YOUR MINUTES || HOW TO CREATE A POSITIVE ROUTINE
Welcome to another Your Minutes post that features YOU! Here you will see educators sharing how they spend their minutes doing what they do best.
I had the pleasure of meeting Katherine Thomas two years ago, and she immediately impressed me with her wealth of knowledge across so many areas. She is the kind of educator that can help you identify solutions for any challenge. I was thrilled when she agreed to share her thoughts on routine with us, and I love her five step plan!
When you hear the word “routine”, what do you think of?
As a former gymnast and coach, I think of a floor routine: a series of dance and tumbling elements that a gymnast choreographs to music and repeats at every competition. Gymnasts don’t change their routine for each competition because the more they repeat it, they more successful and consistent it becomes. They know what to expect out of themselves, it simplifies their preparation and builds confidence in their abilities. Routine can have the same impact on your life as a teacher and on the lives of your students.
With routine, everyone knows what to expect. Your students know how your class is going to run, increasing productivity and minimizing classroom management issues. For yourself, routine will allow you to enforce a separation of work and personal life. By accomplishing what you need at an allocated time, you will improve your focus, decrease your anxiety, and increase your efficiency.
Sounds great, right? How do we actually create and implement positive routines in our lives? Start by looking at a small portion of your day, perhaps before you leave for school in the morning, and asking yourself the following questions:
What is priority?
Where am I struggling?
How am I wasting or losing time?
What can I remove, replace, or do differently?
What do I need to do to feel prepared?
The answers will be different for everyone. For example, my answers would be:
What is priority? To get myself ready for school, start the day in a calm state, leave on time, and have everything I need.
Where do I struggle? I run late and feel overwhelmed. I wake up with my kids so I’m constantly surrounded by noise.
How am I wasting or losing time? I hit the snooze button too many times, and I take too long choosing an outfit.
What can I do differently? I can remove the decision making by preparing an outfit the night before, I can move my alarm across the room so I have to get up to turn it off, which will allow me to have a few minutes of quiet before my kids wake up, and I can create a checklist of the things I need to bring with me.
What is my goal? To leave the house in a calm state, on time, put together, and with everything I need.
By taking inventory of what’s going well, what I am struggling with, and my end goal, I am able to create a plan. The more I implement this plan, the more routine it becomes. Routines can be created for anything: during transition times in the classroom, moving around the building, after school when you are managing your childrens’ homework and activities, or even when you put your own children to bed at night. The more you repeat it, the more routine it becomes. You don’t have to create routine for your whole life, just pick one area and see how it helps!
MEET KATHERINE
Katherine Thomas is an MYP Coordinator at Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy in Pontiac, Michigan. She began her teaching career coaching recreational and competitive gymnasts before becoming a middle school science teacher. Katherine holds a B.S. in Elementary Education, Science/Mathematics.