Being a special education teacher, I'm always trying to maximize my time. I need to do things quickly and efficiently so I can get everything done and ensure I'm taking adequate time to practice self-care and take care of my own self and well-being. One of the ways I'm able to maximize my productivity in my classroom and with my tasks is through tasks lists I have created for various activities, things I need to get completed, non-negotiable items or things in my job that have multi-step/layers to them and I need to keep track of what I've completed!
When creating a task list, I make a list of everything I need to do to complete that task. Even the smallest things such as printing something, filing it, etc. This helps to hold me accountable, keep organized and let's be honest... if you're a teacher you love checking things off a to-do list. I often found without a task list I would forget to do something, have trouble initiating or starting the task and/or be overwhelmed with all the parts to the task I need to complete. I found it most beneficial to make task lists about things that either consumed a lot of my time/job, had multi-steps to complete or things that may not happen often, however I felt the need to remember everything I need to do to accomplish that task when it did happen.
So, now it's time to look at the task lists I have created to help save me time! If one of the task lists are available as a download in my TPT store, the link will be posted directly below the picture. Not all of these lists will be available to download only because some of them are unique and specific to just my classroom. However, feel free to recreate or feel inspired by my lists!
Weekly To-Do List
This is my most used task list! I pull a fresh one of these out each week. I start every Monday by transferring what was listed from last weeks list to this weeks list and planning out my week. In this list, I have listed all of my 'non-negotiables' or things I HAVE to get completed during the week to prepare for the following week (ex: lesson plans, contacting a parent, setting up an IEP meeting, planning for PLC, etc.). As things are completed I check them off! I typically have a set schedule for how I complete the tasks. For example: I stay every Monday night and complete all of my lesson plans for the next week (yep, I plan in bulk for the following week). Then if there are various things I need to prep for my lesson plans, I write it into my to-do list to complete later in the week or maybe put in my drawer for one of my instructional assistants to prep. I keep this on my desk everyday and am able to reference at any time of the day I get a free minute to complete something (it's not too often, but I like to try). This task list has kept me focused and improved my ability to hit deadlines for work and ensure everything is prepped and ready for my classroom!
(This task list is available as a download in my TPT store for free. Also includes an editable version of it here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Weekly-To-Do-List-4134533 )
2.) Weekly Task List
My weekly task list is copied onto the back of my weekly to-do list. I'm sure you're wondering why I have two lists attached to each other? Well, my task list was intended more for tasks I needed to complete before or after school each day to stay on top of things. For example: changing boom cards, inputting my data collection, etc. Yes, super silly to have a task list like this, but it was a game changer for me. Especially with small things I would forget to do because I was overwhelmed with things to do or would just completely forget to complete. Since this task list was organized by days, it helped to keep me from getting behind on small daily tasks that would add up to the end of the week that I need to do. Much of what I put on this weekly task list were things that I had to do every single day to prepare for my classroom stations or overall classroom management.
(The weekly task list is available as a download in my TPT store for free. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Weekly-To-Do-List-4134533 )
3.) Progress Monitoring Lists
One of the challenges of working in special education is all the progress monitoring you have to complete. Whether it's for IEP goals, benchmark assessments or assessing levels you always need to complete some sort of progress monitoring. When I began progress monitoring my students, I envisioned that I would be able to progress all of my students all in one day or within a few days. Or that they would always be willing to complete the assessments. Well, reality hit me and I realized really quickly that would not be the case. I was finding that it would take me a week to two weeks to complete all the progress monitoring on my students. Also, there were many days students would refuse to progress monitor or they were having a bad day and I didn't want that to influence their scores. With the amount of students and goals I needed to monitor, I was forgetting who I did or did not monitor or what goals I had completed. So, yet another list was created to help keep me organized! This allowed me to ensure I completed all my progress monitoring before entering into the system. This saved me time by only having to input data one time as opposed to multiple times as well as serving as a quick reference guide on what progress monitoring I had completed.
(these lists are not available for download, however could easily be recreated or used to inspire your own task list!)
4.) New Student List
One thing that ALWAYS threw me off and caused me a lot of stress was receiving a new student. We all know you don't get a lot of time to prepare when you get a new student. Typically I would find out the day before or maybe have 2 days to prepare before the student started in my room. It's stressful and a lot of work getting any new student, let alone a student in a special education program with diverse needs, a behavior plan and many accommodations and/or modifications. At the beginning of the year, I create 'new student' packets which include the following: a contact card for me, a packet about our program, parent information sheet to fill out and a communication folder they keep in their backpack. Paper clipped to each packet are these new student lists. So anytime I'm getting a new student I can grab a paper clipped packet and send home everything I need to. I can then quickly begin to complete all the tasks I need to ensure a smooth transition for my new student and that I acquire all the paperwork I need for the success of that student. I found creating this list made me way more efficient and focused when I needed to transition a student in a certain amount of time into the classroom.
(these lists are not available for download, however could easily be recreated or used to inspire your own task list!)
5.) IEP Meeting Task List
One of the most intimidating tasks as a special education teacher is preparing for an IEP meeting. Not only is it intimidating, but there are just a lot of things to complete before, during and after the meeting. Something really important to me is ensuring I create a positive impression preparing for the meeting and during the meeting. The last thing I wanted to do was forget to do something to prepare for the meeting, forget to mention something critical during the meeting or not complete all the paperwork after the meeting. I sat down one day and created a list of everything I felt would create a more successful IEP meeting and ensure I am fully prepared for the meeting. With that, I created the IEP meeting task list. This has been a lifesaver and really upped my game when presenting at my IEP meetings. You can read more about how I prepare for my IEP meetings in this blog: https://theedqueentpt.wixsite.com/website/post/iep-meeting-creating-one-that-is-intentional-impactful-and-inclusive
(The IEP meeting task list is available as a download in my TPT store for free.
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/IEP-Meeting-Binder-4888727 )
If you are struggling getting focused, completing certain tasks or want to increase your time management skills, I encourage you to make a list of all the steps involved in completing a certain task! Print and keep the list handy for each time you need to complete the task. It doesn't take the work away from the task, however it helps decrease the amount of time spent on the task and keeps you organized completing the task. I mean, what special education teacher doesn't like a nice task list to check off!