Latest / Teacher Approved: Elementary Teacher Tips & Strategies / 287. The Friday Teacher Routine That Makes Monday Easier

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287. The Friday Teacher Routine That Makes Monday Easier · Teacher Approved: Elementary Teacher Tips & Strategies

0:01
Heidi: This is episode 287 of Teacher Approved.
0:06
You're listening to Teacher Approved, the podcast helping
0:09
educators elevate what matters and simplify the rest. I'm
0:12
Heidi.
0:13
Emily: And I'm Emily. We're the creators behind Second Story
0:16
Window, where we give research-based and
0:19
teacher-approved strategies that make teaching less stressful and
0:22
more effective. You can check out the show notes and resources
0:25
from each episode at secondstorywindow.net.
0:28
Heidi: We're so glad you're tuning in today. Let's get to
0:31
the show.
0:35
Emily: Hey there! Thanks for joining us today. In today's
0:38
episode, we're sharing a routine that will help make next week a
0:42
lot lighter, and we've got a teacher-approved tip to help you
0:45
take back your weekends.
0:47
Heidi: But first, let's start with a try-it tomorrow, where we
0:50
share a quick win that you can try in your classroom right
0:52
away. Emily, what's our suggestion this week?
0:55
Emily: Okay, tomorrow, put a student in the director seat for
0:59
one transition. So give the directions and then let your
1:02
student director keep everyone on track and monitor the time.
1:06
Heidi: Oh yes, kids love that sort of thing. So you probably
1:10
need to offer some coaching ahead of time about the sorts of
1:13
things that a transition director should do, like giving
1:16
reminders if they get too loud, or answering questions if anyone
1:19
is confused, or keeping track of the time.
1:22
Emily: If you have a stopwatch handy, that's perfect for this
1:24
sort of thing. And if you like this idea or anything else we
1:28
talk about today, we would so appreciate it if you shared this
1:31
episode with one of your teacher friends. People really trust a
1:35
recommendation from someone they know, so it actually helps us a
1:38
lot to reach new listeners when you share it with your friends.
1:41
Heidi: All right. If you are listening to this podcast on the
1:44
day it comes out, happy Monday! Hopefully, the week is off to a
1:48
great start.
1:49
Emily: And if you're listening on a different day, take a
1:51
minute to remember your most recent Monday morning. How did
1:55
it go?
1:57
Heidi: Well, if you are anything like me, it was somewhere on the
2:00
spectrum between hectic and catastrophic. You know, you step
2:04
through the doorway and it's like a switch is flipped.
2:07
Suddenly, all the things that you told yourself you were going
2:10
to do over the weekend just come rushing back.
2:12
Emily: But you didn't think of them all weekend. It's like,
2:15
it's like Severance. It's like your Innie and your Outie. So
2:18
when you leave school, you transition to your Outie and you
2:21
forget all the stuff that the Innie needs, and then when you
2:24
come back and they step through the door into your classroom,
2:27
you're just like back as an Innie again, and now you
2:29
remember all the things you forgot. If you haven't seen
2:32
Severance, you won't appreciate that reference, but some of you
2:35
are really going to like that reference.
2:37
Heidi: Well, I'm going to have to trust showing that because I
2:39
have not seen Severance. But you know, you know that feeling.
2:44
There's the email you never answered, the copies you forgot
2:46
to make, the lesson plan that needs 15 more minutes of work,
2:50
and before you've even turned on the computer, you are somehow
2:53
already behind.
2:54
Emily: That's because you're not gliding into a new week
2:57
bright-eyed and ready to dig in. You're stumbling through the
3:01
door, dragging all of Friday's leftovers with you.
3:04
Heidi: To some extent, everyone feels like this on a Monday
3:07
morning. We are all haunted by the ghosts of to-do lists past,
3:11
but I think this is a particularly challenging problem
3:14
for teachers because teaching is an inherently open-loop job.
