Two questions that I hear new teachers ask repeatedly are, “Will I have be able to have a personal life?” and “Is a 40-hour work week possible in this field?”

The answer to both is YES!  You do NOT have to work 10, 12 or 14 hour days plus weekends to ensure that your students will be successful.  Many excellent teachers have learned how to do an exceptional job while working only the hours for which they are paid.

YOU SHOULD NOT FEEL GUILTY FOR WANTING TO LEAVE AT 3:00!  You have a family and friends.  You need rest.  Teaching is stressful, and it’s important to have a break.  Don’t let anyone convince you that if you were truly dedicated to the profession, you would come in early and leave late everyday.  It’s simply not true.  You work extra hours when you need to, not out of obligation.

There are very, very few professions in which people are expected to work overtime without being compensated.  Think about it:  There is always crime to be fought.  Are police officers expected to work a few hours after their shift each day, just to get the job done?  NO.  They go home to their families, knowing they have done their best within the time they were given.  No one insinuates that if officers worked an extra 20 hours for free every week the world would be a safer place. It's true. But we simply don’t expect that.  And we should hold the same expectations for teachers. 

               Do you carry a bag like this home every night, full of work you are too tired to do?

YOU Determine How Many Hours You Will Work!

Check your teaching contract to find out how many hours per day you are required to work.  Mine have ranged from 7 hours and 5 minutes a day to 7 and a half hours (depending on my school system)- always just over 35 hours per week. Because 40 hours is considered ‘standard’ in most fields, I selected that amount of time as reasonable for me to work each week.  That means I can come in about forty-five minutes early each day (or stay late) and still not exceed 40 hours.

Things To Consider When Choosing Your Hours

There are a couple of factors you should keep in mind as I explain how to prepare yourself and your classroom for a 40-hour workweek:

1. You will have to choose the number of work hours that is reasonable for you.  40 may be too much time or too little, or you may want to vary it by week.  There is no magic number for everyone, but I do think it’s wise to set a limit for yourself and stick to it so that you don’t end up staying at school until sun down every night. 
2. It will be very, very difficult to work 40-hour weeks at the beginning (and possibly the end) of the school year.  I always prepare to work as many hours as it takes, weekends included, in the beginning.  70-hour weeks are not atypical for me in August (including work I take home at night and on the weekends).  I really don’t mind, though, because I am confident that it is a temporary sacrifice.  It’s the same with classroom procedures- very time consuming and tiring in August, but the pay-offs throughout the year are well worth it.  
3. First-year teachers, and teachers who are new to the grade level, school, or school system will also have a tough time working 40 hour weeks at first.  They might have to settle for alternating 8-hour days and 10-hour days, or spending Sundays working from home.  But, if they truly want to stick to a 40-hour workweek, it is possible.  One year, I was new to my grade, school, district, and state and managed to get to a 40-hour week by October. 

So, how can it be done?  There isn't a singular, defining choice to be made, or  any hard and fast rules.  I compiled the ideas below by asking myself the question, “What decisions have I made, and how do I structure my time, to make sure a 40 hour work week is possible?”  Here are some guidelines that I followed (consciously or not) that worked for me:

*Choose your grade level carefully. 

Any grade above 2^nd will require significantly more time grading papers.  The younger the students, the fewer the problems on the workbook page and the shorter the essay and written responses.  I could grade most of my 2^nd graders’ papers simply by glancing over them.  With third graders, I often have to sit down with a teacher’s guide to grade, and have to dissect multiple paragraph assignments.  There is obviously nothing wrong with teaching older kids, especially when you feel passionate about working with them; however, you should know that grading papers will be a much bigger headache for you.

*It’s okay to join the bare minimum of committees- don’t be pressured into serving on any board that you don’t want to.

There are some schools in which you're not required to serve on any committees (may there be a special place in heaven for the administrators who decide this!).  But most schools require you to be on a set number of committees. You may have to take part in just one committee, or maybe the number is 3, but some people will guilt trip the weak into doing 5,6,7… or more.  These committee obligations mean more meetings, less planning time, and more obligations.  If you are the type that enjoys serving your school, by all means, go for it!  Your contributions are needed and appreciated!  But if you are looking for simple ways to reduce your workload (especially those tasks that do not directly benefit your students), staying away from the ‘extras’ is something to think about.  When I'm new, I usually say, “Since this is my first year here, I really want to focus on my kids and what’s going on in my classroom.  But it sounds really interesting- if you still need me next year, let me know”.  They usually press the issue, and I just smile.  “Sounds like a great committee.  Good luck to you all this year”.  (Side story:  I have a friend who is a first year teacher.  Her assistant principal asked her to be the head of the social committee on her second day of school.  Social committee is one of the biggest and most stressful jobs, and my friend didn’t even know anyone yet!  Seems to me that the A.P. was trying to unload an unwanted task on someone who didn’t know any better.  Beware- there are a few unscrupulous veterans who will prey on new teachers and take advantage).

*KNOW YOUR CONTRACT, and only attend the required number of after-hours activities and planning-time meetings.

