Teaching to the TOP

Latest Episodes:

079. Michelle Answers Rapid Fire Productivity Questions Jul 01, 2021

Show notes

Have you ever seen the Vogue 73 Question Videos on YouTube? Basically, someone behind the camera follows a famous person around and asks 73 rapid fire questions. You get to hear their responses but also get a little peek into their life and how they live. Well, we love to watch these videos and to make things fun this summer, we’ve decided to create our own form of rapid fire questions!

In today’s episode Bridget has crafted 25 questions all around time management, organization, and productivity to ask Michelle. Keep in mind that Michelle has no idea what questions Bridget is going to ask. So join us as Michelle Emerson, aka Pocketful of Primary, answers 25 Rapid Fire Productivity Questions.

In this episode Michelle shares:

Her best tip for achieving a work-life balance
How she creates a space that is productive
How she battles overwhelm and feeling unmotivated to work
Her news goal after moving and getting married
What she plans to organize first in her new home

LINKS:

Vogue 73 Questions

082. Bridget Answers 25 Rapid Fire Productivity Questions COMING SOON!!

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078. Email Folders: The What, Why and How for Teachers Jun 24, 2021

Show notes

Is there really anyone who actually enjoys managing their email accounts? We can say that this is one area that we do not particularly enjoy but that doesn’t mean we can simply let it go like Ana in the movie Frozen. Email communication is essential and if not managed correctly then you are at risk of missing important notices, forgetting important dates and misreading information that requires your attention.

In our next installment of The What, Why, and How for Teachers we are digging deep into how to utilize email folders to help you stay on top of your to-dos, deadlines and reference materials in your email inbox. By implementing our tips, you will feel more in control of your inbox and experience the golden “inbox zero” more often.

In this episode we share:

How viewing email folders like your Google Drive can organize your inbox
How to process your emails and sort them correctly. This means finding a specific time during the day dedicated to processing and working to inbox zero.
How email folders will help you in finding information more quickly
Our structures for creating email folders
How to sort and store emails at the end of the year.

Don’t forget to check out our planner on our website. We have all the tools you need to plan out your summer, be proactive for the fall, and outline big projects this summer!

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Are you subscribed to our podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. Click here to subscribe to iTunes!

077. How to Balance Work and Relaxation This Summer Jun 17, 2021

Show notes

Balancing work and relaxation can be challenging, especially after spending so many months in ‘work’ mode. You might be struggling to stop and rest your body because you are constantly filling your time with doing tasks or you might not have any motivation with doing things that will help you in being proactive so that you are not stressed in the fall.

We share some of our best tips for helping to create a work-life balance this summer. This will help you to unwind from the school year and enjoy your time with family and friends but also ensure that you are continuing to do small tasks that will keep you from feeling the overwhelm of the back to school season.

In this episode we share:

How to create a schedule that will accommodate your life-style
Tips for how to balance work and summer as a mom
Setting goals and creating project lists that will make you feel less stressed and more in control of your day
Steps you can make to be proactive for the fall
How to utilize micro productivity to get small tasks accomplished

Don't forget to check out our planner on our website. We have all the tools you need to plan out your summer, be proactive for the fall, and outline big projects this summer!

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Are you subscribed to our podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. Click here to subscribe to iTunes!

076. What Are We Up To This Summer? Jun 10, 2021

Show notes

We’ve got some big plans this summer and in today’s episode we are sharing where we are going, what we are doing, and some pretty major events happening in our lives right now! You will want to listen to this episode… Michelle has some exciting news!

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075. School Year In Review: 2020-2021 (Our Honest Reflection) Jun 03, 2021

Show notes

Another year in the books and so much has happened and changed. As we come to the end of the 2020-2021 school year we want to have an honest reflection of the year with all of you. This includes the challenges we faced because of the pandemic, our initial feelings as we headed into the school year and some of the highlights that kept us going strong.

While we all had different situations for what our school year looked and sounded like, we hope that you can relate and also reflect on this past year. If anything, this year has hopefully taught us all that we can do hard things and that we are capable of making the best of difficult situations. Stay tuned to the end because we share our biggest takeaway from our 2020-2021 school year.

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074. Digital Planning: The What, Why, and How for Teachers May 27, 2021

Show notes

Digital planning has increased in popularity over the last year. As more and more teachers begin to see the value of handling all their lessons and maintaining digital files versus paper files, digital planning will only continue to increase. For those of you who have been watching the trend but haven't quite jumped into the digital planning world, this episode is for you. Or, if you have no idea what digital planning is, this episode is also for you!

We take a deep dive into digital planning and why you should start making the transition this summer. We feature our baby…. Yes, it’s a planner, and we share all the features that will help to make you more productive and organized for the upcoming school year.

Don’t forget that you can try our planners out for FREE by clicking HERE!

If you are already sold on jumping into the digital planning world, we offer Google Slides version and a tablet version HERE.

