might help you identify what matters most for you.

Heidi
Obligers, you need to know that someone is counting on you to get some things done this summer. Find a way to have some accountability to keep you motivated. That might be just knowing that your students are relying on you to be ready. Or you might actually have someone checking in your progress.

Emily
Yeah, maybe you need an accountability buddy. Like one of your teammates. And rebels you do you baby. If it fits with who you are as a teacher, then great. If not, that’s great, too.

Heidi
But even when we know ourselves well enough to recognize what works for us and what makes us stumble, we can still have a hard time getting things done.

Emily
Or getting the right things done.

Heidi
So we need to have a really clear answer to the question: why am I working on back to school responsibilities during my summer?

Emily
So what’s your why?

Heidi
For me why I worked in the summer was because the kind of classroom I wanted, required a certain amount of time and energy to set up and maintain. And once the school year started, I barely had time and energy to meet the day to day demands.

Heidi
So if I wanted something like an engaging math lesson every day, I knew that I had to figure that out during the summer because I just had no capacity for that in the thick of teacher life.

Emily
And I really found that working on things during the summer when there was no super heavy looming deadlines helped me to enjoy work so much more too so I actually had way more fun doing work during the summer, which may not be true for everyone.

Heidi
Your upholder is showing

Emily
Yep. Your why might be leaving at the end of your contract time every day or including more STEM or differentiation into your lessons. Your why in June may be different than your why in August, it’s okay for vision changes. You just need to have a clear reason for doing all this work.

Heidi
Once you’re clear on your why, you need to know your what, what are we doing. Looking back at your prioritized to do list, look at your goals for recovery and readiness. Be intentional with what tasks you’re choosing to sacrifice your summer for.

Emily
If you’re not sure of your what try asking yourself, what will I look back on in September and be glad I did in the summer?

Heidi
And you can even adapt that to your daily plans. So what will I look back on tonight and be glad that I did today? Maybe that’s meeting friends for lunch, or maybe that’s laminating your math centers.

Emily
Once you are clear on your why and have an intentional plan for your what, do yourself a favor and start early on your how.

Heidi
At the top of the episode we talked about labeling each of your back to school tasks with what it needs, whether it needs to be created or copied or collaborated about, get started on something right away.

Emily
And this is where knowing your tenancy is valuable. There are lots of tips and tricks for making each tenancy beneficial to your life and not a downfall.

Heidi
The hard truth is that launching a new school year requires a certain amount of energy. You can intentionally expend that energy now through planning and preparing, or you can have it drained from you one frantic minute at a time in the fall.

Emily
Value your health and happiness enough to put some effort into shaping the kind of work life balance you deserve.

Heidi
The gift of summer break is that it gives us space, we get a moment to catch our breath and reflect on what’s working and what’s not. In that pause, we can figure out how to make our efforts better aligned with our vision for the kind of life that we want. And we do that by getting clear on our why, being intentional with our what, and starting early on are how.

Emily
We’d love to hear your plan for completing your summer to do tasks. Come join the conversation in our Teacher Approved Facebook group.

Emily
Now let’s talk about this week’s teacher approved tip. Each week, we leave you with a small actionable tip that you can apply in your classroom today. This week’s teacher approved tip is use painless prep to motivate yourself. What can you tell us about this, Heidi?

Heidi
Well one of the reasons that people put off planning ahead is overwhelm. There’s this fear that if I open the door to dealing with back to school prep, I am going to be swallowed by the avalanche of 800 tasks. So that means I cannot even think about back to school on any level.

Heidi
But putting off the work doesn’t help us in the long run. We just end up even more overwhelmed later when we can’t hold that door shut any longer. So if overwhelm is something you battle, we’re going to combat that by focusing on painless prep.

Heidi
And this is just my personal definition. So I define painless prep as tasks that are not tied to a deadline because deadlines are not painless.

Emily
Painless prep can also be tasks that you can do comfortably at home. So you know if I can do it on the couch, it doesn’t feel quite so grueling.

Emily
Some tasks that might be painless are updating my plan for student birthdays, planning theme days for the end of the next school year, prepping whatever craft activities I need in the hallway during parent conferences, you know to impress parents, making a list of things to put in my field trip or lock down kits, tweaking my curriculum map, making templates for a year’s worth of class newsletters, or rounding up resources that can go in my emergency sub plans.

Heidi
These are all things that are useful, but maybe aren’t vital. And I can hear you saying, Heidi, you and Emily just spent a whole episode talking about making sure we’re focused on what’s vital. And you were not wrong, my friend.

Heidi
But the antidote to overwhelm isn’t to do everything, it’s to do one thing. When we’re overwhelmed is because we don’t have a clear next step. And we saw that by completing something small and painless. Once we’ve done that, it makes it easier to take another step. Action drives motivation, motivation doesn’t drive action.

Heidi
So if you are looking to combat overwhelm, or even just looking to drum up some motivation to do any work, start by focusing on a small task of painless prep.

Heidi
To wrap up the show we are sharing what we’re giving extra credit to this week. Emily, what gets your extra credit this week?

Emily
I’m giving extra credit to the movie Tetris on Apple TV. It’s based on the true story of the race to license the game Tetris, which does not sound exactly like a compelling story I know. But the story involves so many interesting twists and turns including dangerous secret meetings in the Soviet Union.

Emily
Seriously, it stars Taryn Edgerton, and he really humanizes the whole corporate story. I found this movie to just be completely captivating, and it made me want to play Tetris. So I think it’s worth a watch.

Heidi
Knowing it had this exotic backstory makes me sad that I’ve never valued Tetris.

Emily
Right? I now have a whole new appreciation for Tetris. What about you, Heidi?

Heidi
So my extra credit also goes to a show. This is the show, Rainn Wilson and the Geography of Bliss on Peacock. I was working on some answer keys and I needed just something fun in the background. So I put this on and I did not have very high expectations of the show.

Heidi
So Rainn Wilson, or Dwight from The Office, as you may know him, travels around the world investigating happiness, and I just kind of figured it would be just a general travel show. But it turns out, it’s really insightful.

Heidi
He starts in Iceland, which is a country known for a high level of happiness, and then travels to a country with a lower level of happiness, to compare attitudes and ideas there. Then he goes to a country with a low level of happiness, but a high level of optimism and considers how hope affects happiness. It’s really engaging and interesting, and it’s given me a lot to think about.

Heidi
I will say that you do see Rainn Wilson’s naked behind in one episode, so, if that’s a deal breaker for you just know that ahead of time. And if that is a deal breaker, I kind of think Rainn would probably agree so.

Emily
That’s it for today’s episode. Get things done this summer by getting clear on your why, being intentional with your what and starting early on your how. And don’t forget our teacher approved tip to boost your motivation with some painless prep.