Scheduling the Crazy (Weekly/Daily)

Something that I discovered during my first year of teaching (which is still in progress) is that I absolutely have to have schedules and routines to keep track of the mountains of work. If I don't get a certain days work done that day, it piles up almost instantly. School work is a ton of paper work, data entry, research, communication, presentation preparation, and on the list goes. I have to keep it organized.

There are certain tasks that I do on a weekly basis and others I follow on a daily basis.

Weekly Basis

Sundays - All Powerpoint/Keynote presentations for an entire week are uploaded to my iPad.

Mondays - Make sure my teaching binder is neat and organized. Otherwise, get home right away to spend some time with my husband on his day off.

Tuesdays - Lesson plans for the entire next week are completed. I also make a list of things that I will need to complete for the next week - new test packets, Keynote presentations, quizzes to be copied, etc.

Wednesdays - Upload my lesson plans to Renweb. Add all testing dates to my school's web calendar. Add all testing dates to our staff Outlook calendar.

Thursdays - Enter the week's grades into Renweb. Email parents or students about missing work or noticeable dips in grades. I also email parents about progress students have made since the previous week.

Fridays - Make copies of any and all packets or papers I will need for the upcoming week. I do a thorough cleaning of the room and straighten up my files, desk, and filing cabinet.

Daily Basis 
Every day I always get these items done before I leave. Whether I get out the door at 3:30 (the earliest I can leave) or 5 PM or later, these things get done. I will not leave until they are finished.

1. Attendance - We have to do attendance every class period, but have the option of doing at the end of the day. There is no way I can do it between classes, so I set an alarm on my phone and do my attendance at 2:30 PM every single day. 
2. Grade Homework - As soon as my 6th period class is over, I walk right from podium to my homework trays and collect all of the homework that needs graded. Then task #1 is to get all of that homework graded, recorded in my grade-book hard copy, and returned to files for students to distribute. (I don't record the grades in Renweb until Thursdays.) The only exception homework I will ever take home is a book report or research project that will take several hours or days to grade. But with that said, I certainly do try to get it done at school. 
3. Write assignments - I write up the new date and daily trivia questions on my chalkboard. Then head over to my dry erase board and write up the next day's homework assignment. 
4. Pull papers - If needed, I will also pull out any quizzes or answer keys, textbooks, etc. from my locked filing cabinet for the next day and have them ready to go for the next day. 

These routines might seem excessive, but I cannot tell you how much they have reduced the stress in my life. I don't feel like I have to rush in an hour early every morning to scramble to get work done before our morning meetings or students rush my door for homeroom. Also the weekly tasks ensure that I get all work done before my administration requires it and ensures that nothing gets forgotten. It breaks up the work and creates routine. It works!