3:19
There is always another thing you could do.
3:22
Emily: Yeah, the bell doesn't ring, and then just like hand
3:25
you a clean stopping point where you're like, okay, that's this
3:29
week's work. Won't have to think about this again. On to a new
3:32
week. If only.
3:34
Heidi: If only, that would be so nice. And in fact, I think
3:38
sometimes the bell does exactly the opposite. The kids walk out
3:42
the door, and you look around the room and think, "Okay, now I
3:45
can finally get some work done."
3:47
Emily: Yes. So unless we create some kind of deliberate stopping
3:52
point, this week's unfinished business just becomes next
3:55
week's "you're already behind" list every week, over and over.
4:00
Heidi: And that sense of never being done with work is a big
4:04
part of why teachers are so exhausted. So instead of trying
4:08
to somehow finish everything before the weekends, which let's
4:11
be honest is never going to happen, what if we created a way
4:15
to deliberately close out the work for the week anyway?
4:18
Emily: That's where the weekly reset comes in. This is a short
4:22
routine for rounding up the loose ends of one week, deciding
4:25
what matters for the next, and then making it easier to start
4:28
again.
4:29
Heidi: Think of a reset as a way to build a boundary around a job
4:33
that does not naturally come with one, because even though
4:36
you can't finish everything, you can decide what happens to the
4:40
things you didn't finish, and then do some of the work that
4:43
will make next week easier.
4:45
Emily: Then you can say, Okay, I'm done with this week. Walk
4:47
out the door and enjoy your work-free weekend, guilt-free.
4:52
Heidi: And even better, enjoy a smooth, peaceful start to the
4:56
new week. So today we are going to talk about how to create a
4:59
weekly reset that fits into the reality of your school week.
5:03
Emily: Hopefully, by now you know us well enough to trust
5:05
that we are not about to suggest a three-hour catch-up session or
5:10
a three-page color-coded to-do list.
5:12
Heidi: Although a color-coded to-do list is one of my favorite
5:15
things.
5:16
Emily: Yeah, I'm actually surprised there isn't a one-page
5:19
colored to-do list in this system, but it's good. I do like
5:22
making the list more than I actually like doing the list, so
5:26
probably good it's not even in here. To help you avoid that
5:30
same trap we're going to share a routine that creates space for
5:33
getting that work done instead of leaving it up to "I'll do it
5:37
soon."
5:38
Heidi: But before we can get into the how, let's look at the
5:40
why. The goal here is to get ready, not get caught up. You
5:45
may still end the day with piles on your counters and grading in
5:49
your inbox.
5:50
Emily: Yeah, we know that is not what you want to hear, but a
5:53
manageable system has to account for reality, and the reality is
5:57
that there are not enough hours in the day to do it all. So you
6:00
need a way to identify what's essential right now and what can
6:03
reasonably wait.
6:05
Heidi: So another way to think of a weekly reset is to think of
6:07
it as your minimum viable readiness plan. Although that's
6:11
way more of a mouthful. The ultimate goal with doing this is
6:14
to give you clarity. You shouldn't have to spend the
6:17
first 30 minutes of the week figuring out where you're going.
6:20
Emily: So let's talk about how to make this part of your
6:23
routine.
6:24
Heidi: Yeah, that routine part is important.
6:27
Emily: Yeah, because a routine does two things. First, it
6:29
reduces decision fatigue and wasted time, and second, it
6:33
ensures you've got all the essentials covered.
6:36
Heidi: And like all good routines, your weekly reset
6:39
needs a standing appointment. Put it on the calendar like it's
6:43
a meeting you can't move.
6:45
Emily: Yeah, really put it on the calendar. If it is just
6:47
floating around in your mind and you tell yourself you'll get to
6:50
it, but then the week fills up and you know, it just doesn't
6:53
happen, especially on Friday because you're tired and you
6:56
you're like, it's not even on the calendar. I can just leave.
