How much time is wasted in classrooms around the world each day? How much time is wasted in businesses each day because employees are not diligently using their time? As I’ve written before, I view squandered time at work as being equivalent to stealing from the employer.

One of the best ways to avoid having to take work home is to get all of your work done while you are at work. The key to making this happen is to work hard at work. Here is a 10-step method to work hard at work.

1. Have a list of work to do before the day begins (include due dates and times)
2. Break down large tasks into smaller chunks
3. Prioritize the list each day
   
4. Work on clearing the list from top to bottom as time allows
5. Spend any extra minutes in lunch time working on the list
6. Avoid multitasking
   
7. Work during your conference and lunch times
8. As new items come in, add them to the bottom of the list unless they are immediate problems
9. After school, if everything on the list can wait until another day, go home
10. Relax after the list is clear
    

Less Stress: Deepen Your Relationships With Family
20 Classic SYWTT Articles And Series
How Do I Keep My Students Quiet?

Joel Wagner

Joel Wagner (@sywtt) began teaching band in 2002. Though he had a lot of information, his classes were out of control. He found himself tired, frustrated, disrespected by students, lonely, and on the brink of quitting. He had had enough. He resigned from his school district right before spring break of his second year and made it his personal mission to learn to be a great teacher. So You Want To Teach? is the ongoing story of that quest for educational excellence.