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I love nice mechanical pencils. I love Dr. Grip with .05 lead. My last one lasted almost 20 years and I just bought some new ones.

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I would encourage others to use the calendar in Outlook to make sure that all tasks are complete each week. The alerts remind me of the tasks I need to do daily, weekly, and monthly.

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One tip that I would like to share is organization. On the Advance It the ladies were talking about when to answer emails, when to grade work etc. I think organization and routine is huge! When I open my computer each day, I make sure I file and answer all emails in my inbox. I then begin reaching out to kids that are on my contact list for that day. I learned that it is important to do that because there might be questions or answers sitting in your inbox that have precedence over others.

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A light lamp can help to wake up and lift your mood during the blah winter months with short days.

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I set my watch timer for 2 hours.  Throughout the day, I take that cue to take a minute and re-center myself and make sure I am present.

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If you have a lot of things you feel you need to do, pick the goal you want to achieve/ activity you want to work on, set a timer for an hour and do nothing but that goal/activity for that time period. I've found this allows you to focus solely on getting that specific thing done and done quickly. I like to put on some form of instrumental (like movie score instrumental!) to keep me motivated and not tempted to use any distractors (or sing along to the songs).

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To help me get going in the morning I do about 10 minutes of light exercises and then eat a good breakfast.

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Spend a few minutes Monday to plan out the week ahead by listing tasks that need to be completed each day.

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Fill a huge ice water before sitting down at your computer for the day. When it's there, you'll drink it and will feel better for it.

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When I let out my dogs, Trekker and Journey, I make sure I drink 8 oz of water and walk throughout the house upstairs and downstairs to get the blood flowing, heart pumping, and muscles moving.

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Keeping your work space (physical) clean is extremely important. I have bad dust allergies and recently cleaned my whole office/desk area. Since then I have had an easier time focusing on work because I am not suffering from dust allergy symptoms. It also created positive vibes to have everything clean and tidy.

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Don't wait until you feel burned-out and overwhelmed to take a break. Schedule yourself a few short breaks throughout the day and be diligent about taking them. So hopefully you can avoid that feeling of burn-out before it ever happens. When I take breaks, I like to go for a quick walk, play outside with my dogs, or even just sit somewhere away from my computer for a few minutes and enjoy a cup of coffee/tea with no distractions.

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I think journaling is a key aspect of my mental health. I live by the mantra that if it can be tracked it can be managed, if it can be managed it can be improved and if you are improving you are perfect.

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When you're working, work; don't let small things distract you.  But there comes a point when our brains all need a break.  Save the small things for that designated time.  That way you get your relax time and your fun stuff, but you're super productive the rest of the time.

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Using the example of the announcement spreadsheet, I am going to set up a daily task list with tab for manager tasks, and one tab for teacher duties/tasks

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Every Monday I clear my desk so that I can start fresh every week.  I feel much more productive when my desk is clear of clutter.  I also LOVE using different color highlighters and pens to help me organize and check things off my to-do list.

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Don't put off things that can easily be done at the time (example: respond to e-mails, then sort them into the appropriate Outlook folder)

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At the beginning of the school year, I used my Outlook calendar to plug in all of my weekly announcements and class polls, monthly newsletters, monthly progress monitoring for students with 90% and higher, and my weekly progress monitoring for the whole year.  I tried to make sure I only left myself one large task (besides grading and regular daily tasks) to do each day.  I also made sure to leave my Friday open.  This allows me to play catch up at the end of the week in case a lot of grading comes in or if I get behind for other reasons.

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Remove the clutter--when there is less clutter, you can see what is needed.

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Something I like to do in order to maximize my productivity is to consider a typical 8-hour workday as 2 hour "quarters". I will typically estimate each day and week which quarter I plan to complete a specific task (progress monitoring, Galileo PowerPoint creation, email responses, etc.). This strategy has helped me substantially, as I am easily able to move past a "quarter" in which I feel I underperformed, became distracted, etc. It's very easy to capitalize on the next "quarter" on your workday if one "quarter" does not go as planned.

Additionally, I am able to take pride and build continuity in consecutive days in which I maximized at least three "quarters". This allows for realistic and obtainable success if a "quarter" emerges in which a sudden responsibility or situation arises.

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I shut my eyes for 15 minutes at lunchtime and don't think of anything.

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Self-care:  I get up 2 hours early to work out and get ready for the day.  It's hard, but your body gets used to it and then you have the entire day ahead of you, and you're awake and moving!

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Get up earlier than you need (more than just enough time to get ready, and before any kids are up) to be able to have a little quiet time to wake up, have a coffee, etc. You'll be in a much better mental state by the time the day really starts.

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In the dark and gloomy months of winter, I use a light therapy lamp. It mimics natural outdoor light which I have found enhances my focus and stabilizes my mood. I have it sitting on my work desk and I run it right away in the morning and a few more times during the day. They say it can fight the seasonal depression that can happen during the winter months when we don't get any sunlight or natural vitamin D!

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Use the productivity features in Outlook, buzz, Google, etc. For example: calendar reminders to do tasks, emails to notify you of submitted assignments in buzz, automatic filing of emails, etc.

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When I'm swamped with grading, after I complete a course I take a break to get my mind off of grading and give my eyes a rest. This has helped me not get so overwhelmed and remain positive while giving feedback.

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One tip is to take a quick exercise break after staring at the computer for a long time. It helps to make you more alert and attentive when you go back to work at the computer. For example, I like to take a quick walk or do resistance exercises with weights to help rejuvenate myself.

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At the conclusion of Friday's workday, confirm that your Outlook inbox is empty to allow for a clean start to Monday morning and a new week!

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I just got done listening to the book "Atomic Habits" and it is really great for organizing your life and developing habits to meet your goals. One of the things it suggests is the 2 minute rule. Start any habit out by doing it for just two minutes to get started. Write down when and where you will do the habit and schedule out time in your calendar. You can also habit stack- pair a habit you do with another habit you want to do. There are so many great resources in this book I cannot cover all of them. I highly recommend this book!

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Set one new goal for each course (small goals): For example, for Art 6, I want to collect new student works (and for Art 8, I redid the study guides).

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Set aside time to learn something new in excel, word, or google docs to help automate what you do everyday!

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Taking a break (eyes and physically) away from the screen throughout the day, maybe even eating lunch away from my desk as I only leave my desk to take my dog out once a workday and pick my son up from school.

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A reward chart for yourself helps when trying to work towards a goal. I LOVE stickers!

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Get your hardest/least desirable tasks finished first.

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I have a folder on my desktop titled "Grading Aides". In that folder I have my supplemental materials (also in its own folder), Assess It Guides created and shared by colleagues, and my own grading helps I created. This puts all of this in one easy to find location so when I grade, I can go right to the material I need for feedback or reference.

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I prioritize and list out my tasks daily - checking them off helps keep me motivated!

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Headspace (paid version) actually has personalized meditations!