6:59
Heidi: Oh yeah, I've fallen into that trap many a time, but when
7:03
the time is fixed, you make sure it actually happens. Now, any
7:07
time that works for you is the right time for a reset. For me,
7:11
I liked 11:20 to 11:50 on Fridays, so that was the half
7:15
hour right before lunch.
7:17
Emily: Okay, and tell us why you picked that time because that
7:19
definitely is not the time you would think for a reset.
7:23
Heidi: Yeah, that's why it took me so long to land on that. I
7:26
think it took me a few years to get that right, but I realized
7:30
that I just could not plan effectively after school. My
7:33
tank was empty, and so I would just decide that I was going to
7:36
go home and I'd worry about it next week. But I realized that
7:40
Friday morning, before the afternoon slump hit, my brain
7:44
actually was still working, more or less.
7:48
Emily: The nice thing about doing your planning in the
7:49
morning means your kid-free prep time can go towards things that
7:53
have to happen outside your room, like making copies.
7:56
Heidi: Now I know that using class time for planning is going
8:00
to rub a lot of people the wrong way, but it shouldn't. Doing
8:04
work tasks on work time is literally what a job is.
8:08
Emily: Right. As long as your students are doing something
8:10
meaningful that they can manage without you having to directly
8:13
supervise, then you're not shortchanging anybody. A 30
8:17
minute reset once a week still leaves you over 2000 minutes of
8:21
learning time.
8:23
Heidi: And that 30 minutes can make the other 2000 minutes so
8:25
much more effective.
8:26
Emily: Yeah.
8:27
Heidi: So with my second graders, my official schedule
8:30
said that that half hour was for a phonics review, and that
8:34
review just happened to be a Between the Lions video.
8:37
Emily: And you've probably heard us talk about this before
8:39
because it's actually this really nice hack you might not
8:42
have thought of if you if you're not familiar with Between the
8:44
Lions you are missing out it is a PBS series from like what
8:49
early 2000s?
8:51
Heidi: Yeah like mid 2000s.
8:52
Emily: But it has a phonics emphasis and the first two
8:55
seasons are really good.
8:56
Heidi: Yeah after that I think it was the financial crisis so
8:59
they lost some of their funding and the quality does go down.
9:02
You lose some of the puppets, and that's what we're here for.
9:05
But those first seasons are so good. I used to feel guilty
9:09
about showing a video every week because I also got the messaging
9:13
that this was not actual teaching. But then one day, a
9:16
student used a word that was unusual for a second grader, and
9:20
they were able to tell me that they learned that word from the
9:22
Between the Lions video we'd watched last week. So I stopped
9:25
feeling guilty after that.
9:26
Emily: Yeah, they're learning. We forget that you don't have to
9:29
be actively teaching for students to be learning. And
9:33
besides educational videos, you could have students
9:35
independently working at learning centers, finishing a
9:38
review packet, doing a research project or even silently
9:41
reading.
9:42
Heidi: Yeah. If you have to skip pulling small groups for a
9:45
little bit, that's okay. They'll be fine, and all of those
9:48
activities are beneficial for students all on their own. But
9:52
if a midday reset really won't fit your schedule, just get
9:55
creative. If you still have brain power on Friday afternoon,
9:59
that really is a natural place for reset.
10:02
Emily: Right. And think how awesome it would be to walk out
10:04
the door Friday, knowing everything's ready for Monday.
10:07
Heidi: But you aren't limited to Fridays. You could just as
10:10
easily reset on Tuesday afternoons instead.
10:13
Emily: Yeah, or make Wednesdays your common early day if you're
10:16
more of a morning person. We can't relate to that, but good
10:19
for you. Just any chunk of time that gives you the space to take
10:24
stock of things right now is perfect.
10:27
Heidi: And technically, you don't even need one big block of
10:30
time. You could spread it out and reset one part of your
10:33
schedule each day. So maybe on Mondays you reset math for the
10:36
upcoming week, Tuesdays for literacy, and so on.
