Make 2025 your most organised year yet by utilising these organisational tools
Pull quote: “The use of AI is a divisive topic within education with some schools shunning automated software due to concerns relating to privacy, reliability, and the integrity of using AI to help mark pupil’s work.”
Feeling stressed at work is not a unique position to be in, but a 2023 report compiled by Headspace revealed that working in education is the number one most stressful career patsh in the UK with one third of workers feeling work-related dread due to unrealistic expectations and pressure to take on more responsibility. If this sounds familiar, then you might want to apply these tips to manage your 2025 workflow.
Set clear boundaries
Make a resolution to stick to your designated working hours and don’t relent. Everyone knows that teachers work more overtime than most but knowing your limits can help you to avoid burnout down the line. Ultimately, you need to recognise that while teaching comes with additional responsibilities and expectations, staying firm on your boundaries will have you performing better in the long run.
Plan for success
Set aside some time each week to define clear goals and a plan of how you will achieve them in the upcoming week. Start with high impact tasks and prioritise your objectives into essential, nice-to-have, and can be pushed to a future date. Estimate how much time each task will take and don’t schedule more than you can realistically achieve as this will set you up for failure and demotivate you from effective planning in the future.
Collaborate with colleagues
Approach colleagues who seem to be managing their time well and ask for the secret to their success. Learning from experienced teachers can provide new insights and ways of looking at a problem. Those that have been with the school for a longer period of time may also be able to shed some light on what the senior leadership team consider priorities when it comes to time management.
Get ahead using AI
The use of AI is a divisive topic within education with some schools shunning automated software due to concerns relating to privacy, reliability, and the integrity of using AI to help mark pupil’s work. Whether your school is AI pro or not, these simple programmes can help teachers outsource administrative tasks without taking away from their core responsibilities as an educator.
Microsoft Copilot
One of the most commonly used programmes within education, Microsoft Copilot is often included in a school’s Microsoft 365 subscription making it a more affordable option. Through automatization, Copilot is able to streamline repetitive tasks and assist teachers with creating lesson plans, developing worksheets, and drafting emails. It terms of time management it can create checklists and prioritise tasks based on deadlines and importance.
ChatGPT
Don’t worry if your school doesn’t provide a programme with integrated AI, you can still get ahead using ChatGPT to craft templates or automated responses. You can also use it to brainstorm lesson plans or even help you think of an activity for a lesson based on the curriculum and learning objectives you have set.
Teachmate
Teachmate is an AI-powered digital assistant, created by social media personality and teacher, Mr P, which offers tools and resources to support teachers and pupils with a wide range of needs. Alongside standard task automation, it can help teachers create tailored resources to support SEND students and ensure they are accessing the curriculum. Professional development is also a key aspect of the software putting teachers in front of the latest thinking and strategies within the education sector.
Dynamic Marking
If your school is open to a more integrated approach to AI, dynamic marking is one of the most game-changing ways to apply technology within the classroom. Using AI-powered software, teachers can automate aspects of the marking process, and provide tailored, real-time feedback, while using the data generated to create a profile of a student’s progress over the course of the year.
Google Classroom
Use Google Classroom to customise your own rubrics and add feedback directly onto a student’s work. There is also an option to save frequently used feedback so you aren’t repeatedly typing out the same responses.
Microsoft Teams Assignments
Built into the Microsoft Teams platform, teachers can manage tasks, communicate with students, and mark homework in the same place. The software can identify trends, such as frequent errors, so that teachers can easily recognise topics that the class need more clarification on.
Gradescope
Gradescope is particularly useful for teachers marking larger classes as it allows colleagues and teaching assistants to collaborate on the marking process simultaneously. Teachers can also grade one question at a time for all students rather than having to mark submissions individually.
