Every new school year, the battle of the academic schedule begins. For me, anyway. I always come to this time of the year with great expectations of getting my stuff together, so I can be as fruitful in my efforts as I dream of being. But, it’s somewhat of a struggle — EVERYTIME. And, this year will be no exception to the rule. However, I’m a bit further along in the process because I’ve determined my 5 Main Focuses and my 5 action phrases, as outlined in the previous blog post, The Literacy Corner – Update #9. So, I’m set with the direction I’m taking in my professional as well as personal endeavors this academic year. Thankful for that.
But, here’s where the fun begins. It begins with planning out the implementation. What are the day-to-day actions that allow me to make some notable marks in the areas of reading tutoring, grant administration, the youth membership, writing for the blog and newsletter, and self-improvement? Well, it’s going to take some scheduling finessing with some pen-to-paper action, for starters.
What I mean is that I have to organize my day by planning it out on paper first. None of this “managing my moments” of the day by pulling them out of my old noggin in no particular order. No, that method of planning my day is an absolute FAIL! And, I don’t subscribe to continuing to hold on to thoughts, processes, and ways that serve no helpful purpose and keep me stuck in a “getting nowhere fast” loop.
Those days are over, my friend!
I’m pretty excited about the course I’m currently on with planning my “academic schedule” for 2026-2027. Yes, I tend to have two major schedules for the year — the academic schedule (based on the academic year from mid-August through mid-May) and the “summer break schedule” (the portion of the year that falls outside of the academic schedule based on the remaining time between mid-May and mid-August).
I find it very helpful to plan my year out with these two major schedules, because the academic schedule and the summer break schedule represent two very distinct ways in which I function (workwise). Since I’m an educator and still have a child navigating within the public school system, the academic year is a crucial time for work related to teaching and learning journeys within my family. And, there will be a lot of scheduling on the educational front with a few personal goal-related tasks sprinkled throughout. So, the academic schedule is currently where we’re at and where we’ll focus for our scheduling discussions today and throughout the academic year.
I knew that life would be getting pretty busy for me in quarter 3 with back-to-school activities, which will drive almost all of my professional and personal endeavors. This month alone, I have or will have . . .
- started tutoring 5+ students through the tutoring company.
- led the first Grant Committee meeting of the year for the academy.
- started, completed, and submitted my first two grant applications for the academic year.
- returned to blogging on a weekly basis to share my adventures in education.
- reinstated the special weekly groups and “Daily Challenges” for the children in my youth membership.
- devoted dedicated time to the college prep journey (ACT prep, internship prep, college credit while in high school enrollment, and collge degree program/scholarship research) for my youngest child. (And yes, I’m highly involved in assisting my son with his higher education goals, as I was with his older sister and brother.)
- started my new low-sugar eating journey.
Now, I’m not going to bore you to blog sleepiness by going into the breakdown of my current weekly schedule, which is based on the overall goals I want to accomplish in 2026-2027. Mainly, because it would truly be uneventful and who cares (but me, anyway)? And secondly, because it’s pretty much a work-in-progress right now. I’m maneuvering through some major pain points before I go all The 12 Week Year on you. But, when I do get myself fully functional with my new academic schedule, I’ll let you know. And, Brian P. Moran and Michael Lennington, authors of The 12 Week Year, will be giving me some direction and inspiration to “get more done in 12 weeks than others do in 12 months.”
However, there are a few “must-haves” that I’ve identified will structure the best possible schedule for this here educator. My MUST-HAVEs:
- Wake-up timeframe and bedtime timeframe must be flexible within reason. I say “timeframe,” because I can’t be committed to an “exact” time I will get up and go to bed. I just can’t. You never know what will transpire in the day and set things off course, so I will use my top-of-the-morning and retiring-for-the-night times as buffers for when things get out of whack with the schedule. (However, there are times that I refuse to get up before and go to bed after. Those times will be my non-negotiables.)
- Time blocking (in 3 or 4 hour chunks of time) is dedicated to certain types of routine daily/weekly activities. (With time blocking, I don’t have to go hour by hour with a set schedule of task completion. As long as I get the set of tasks assigned for that day (and corresponding time block) done, then I’m good to go.) With time blocking, I appreciate the flexibility I have to move tasks around and knock them out in the way that makes the most sense for that day. And, the order in which I knock them out can change from day-to-day.
- Minute-by-minute and hour-by-hour scheduling is necessary for some of the tasks in my weekly schedule. Items like tutoring sessions and several of my “before noon” tasks have been assigned to a more regimented daily schedule. This less flexible schedule encompasses those to-dos that involve others and therefore must be set in order to accommodate the schedules of all involved. And, the other to-dos are mostly my personal tasks (involving no one else but me, myself, and I) that must be set if I have any chance of getting them accomplished, at all. And, it will take a lot of discipline on my part to make sure these personal tasks get done.
- Writing my schedule down in my daily planner. This MUST-HAVE is crucial to reaching my goal posts. If I don’t write (I repeat . . . “WRITE“) things down, my day will be a fraction of what it could be on the productivity scale. I’ve tried managing my calendar by sometimes writing things down and sometimes not and by relying on my mind and innate desire to GET THINGS DONE to somehow keep me on track for the day. But, it NEVER works! Physically writing down my action items for the day gets me chugging along the productivity track, provided there are no unforeseen priorities and emergency deterrants that strike. If I see it, I’m more likely to do it. That’s just how it works for me. I need lists! On paper! Yes, I’m a physical planner girlie — all the way. The digital planners are a no-go for me.
- And lastly, I must use my “action phrases” to guide how I develop and carry out my schedule.
- I organize and create structure by using a physical planner to house all my weekly tasks by minute to hour and time blocking periods.
- I’m both intentional and strategic by writing down the specific tasks that are going to move the needle forward when it comes to working toward specific goals within my 5 Main Focuses this academic year.
- I’m keeping things simple by simply writing things down. In my Walmart paper planner. May be old school, but it works for me.
- I’m working on the discipline part of things. Constantly working on it. Trying to get better at it. Because, we all should know by now that those who win, win on discipline AND consistency. It’s a fact. It often boils down to routinely sticking with something over a long period of time in what determines if a life-changing GOAL GETS GOT or not. The discipline is what will help me act on the items listed each day.
- The WHY is what’s going to help me to not give up on my weekly schedule, even if the day-to-day implementation of my to-dos doesn’t produce the fruit of my labor in the timeframe in which I envision it being within my reach.
So, how do you schedule your days and your weeks out, so you can get the work done that gets you to where you want to be in life? I would love to get your thoughts on conquering whatever schedules you work from, and you know you’ll continue to get mine.
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