In Time Management, we sometimes use words in a way which differs from the everyday meaning. More often, we use words which have a range of possible meanings in everyday life. Simple example: 'diary'. For some of us, this word evokes Jane Austen: 'dear reader, as Michaelmas approaches, my sisters are preparing for the squire's ball, while I alas remain unprepared...'. And so on. This is NOT what we mean at all. For us, a diary looks something like this:
08:30 Meeting with Tom
09:00 Keep free
09:20 Coffee in staffroom
09:30 Inset sessions 1 & 2
11:20 Break: phone Wayne's mum
... and so on.
In fact, most of the important words we need (diary, plan, schedule, routine...) are open to misinterpretation. To avoid misunderstandings, here is a primer on the difference between routines, plans and schedules. This is an extract from another training course, so you get explanations of techniques and methods and workflow thrown in for free...
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It's helpful to distinguish between a time-management technique – like modifying habits – with a time management method. Think about a fancy cake. Then think about a pile of the ingredients: flour, milk, sugar, etc. That's the difference. A method (that's the cake) can get pretty complicated, but the basic ideas and techniques (that's the ingredients) are usually simple.
Most time management methods share the same basic ingredients. They all involve plans, or schedules; they all have some kind of action list, or to-do list or tick list; they have standardised ways of doing things (routines, processes etc); and they often have specific ways of handling workflow.. When we're talking time management, some of these words ('plans' etc) may have subtly different meanings compared to how-they're-used in schools, so they are spelled out below.
In practice, many top-selling books on time management don't discuss these basic ingredients – they kind of take them for granted, because they're a little old-hat nowadays. They remain, however, really important.
To explain the vocabulary, we'll use a simple example. Imagine you've been asked to organise a department meeting – organise it properly, with an agenda that people can contribute to. What might be the best way to do it....
Routines
The first step might be to list out what needs to be done, like this:
Send a Notice of Meeting – ask for replies
Check all invitees are available
E-mail attendees asking for agenda items
Collate responses and draft the agenda
Publish the agenda (24 hours before meeting)
Hold the meeting
Draft the minutes
Get minutes reviewed
Publish the minutes (24 hours after meeting)
This is an example of a process or a routine – a standard, designed way of doing something. Routines are important in time management because if we have a standard way of doing something, we don't have to re-think it every time.
Most time management methods have routines – standardised step-by-step ways of doing things .
Plans
If you're happy with your routine, the next step might be to add dates:
Send Notice of Meeting – Mon 3 Mar
Check invitees are available – Wed 5 Mar
E-mail asking for agenda items – Wed 5 Mar
Draft the agenda – Fri 7 Mar
Publish the agenda – Fri 7 Mar
Hold the meeting – Mon 10 Mar
Draft the minutes – Tue 11 Mar
Get minutes reviewed – Tue 11 Mar
Publish the minutes – Wed 12 Mar
This is a simple example of a plan . When we know what we are going to do, and when we are going to do it, and we write it down, we have a plan. Most TM methods insist that we have plans, plans, plans. They are a key way of reducing stress – the idea is that when we have written something down in our plans, we should stop worrying about it until it is time to do it.
Schedules
If you're happy with your plan, the next step might be to produce a schedule. A schedule might start off like this..
1st Monday of month: Send Notice of Meeting
1st Wednesday of month: ask for agenda items
1st Friday of month: publish the Agenda
2nd Monday of month: Management Meeting
2nd Wednesday of month: publish the Minutes
… but it is likely to end up as something you are much more familiar with:
A calendar on the wall with tasks marked for the rest of the year
A diary marked up with future tasks
A meetings timetable printed out and pinned to a noticeboard
Recurring reminders in an electronic organizer.
Two key point here:
these different kinds of plan and schedule – the calendar, the diary, the electronic organizer: they are fundamentally different to a to-do list. Plans and schedules tell you WHEN to do something, so you don't have to prioritize and decide. Time Management experts argue that this makes life less stressful;
Life is inherently cyclical, and if we can use that fact – doing the same things at the same time, the consequent rhythm and repetition can also reduce stress.
Workflow
The idea of workflow is that we consider the physical details of where our work comes from, where we do it, and where it goes.
Let's start with where teachers get work from... the in-tray in the office, the pigeon-hole in the staff-room, the notice-board in the corridor, post-it notes left on their PC, messages on their e-mail, notes left on their desk, messages scribbled on their whiteboard, tasks noted in their teachers' planner, meetings on the wall-calendar... well you get the idea. We are simply bombarded from all sides, we just wander round collecting up things-to-do. Some time-management methods visualize picking up an orange every time a new bit of work comes our way. Sooner or later we are going to be unable to carry any more – or, of course, we start dropping oranges.