In two school districts I worked for, my contract stipulated that teachers are to stay after hours no more than twice a month for meetings, and one district did not allow this at all.  In every district I've taught in, teachers could be required to stay for evening activities (such as PTA meetings or award assemblies) only twice per year.  If I am continually asked to do more than that (except in emergencies), I respectfully go to my principal and ask if anything can be done.  Only once was I told no, and at that point I approached my union rep and asked him how the staff could address the problem.  (In some situations, you may want to go to your union rep first: if you're not sure what the policy is at your school, or check with your mentor or grade level leader). The same goes for incessant meetings during your planning and breaks (grade level, IEP, professional development, new teachers workshops, and so on).  Your contract should limit these so that the majority of your planning time can actually be spent planning.  If it's not, do something about it. 

*Spend as much time organizing as you need, especially in the beginning, because you'll save massive amounts of time later.

Take an entire Saturday afternoon to reorganize your classroom library.  Spent an hour trying to decide where you want your centers to be.  Re-do your filing system 3 times until you can find every paper any time you need it.  Do whatever it takes to make things go more smoothly for you throughout the year.  If you have ever spent 20 minutes looking for a paper you just had (as I did recently) and realized it was buried under a pile of ‘miscellaneous’ papers, you know the value of organization.  Instead of wasting time tearing up my room to look for one paper, I should have spent the same twenty minutes earlier filing the big stack.  Because I let the pile grow, I got frustrated when I was not prepared for my lesson. I lost all that time and the huge stack was still sitting on my desk.  If you make organization a priority and you will never regret it.

*Make the time to keep your room very neat and clean all day long- don’t wait until the end of the day (or later!).

By this I mean straighten the desks, make sure trash and student belongings are off of the floor, everything is securely fashioned to the walls and not falling off, materials are put away neatly, your desk has no piles or at least neat piles of papers, etc.   Basically, everyone in the room should be picking up after themselves.  Students can help with this- simply have 2 ‘inspectors’ walk around the room before anyone leaves for lunch, specials, dismissal, etc. and point out any problems for the children to fix.  There are many reasons why straightening up is important: you are modeling cleanliness for the kids; the classroom runs more smoothly; messes don't pile up and become more time-consuming in the long run; and your room is ready to receive visitors at any time: anyone who pops in during the day will leave with an excellent impression about what you are doing with your kids.  Remember, very few people will ever watch you teach, but dozens and dozens of people will see how you maintain your students’ learning environment.  Your classroom is a reflection of you and how you teach.  Model for kids how to keep things orderly and require it of them- it’s never a waste of time.

*Grade only the assignments you need for determining future instruction.

In other words, if the assignment won’t tell you whether you need to reteach a child, or if s/he is ready for you to move on to new material, why grade it?  There are exceptions to this, of course,but cutting back on unnecessary grading will save you an astounding amount of time.  See the Grading page for further explanation and more tips.

*Make your grading system as simple as the school district will allow.

Why set up complicated weighting systems and complex averages?  In one school district I taught in, we took 2 grades per week in every subject, and gave letter grades only (no percentages).  At the end of the quarter, we typed them into Grade-O-Matics (special little calculators) which average the letter grades according to the grading scale (90-100 is an A, 80-89 is a B, etc.).  Tests, homework, class work, etc. were all weighted the same: we averaged them equally instead of averaging all the tests for 50% of the total grade, then averaging all the homework for 25% of the total grade, and so on.  It took me less than an hour to get all my grades for all subjects averaged and just over another hour to do report cards.  In my current district, there are less stringent rules- we just have to have 8 grades per quarter, so I kept the same system because I liked it. This may be too simplified for you- do what is best for your situation, but don’t make things harder than they have to be.

*Don’t make a lot of photocopies.

In addition to the arguments for saving paper and avoiding dittos, standing at the copier wastes hours and hours of teachers’ time.  Not to mention the lost time messing with broken and jammed machines…

* NO NEED TO COMPLAIN ABOUT NOT HAVING PARENT VOLUNTEERS OR AN AIDE-  Give coloring, cutting, manipulative-making, center-making, and other simple tasks to a parent or even older students to do from home.

Don’t spend hours doing mundane tasks.  Many teachers have their own children come to the school after hours and would be happy to bring them to your room to help you.  Or, send the materials home with a teacher who has a high schooler who loves to help out (or needs community service hours).  Keep your eyes open, and you will find someone who would enjoy doing the tasks that are too time-consuming for you to handle. Many parents who work during the day and therefore can’t volunteer in the classroom are very willing to do things at home.  Ask them- you WILL be pleasantly surprised with the response!

*Multi-task whenever possible.

Grade papers while waiting for meetings to begin. Laminate your materials while waiting for your copies to finish running. Make parent phone calls while sitting at a traffic light on your way to work (use a hands-free device so you can continue to talk when you drive), and so on.  The only time between 7:30 and 3:00 that I am only doing one thing is lunchtime.  I am constantly on the move and rarely take a moment's rest.   It’s tiring but I am able to go home at a decent hour.

*When you put in extra hours, try to choose times when few other people are at school.

