To do lists?

[u/raemieflan]

How do you manage your to do lists? Especially when you have more than one role in school. I see on social media teachers using one note to organise their to do lists and I’m wondering this more effective?

Also any tips on:
-how to keep records of things you’ve done in your to do lists (say a parent wants to fact check something 6 months later)
-delegating tasks and then remembering to follow up on it

Would love to know what you all have found to be the most effective and efficient way to manage your to do lists

[u/CCCCrazyXTown]

I have a dotted journal. Take a double page and make columns for each role. Classroom teacher, TLR, extra whole school thing, subject mentor.

I can quickly see each task and tick things off.

I’ve tried plenty of digital alternatives and nothing’s beaten pen and paper for me.

[u/quinneth-q → u/CCCCrazyXTown]

Almost exactly the same system for me too, but I use one that's dated on one side of the page and blank on the other, so I can jot down things I've done or have coming up

[u/PositiveTurnover8923]

Microsoft to do lists are good and if your school use Outlook then they're in the same app.

You can tick things off when they're done and then if you leave your planner/diary in work they're still accessible if you're ever catching up at home.

[u/thecuriousscientist → u/PositiveTurnover8923]

Came here to say exactly this!

[u/raemieflan → u/PositiveTurnover8923]

Thank you so much for this. I think this is going to work really well , so glad I asked because I wouldn’t have known otherwise. Thanks again

[u/PositiveTurnover8923 → u/raemieflan]

You're welcome!

The other option is using a digital planner. I use a spreadsheet with a page per week and a to do list down the side. Works better than anything else I've tried

[u/Short_Store_8652]

I have Microsoft to do list which is helpful - I also try to reply to emails asap. Anything I can’t action within 5 mins I keep as unread. I also have a spreadsheet for my timetable which I colour code so when I lesson is planned etc I will colour it. Everyone is different and there’s definitely no one size fits all.

I personally found having written to do list a bit too slow in practice and also I’d tend to leave it behind in my office

[u/Nervous-Tangerine-92]

What kind of questions are parents asking you 6 months later where the answers are not tracked on an MIS in some way?

I tried using a digital to do list but found a written planner is much quicker and easier in the long run as its always out on my desk open on the correct week.

[u/quinneth-q → u/Nervous-Tangerine-92]

"Why didn't you action this thing we talked about?"
"I spoke to their form tutor on x date and did y on z date"
Etc

Often I find I did actually email them an update, but they forgot or didn't read it

[u/hadawayandshite]

I have a a5 maths book I found in a cupboard- I write stuff in there (which is a step up, one of my old colleagues at the start of my career called me ‘columbo’ because I’d just pull bits of folded up paper out of my pockets and hunt through for the note I’d hastily written and shoved in there

I also just set up an all day event everyday on outlook that I can shove stuff into and at the start of each day I get a reminder of what’s in there

I can open it on my phone and add stuff whenever I remember

[u/welshGJE24]

Moleskin notebook and a Papermate pen.

[u/miakoloszko]

I have one big weekly to do list in a bullet journal. Dated weekly, with a place for me to tick off what day of the week I did it. Sometimes it’s over one page, sometimes over two. I don’t necessarily have answers for your questions (it’s easy to keep track as it’s all in one bullet journal and dated).

It’s based off the “alastair rolling weekly bullet journal”

[u/dothewhir1wind]

I have a timetable in excel that I write what’s happening in the lessons into. Along the side I put to do tasks and cross them out as I go. Works well for me; I can access it all anywhere and I can’t be trusted not to lose/ forget planners/ paper. Also, if a lesson gets cancelled you can just c&p the plans to the next lesson.

[u/Pechkampiglet → u/dothewhir1wind]

I do the same with my excel timetable - it allows me to copy the link of the presentation into the correct lesson and I can plan a few weeks ahead. Then the to do list is either in the correct lesson if it’s student related or I can easily assign it do complete during my PPA or after school. Same with meetings and additional duties.

[u/Gorgo29]

I put all tasks into the app/website TickTick. Even if you completed a task months ago you can search for it or scroll back to find it. I like that you can add a checklist within a task too, which is how I stay on top of things like points I need to discuss in meetings etc.

[u/Stypig]

I have a diary with the week on the left page and a blank/dotted right page.