Several time-management methods consider in detail where we work, where we get our work from, and where it goes.. This may sound simple, but many professionals find it difficult. Why? Because we are conditioned to think about our work in abstract terms - we talk about student assessment and parental communication and differentiated learning and so on. When it comes to Time management, we sometimes need to consider the physical practicalities of what we do - writing on paper, walking down corridors, making telephone calls, and so on...
The Nature of Planning
Quote 1 – Deputy Head: “Planning requires everyone involved to agree on the way ahead. One person can't plan in isolation; it needs to be managed and coordinated”
Quote 2 – Head of Department: “Of course we have a plan. We'll wait until I get Head of Faculty before having kids. Then I'll take 3-4 years off, but after that MY career takes priority.”
Quote 3 – KS 5-6 Lecturer (IT & Media): “Most planning happens in September. I decide then what will get taught and in what order.”
Quote 4 – Primary School Teacher: “Every morning I plan. I mentally go through what I am going to teach, and make sure I've got the text-books, task-sheets, pencils and so on ready, and rehearse the kind of things I'll talk about.”
Quote 5a – Secondary School Teacher (Mathematics) “Planning to me means lesson planning. It means starting with an idea and ending up with a lesson”
Quote 5b – Secondary School Teacher (English): “Planning to me means lesson planning. It means documenting fully – before I start teaching – the title, learning objectives, timing, resources, content, activities and student assessment.”
Quote 6 – SEN Co-ordinator & Secondary School Teacher (Citizenship): “I use my to-do list and my teachers' diary to plan: I just copy individual tasks onto the appropriate date and time, so I know when I'm going to do them or teach them. Simples.”
Quote 7 – Assistant Head: “Planning is a creative process, but it needs structure, moving from an analysis of what needs to be done, consideration of alternative ways to achieve what is needed, then sketching out the steps needed to procure the necessary resources and complete the tasks.”
Quote 8 – Secondary School Teacher: “I don't really know the difference between lesson planning and lesson design, or what constitutes lesson preparation rather than lesson planning. I just get ready to teach... then teach.”
Let's deal with Quote 8 first – I'm sure a lot of teachers would agree with this sentiment – it really doesn't matter whether a piece of work is categorised as 'planning' or 'preparation'; whether what we do is really 'management' or 'decision-making' rather than proper planning. If it needs doing, we just do it, no matter what it's called. Right? Well, usually... yes. In this context, though, it does matter. This pseudo-planning – the lesson design, resource preparation, decision-making, and so on – acts as a smokescreen which conceals and confuses the importance and purpose of real planning. The fact is that planning is important in time-management, and we need to be clear what we are trying to achieve.
If we discount pseudo-planning, there are two subtly different types of planning we need to consider, which – in the interests of brevity – we will call P1 and P2.
P1) planning in the sense of forethought - thinking about what we are going to do before we do it: simply separating 'thought' and 'action'.
P2) planning in the sense of scheduling - allocating a specific action-or-activity to a specific timeslot: matching up 'what' and 'when'.
The distinctive feature of P1 behaviour (forethought) is that it explicitly separates the planning from the doing. This simple separation - carrying out different behaviours at different times - can offer major benefits. We can choose the best time to do our planning, hopefully opting for a calm, creative timeslot. In general, this enables us to improve the quality of what we do.
The distinctive feature of P2 behaviour (scheduling) is that it can be done in two subtly different ways - you can either match up 'what' with 'when' or you can match up 'when' with 'what'. Some teachers will understand this nuance instinctively, but others will find it baffling so excuse me if I spell it out in some detail. First, imagine you have to plan a specific lesson - let's say next Tuesday, first period. The usual way to do this is to sit down with a blank sheet of paper and figure out what to teach next. There are, though, different scenarios... Imagine this: your head of department wants you to evaluate some new teaching resources; she's given you a complete lesson plan together with resources and instructions. You simply need to decide when - which day, which period - you are going to deliver this material. Obviously, this second scenario - finding 'when' rather than figuring out 'what' - is a lot more efficient. In general, P2 type is less about the quality of what we deliver, and more to do with efficiency.
Mostly, in fact, P2-type planning - choosing when you do things - is more relevant from a time-management perspective, but in terms of pedagogy the benefits are mostly embedded in P1 planning. Regardless, good planning always demands that you be clear in your mind about why you are planning, and what benefits you are trying to achieve.