Hello fellow educators! Welcome to part 2 of my series (that I inadvertently ended up stumbling into!) on time management for teachers! Just to make things extra confusing, I am splitting this week’s topic into two more parts!
Since it is the beginning of the school year for most of us, I thought this was just a good a time as any to share my 5 to-dos for the weekend. Monday morning will come whether or not I get these things done by Sunday night, but it sure is more to wake up knowing that my ducks are in a row.
One – Know What I Am Going to Wear
I generally take a look at the weather for the week on Sunday to get an idea of what I will be wearing in the week ahead. Is it going to rain? Will it be cold enough for sweaters yet? Additionally, I check our school calendar for things such as Red Ribbon Week, Talk (and Dress) Like a Pirate Day, or other events where we have a dress up day or relaxed dress code.
Once I have an idea of weather and school happenings, naturally I want to make sure that my clothes are clean, dried, and not just languishing in the dryer. I hate ironing, therefore, I like to get it all done before the week begins. There is nothing worse…seriously, nothing…then getting ready and realizing the shirt I’d planned to wear is a mess of wrinkles.
I also have a separate rack in my closet where I hang all my outfits for the week. This makes it even easier to pull it out and put it on.
Two – Know What I Am Going to Eat
I am single and childfree, so meals are not quite the big to-do in my house as they are in many other teachers’ homes. While I am a fairly decent cook, I am often exhausted at the end of the day and the last thing I want to do is go home and make dinner. However, my budget and health would rather I did not hit the drive through every evening on my way home from school.
Breakfast: I am a breakfast person. I MUST eat breakfast before I go to work or I will be a grump within the first hour of my arrival. If I meal prep, most of the time it is breakfast – precooking bacon and oven roasting potatoes in order to make a breakfast bowl is my general go-to. I have also made batches of smoothies and frozen them in ice cube trays. Once they are frozen, I will store the smoothie cubes in a resealable bag. I also make sure I have frozen breakfast foods and cereal on hand.
Lunch: I used to be a Lean Cuisine girl, to the point where even thinking about a Lean Cuisine right now turns my stomach. Now I do one of two things for lunch – prep salads in mason jars or eat leftovers.
Mason Jar Salads: You an put just about anything into a salad. I love salad. It’s seriously one of my favorite meals. The general idea behind the mason jar salad is to start with your dressing. I will measure it out and put it into the bottom of the jar. It can be any dressing you like. I’ve even used salsa as a dressing for southwestern or Mexican style salads.
Next, throw in your heartier vegetables like cherry tomatoes or diced onions and peppers. If you are adding protein that comes next – chickpeas, chopped ham, bacon, shredded chicken, taco beef, etc. Top it off with your greens – I use romaine lettuce most frequently. Kale, spinach, spring mix, or any other kind of lettuce will also work. If I’m adding something crunchy like croutons or tortilla strips, then I will store those separately in a resealable bag.
Leftovers: I know many people can’t stand the thought of leftovers, but I don’t mind (and sometimes even really enjoy) leftovers. I don’t know about you, but at my school, there is always a long line for the microwave at lunchtime. So, a few years ago I invested $20 in a lunch crockpot. It was misplaced over summer one year, but I got a new one for Christmas this past year and it is a game changer.
You can heat up literally anything in one of these little guys! I put my leftovers in it first thing in the morning and plug it in and by lunch time, my lunch is ready to go. I have a friend who says she has even heated up leftover pizza in hers by wrapping it in some foil.
Dinner: I try and plan all my meals for the following week on Thursday evenings, so that I can hit the grocery store on Friday or Saturday. Some weeks I do a full meal prep on the weekends, other weeks I just make sure I have everything I need in order to prepare dinner. As I mentioned, I am happy with leftovers, so I will make multiple servings and freeze the extras or have them the following day for lunch or dinner.
Next Sunday I will be back with my other 3 Weekend Must Dos! Please let me know if you have any questions and don’t forget to sign up for my email newsletter over to the right!
In Case you missed it, check out the last post in my accidental Time Management for Teachers series: 3 Must Dos for Your Back-to-School To Do List.
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