Teachers need more time! Time can’t be bought, borrowed, or traded. It is the ultimate finite resource and must be protected as diligently as any other resource. As educators, we often plan to do more than is possible, or we allow ourselves to be victims of time robbers.

“Time robbers” are the people or things that distract us from achieving what we set out to do. They are like the weeds of teaching. We pull weeds from our gardens because weeds rob our soil and plants of important nutrients and water. By pulling the time robbers from our lives, we will protect the precious resource of time. This article identifies 19 common time robbers and gives strategies for eliminating them. Sarah Ward and Kristen Jacobsen of Cognitive Connections share more tips and resources as well as an app to assess the awareness of time.

I urge you to take five minutes to identify 2-3 time robbers in your life and develop a few simple strategies to eliminate them.