In this episode we share:

Features of digital planning that will increase your productivity and maintain organization
How digital planning allows you to access information from anywhere
Digital links makes navigating the planner easy
How digital planning can lighten the load of taking materials home and to work each day
How our digital planner stands out from the competition… THIS IS SO GOOD!
Digital planning makes customizing your planner easier than ever

LINKS:

TOP Digital Teacher Planner

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Are you subscribed to our podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. Click here to subscribe to iTunes!

073. How to End the School Year in a Digital World May 20, 2021

Show notes

Let’s be honest, closing down our classrooms will look a little bit different this year. If you’re someone who has transitioned from virtual to in the classroom, there might be more things to consider as you’re prepping for your first beach getaway.

While we all might be hoping for a little more normalcy with the upcoming year, it would be a waste to simply throw everything we have done this year away. Instead, it’s important to consider how you start transitioning and using more digital resources in the upcoming years.

In this episode we break down three areas in which you need to organize: LMS, digital files and emails. We’ll give you actionable steps for processing the information, and storing it in a way that you can use it next year. Keep in mind that everyone has a different situation and may need to adapt and do a little research on how to implement the strategies we share.

In this episode we share:

How you can store assignments, discussions and materials you’ve created in your LMS to reuse next year
How to organize your resources from your LMS to easily locate and how to archive a course
How to build a list of assignments for next year. Don’t reinvent the wheel! Use what worked!
How to create a checklist of graded assignments to keep structure and consistency
Organize your digital files and delete unused files from the previous years.
Designate applications on your ipad or laptop for file types to make organizing and locating materials easier
How to close out your email with a zero inbox and what to do with all the emails in your folders

LINKS:

TOP Digital Teacher Planner

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Are you subscribed to our podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. Click here to subscribe to iTunes!

072. 5 Things Teachers No Longer Need (and What To Do Instead) May 13, 2021

Show notes

Are there certain areas of your life where you are happy with exactly how it is? You feel this way because it’s become a habit but have you ever sat back and considered if what you are doing is actually helping your productivity.

Today we are chatting about 5 things that teachers no longer need! Yes, we will most likely touch on something that you are still doing but should start looking for alternative methods to help boost your productivity in and outside of the classroom.

So what are the 5 things teachers no longer need? Well, we go in depth about why you don’t need these five items and what you SHOULD be doing instead.

The Five Things Teachers No Longer Need:

Filing Cabinets/ Binders
Notebooks and papers
Center Materials
Forms
Paper Planner

In this episode we share:

How to transition from using binders and filing cabinets to a digital format
Why notebooks don’t help your professional development and how you can use digital note taking to start implementing your new learning
What to do with all those digital center materials you’ve accumulated over this past year and limit how much you are preparing for in-person centers next year
What forms can go digital to make processing, locating and maintaining records easier
Why a digital planner can make your life easier and planning less time consuming

LINKS:

TOP Digital Teacher Planner

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Are you subscribed to our podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. Click here to subscribe to iTunes!

071. The IDEAL End of the Year Checklist to Save Your Sanity May 06, 2021

Show notes

The end of the year can be an exhausting and challenging time for everyone. Not only are our bodies beginning to feel beat from the school year but we are experiencing more deadlines, to-dos, and constant battles with keeping our students engaged.

Using strategies that will help you be proactive are essential during these crazy times, and in today’s episode we have just the thing! As you might know, our 2021-2022 Digital Planners have launched and are available for purchase. You can find them HERE. Today we are going to share one of our favorite elements of our digital planner… checklists!

We give a peek into our End of the Year Checklist, the categories, tasks and examples of what you can already be considering as this year comes to a close.

In this episode we share:

How you can have your students start to help with tasks around the room
How to be proactive in completing the mounds of paper
Areas to clean, organize and purge in your classroom
How to keep track of materials and begin planning for the next year
What to do with all the technology (we even give some helpful tips!)
What to consider before you leave your classroom

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070. How to Set Boundaries (and Stick to Them!) Apr 29, 2021

Show notes

We all have to set boundaries in our lives. Whether you are like Bridget and drink too much diet coke or you are like Michelle and you can get engrossed in a project and commit every breath you can to getting it done. Boundaries are what helps to keep the balance in our life.

The problem with setting boundaries is not necessarily recognizing what needs to be done but how to maintain the boundary. A lot of what we recommend in our episodes is to build discipline but we’ve also figured out a few strategies that you can take in order to establish and stick to the boundary you’ve created.

In this episode we discuss:

The steps for establishing a boundary in your life
Explain ways for how to stick to boundaries
Give insight into our own personal boundaries and what we have done to stick to it over time
Identify roadblocks that are preventing you from maintaining your boundary
What it means to say NO more often

Be sure to check out our planner launch on May 1st!!! You can click HERE to grab it now.

You can also submit your TSH HERE to be featured on a future podcast episode.

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Are you subscribed to our podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. Click here to subscribe to iTunes!

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