Save Time With Batching

The new school year is just around the corner, and if you are like me life is about to get a little crazy.  Not only will I be pouring hours of time into getting my class and lesson plans ready for the new school year, but I have my own kids to get ready for school and two kids playing fall ball this year. I am always looking for ways to save an extra minute here or there because it adds up. 

One strategy that I use and have found effective is batching.  Batching is when you group similar tasks all together in order to better focus on one thing at a time.  This is something I do anytime I have a lot of similar tasks to work on.  For example, when I am blogging I will sit down and write three or four blog posts at one time while I am in the writing zone.  Later, I will sit down and add pictures and revise all the blogs at one time, and then I do one last edit and schedule my blogs in a third sitting. I feel like I get more work done this way. 

It Starts With Lesson Planning

Before I can batch, I have to lesson plan. Lesson planning itself can be difficult to batch and it is of course the task that takes me the most time. I have to determine my objectives and then find or create whatever resources I need. If I am teaching multiple classes, I focus on one prep at a time. However, what I do during lesson planning makes it possible for me to batch other tasks.  I make lists of things I need to do by topic such as copies, materials to gather, or what I need to post to Google Classroom. Doing all my planning first makes batching easier. Also, by making lists and not stopping to do things it allows me to focus on lesson planning with minimum interruptions.

How I Batch in the Classroom

1. Type/Submit Lessons Plans - I am old school and like to write down my plans in my planner; once I am done I will sit down and type all of my lesson plans and submit them. 
2. Copies - As I am lesson planning, I write down a list of what copies need to be made and put my originals in a need to copy folder.  I normally stay late one afternoon and make all my copies for the next week in one trip.  This saves me time since I am not making multiple trips to the copier, and stress because I know I have everything I need for the next week. 
3. Google Classroom  - I sit down and schedule all my notes, assignments, and announcements to Google Classroom at one time. Taking this a step further, I do all the posts for one subject at a time. And of course, I use my checklists to help me. 
4. Grading - When grading, I group assignments by type not by class period. I find it easier to grade all those quizzes across class periods at once and then focus on the journal response because my brain is not having to switch back and forth from one assignment to the other.  I also wait to input grades until I am done with all the grading.
5. Emails - It is best to try to sit down and answer your emails at one time.  I try to check my email at least three times a day: when I first get to work, midday, and end of the day. When I need to email parents about grades or send out class announcements, I dedicate a specific time to write all those emails at once; normally, I will either stay late another day or dedicate one day's planning period to parent emails.

By batching you will find yourself being more productive on the task at hand, saving time, and less likely to forget things. What time-saving tips do you have? Leave them in the comments below.