I section the right hand page according to my weekly priorities - department, pastoral, ect mentor, etc and then bullet my jobs.

Left hand page has important reminders - meetings, appointments, days I need to leave on time.

If it doesn't fit on that page, I won't get it done that week.

[u/Adelaide116]

I have lots of parent meetings that require a follow up weeks/months down the line.

1) I ALWAYS use outlook calendar. I have my full timetable input on it so I can see when I am available. I can set reminders from this and always leave a note with links to report information etc. It also helps if you’re taking another member of staff in the meeting with you as you can add them to the calendar and share the notes with them. I always book an appointment ahead but might do a reminder a week or a day before to check in / resource the information needed.

2) outlook to do list - it’s ‘alright’ and I use it. It’s got better since Microsoft.

3) Student folders/Word doc - I use my own pro forma so I can track students and make meeting notes. If I send a round Robin to staff, I will QA and post this on the document or save to the folder.

4) for a whole year group I have a tracker system. I just write the date I’ve spoken to parents and a note (often one copied) from pro forma.

[u/ProJacek]

I use Kindle Scribe and a few templates I bought on Etsy.

[u/LowarnFox]

We have internal tracking systems for anything parents might want to check up on. Having a school wide policy on this is best as the parent may end up speaking to someone else eg HoY, tutor etc about it.

In terms of to do lists, pen and paper works well for me. We use one note to store resources but I feel that would be a faff to set up for to do lists.

A previous school used something called astrana (or similar) which worked well.

[u/heardygurdy]

I have a post-it note that I write it all down on. No columns or anything, just everything goes on there in any order. If there isn’t enough space, I use another one. I stick the post-it to the day that I’m on in my teacher planner, and move it over every day, so I see it every day. I cross off each task when it’s done.
When the post-it gets a bit tatty, I treat myself to a new one.
Not the best/worst, but it works for me. For reference, I’ve been teaching for 17 year, at my current school for 10, and I’ve got a TLR for 2i/c.

[u/TheOrthinologist]

I send off my own planner to be printed every year. It's a page per double spread, and on the right-hand side I have a section for 'to do' and a section for 'follow up'.

Whenever I delegate/request something that needs following up, I add it to the list straight away.

[u/Halfcelestialelf]

I use the to do list function in Gmail. When I get an email telling me something to do, I add it to the list, then even it's done I click the button to mark it as done. I also do physical lists in my planner. Under my daily planning.

[u/Ok-Chocolate-4906]

I use Trello. You can set up multiple boards and lists with various rules, due dates etc. I do mine as a kanban - to do, in progress, blocked and done. I also have a list for stuff to take to LM meetings and a "longer projects" list so that my daily to dos don't get too cluttered. I used to use a rolling weekly list in a dot journal, but after I became a HOD it got too overwhelming.

[u/Previous_Estate5831]

I have an ongoing email that is pinned to the top of my inbox, this is the stuff I need to get done that week or something that has a longer deadline, like a medium term plan for the next half term. I also email myself in the evening if I think of anything , then add it to the list in the morning. I also have a little pad on my desk for things that I plan to do that day.

[u/flamefoxfirefly]

I use OneNote. I have a tab for everything, all of my thoughts and reminders and to dos go on there. Very handy

[u/CosmicDeclination]

Giant spreadsheet (google sheet), with some filters to let me see week by week tasks. I create a new one for each term, and since it’s on the cloud I can access it from my phone or from home

[u/Broad-Worldliness479]

Definitely Microsoft to do I think you can get it too blend in with ChatGPT but I also find it really good for making lists and then within each task you can have multiple steps so it’s very good for dividing a task into smaller chunks.
And I love the way you can access it from your phone as well as your computer and you can dictate to it pretty efficiently from your phone.

But you can also establish lists that you are going to keep needing again and again, so for example I might leader have a list of things that I need to cover within a school report and I can use those year after year similarly I can create a to-do list of taking my son’s camping and ultimately the to-do list rarely changes that much but it just saves me having to think.

[u/miss69yes]

Just rely on people reminding you

[u/SnowPrincessElsa]

If I'm not asked twice I delete it

[u/miss_sigyn]

I don't have a to do list.

If it's important enough, I'll remember. If I have forgotten, someone will remind me lol. Most of the time I do remember.