Copying how people get organized

How do they do it? I get to school at 7am and leave school kicking and screaming at 5pm because I still have so much to do! Then after I put the kids to bed I sit on the couch and watch TV with my husband and do more work. I am always amazed and jealous of those teachers that roll up 10 minutes before the kids walk in the door and leave as soon as they can gather their belongings.

I guess I wouldn't mind if when I walked into their rooms their students were all off task, or their scores were horrible or they just gave their kids worksheets all day. I would be able to excuse it away that I am really trying to do everything possible for my kids and they are just punching a time card, but that's not the case. Their kids are on task, the room looks put together, and their kids are making progress...great progress. What am I doing wrong? 

I have decided that this is going to be a year where I need to be more efficient. I would always talk to my second graders about "cutting efficiently" or "working efficiently". We want to be quick but accurate. Easier said than done. 

I make to-do lists. I love them actually. There is something so satisfying about crossing things out. Feeling productive. Getting this done. I admit that sometimes I write things on my list after I have already finished just so I can cross something off. go to the bathroom I got tired of all the post-it notes all over my classroom, car, and school bag so I began using a spiral notebook to house all the notes in one place. I would even turn to the back of the notebook and write down things I wanted to remember to change for the next school year. (Smart idea right?!? I was so proud when I though of that cause I'm SO not original). 

The to-do lists aren't the problem. The problem is that I end up filling up the pages with more things to do before I ever get to cross anything off. Here is what my kitchen table looks like...

This is ridiculous!!! I need to find a way of streamlining my life so that when I get home from school I am actually present this year. I don't want to miss out especially since I have enjoyed all this good kid time this past year. 

So I Googled. I found a website where a lady wrote a blog called zenhabits: breathe. One of her posts was entitled, "How to Actually Execute Your To-Do List: or Why Writing It Down Doesn't Actually Get It Done." HOLY COW THIS IS FOR ME!!! If you are like me this article is for you. 

According to the article, I would be categorized under the "I get started but get distracted"...is it just me or the longer one teaches the shorter their attention span becomes? I digress...So here are the nuggets I'm going to copy for the rest of this summer and into the school year:

1. Small Tasks: Only work for 15-20 minutes on a task and then move on.
2. Single Task: DON'T DO MULTIPLE TASKS AT THE SAME TIME!! This is so hard for me. I am like that dog in Disney's Up who is talking and shouts "squirrel!" 
3. Unplug: Close all task windows except for the one you are on. NO SOCIAL MEDIA...I get lost in a Facebook/Instagram/Pinterest vortex, as my husband calls it, and realize I have been lost for an hour.
4. Clear your desk: or in this case my dining room table! This is key for me, "Distractions can come from visual clutter." HOLY COW that's exactly how it starts. I see something that needs to be done. Oh this will be really quick I say (kind of like me sitting down to jot down a few notes for this post and I have been here for 45 minutes) This also made me think of my classroom. If I'm distracted what about my kids?!? (I think I just found my next post subject...) FOCUS SARAH!!! See what I mean?
5. Focus: enough said I think I just proved this point.
6. Take breaks: This is where I get tripped up because I feel like if I stop I will never get started again or I will start something new. So here is what I'm going to try: a timer. I'm going to treat myself like one of my students that needs a brain break and I'm going to set a timer. When it goes off I will get back to work.

Do you have the same problem I do with getting your to-do list done? Leave a comment and let my know strategies I can copy to be more efficient.