I used to come in an hour early and remain completely undisturbed for at least forty-five minutes before the activity in the hallways began.  There’s no point in working long hours if someone is constantly coming in and asking you for something or you're tempted to wander next door to 'chat'.  If most people in your school come in early, then try staying late, or vice versa.

*Try doing your lesson plans for 1-8 weeks ahead of time... at home.

If your school uses pacing guides or otherwise prescribes which lessons you should be teaching and when, you can do lesson plans quite far in advance. Even if you only plan a week at a time, try dragging home all of your resources (your school may have extra copies of teachers' manuals so you can keep a spare set at your house) and sketching out your plans.  I find that I am better able to concentrate at home, and I don’t mind giving up a few hours 1 or 2 Sunday afternoons a month.   Not having your lesson plans done will make you feel frazzled and rushed- it is worth the time to prepare!  You can use a typed outline for your language arts block if a lot of it was repetitive- just print it out and handwrite a few details in. 

*Indicate in your lesson plans which materials are needed.  Each morning, use your plans to gather all of the supplies you will need and put them in a predetermined spot where they will be handy.

I underline any materials that I do not already have on hand in the classroom and will need to follow up on: copies to be made, special manipulatives, activities I need to make, etc.  By gathering the materials first thing in the morning, I know if I need to get anything else ASAP and have time to do so.

*Structure your daily schedule so that you have ‘downtime’ when you need it most.

I have always found it hard to pick up the kids from lunch/recess, bring them in the classroom, and immediately start teaching math.  I don’t think any of us are ready to focus right away!  So one year I put our 30 minutes of independent reading time right after lunch.  The kids came in and relaxed and read on their own for a half an hour while I got out the manipulatives, read over the lesson, and so on.  Additionally, I used bathroom and drink breaks along with class meetings as downtime after specials (right before the exhausting 2 hour language arts block began).   With calmer, less draining classes, I can just give kids a five-minute warm-up activity and begin teaching.  Downtime doesn’t mean the kids aren't doing something worthwhile; it just means that you as the teacher are not responsible for instructing at that moment.  If you have report cards coming up or special paperwork that has to be turned in by the end of the day, it’s okay to schedule additional downtime for yourself.  Give the kids an activity you know they can do independently and do what you need to do.  In special circumstances, I would definitely shorten a lesson so that the kids can work on their own while I get things done... and I don't feel guilty about it. :-)

*Make the most of Morning Work or Bell Work.

In the morning when your kids first come in the room, there should be something on the board for them to get started on right away.  Over the years I have done Daily Language Practice, review assignments, journal entries, and independent reading.  Whatever assignment you choose, make sure it is something the kids can do independently and that is open-ended to keep every student engaged while you handle morning tasks.  While the kids are doing morning work, you should be able to complete attendance, collect money as needed, read and respond to parents’ notes, and so on.  You should even be able to check homework- if you are grading only whether the homework is done or not done, this is a very quick process- put a check mark on the work and give it back to child!  Morning Work, in my classroom, does not stop until I have finished these tasks.  I’m just not going to leave a messy pile for myself to deal with later: half-checked homework, a random note from a parent, someone’s picture money just lying out, etc.  When I am comfortable with beginning our day, we start.  (At the beginning of the year, I can’t get it all done quick enough and do have to leave some for later, but by the third week of school, I'm on track).  I usually allow 20-40 minutes for all students to enter and unpack, do the tasks listed on the board, watch the announcements, and go over the morning work.  Since that amount of time if sufficient for my tasks on most mornings, too, everyone in our room is able to start the day in a productive manner.

*Use your prep time to take care of miscellaneous tasks that spontaneously arise, rather than depend on that time to complete essential tasks.

If your school is perfect, disregard this.  But I, for one, have been burned way more than once at many different schools by leaving something important to be done during my planning time and then finding out my time had to be cancelled.  If the specialist teacher is out and there is no sub coverage, or there is an assembly in the gym and the PE teacher can’t take her classes, etc., there will be no planning time, leaving you feeling frustrated and behind.  Even if your school always hires subs for specialist teachers, you may get a phone call, or get summoned to the principal's office, or get tied up talking to a parent or co-worker in the hall. Planning time is short and little things like this quickly eat away at it.  So, use your time to return phone calls and emails, straighten up the room, grade papers, and so on.  If you did paperwork tasks during Morning Work, lesson planning the previous Sunday, and material gathering that morning before the students arrived, you shouldn’t have too many things that have to be done before the end of the school day, anyway.

*Write the deadlines for boring paperwork you have to do on a large calendar that you can’t miss, then do the work whenever it's convenient for you.

I’m not advocating procrastination.  But if you have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow and you know you’ll be sitting in the waiting room for a half an hour, why stay late at school today to complete it?  As long as you are mindful of the deadlines, you can schedule time for mundane tasks later on.

If you're really exhausted and starting to hate school because it's consumed your life, I hope these ideas have been helpful for you.  If you want to shorten your workweek, I assure you that YOU CAN DO IT!!!  Take a good look at what's working and what's not, and experiment with different schedules and routines. I'm confident that you'll be able to make improvements on the way you manage your time, and that will make you a happier, more satisfied teacher!