10:39
Emily: Prepping in steps like this is easier to schedule, but
10:42
the trade-off is flexibility. If you lose one of your prep
10:45
windows because you're out sick or you're stuck in a meeting,
10:48
you have to find time to reset what needed to be done today as
10:52
well as the next day's reset.
10:54
Heidi: And then pretty soon you've got a whole clown car of
10:56
resets that you need to find time for. But you know, if that
11:00
setup works best for you. You can definitely find ways to make
11:03
it work. Ultimately, the when matters a lot less than the how
11:08
often. Find what actually fits your schedule and then protect
11:11
that time.
11:13
Emily: Once you've scheduled your reset, it's time to figure
11:15
out how to spend those minutes.
11:18
Heidi: And again, here, do what's most useful for you. But
11:21
if you do want some structure so that you are not wasting that
11:24
time figuring out where to start, we've got a framework.
11:28
And for our reset, we are going to R E S E T.
11:34
Emily: Yes, an acronym our favorite. So that stands for
11:37
round up, examine, sort, execute, tidy. The five steps
11:42
that will help you look back at where you've been, look ahead at
11:46
what's coming, and decide what matters. Then you can put the
11:48
pieces in place and leave things ready for next week.
11:51
Heidi: So let's take a deeper look at each step, starting with
11:52
Emily: Yeah, get your lasso. So start by writing down every task
11:54
R, roundup. By the end of the week, your tasks are like a herd
11:58
of cattle wandering the prairie, and before you can do anything
12:02
that's floating around in your head, and don't forget the odds
12:02
with any of them, you got to round them up.
12:11
and ends. Find the note you wrote on the back of a kid's
12:13
spelling test. Check the email your team leader just sent.
12:17
Think of it like getting all the cows into the corral.
12:22
Heidi: We're such cowgirls.
12:23
Emily: I know.
12:25
Heidi: Then look back at your week. What didn't get done, and
12:29
what needs to carry over? And is there anything you need to
12:31
follow up on?
12:32
Emily: Next, look around the room. What's on your desk?
12:36
What's piling up on the counter? Are there any stray tasks hiding
12:39
in there? If so, break out your lasso and round them up.
12:43
Heidi: Isn't it such a relief to know that you're not about to be
12:46
ambushed by something you forgot about? You can turn off the
12:49
worry and then just trust that your list will keep you on
12:51
track.
12:52
Emily: After the roundup, the next step is to examine. Go
12:56
ahead and pull up next week's calendar and know anything out
12:59
of the ordinary that requires something from you.
13:02
Heidi: This step is essential. Back when I was teaching second
13:05
grade, I would beat myself up over and over about poor time
13:09
management. Why couldn't I keep all my curriculum on track? How
13:13
are we always falling behind? So one year, I started tracking how
13:17
many weeks had five uninterrupted days.
13:20
Emily: And what did you discover?
13:22
Heidi: Well, it was pretty shocking. I can't remember
13:26
exactly, but it was something like there were five weeks with
13:28
no schedule adjustments.
13:30
Emily: Oh my god!
13:30
Heidi: And most of those weeks landed at the start of the
13:33
school year before anyone has even settles into routine. So I
13:36
don't even think we can count those as routine weeks.
13:39
Emily: So it's basically a guarantee that something is
13:42
headed your way next week: assemblies, meetings, early
13:46
release, fire drills, observations, red ribbon week,
13:49
picture day testing, all the things.
13:51
Heidi: And probably so much more. But you can't plan for
13:55
what you don't know about. So flag anything unusual, and then
13:58
figure out what it requires from you. Is it going to eat into
14:01
your class time? Do you need to send home reminders? Do you need
14:05
to buy a costume?
14:07
Emily: So write all of that down before a visit from the district
14:10
catches you by surprise. And now you've collected all the stray
14:14
tasks from last week and all the upcoming tasks for this week.
14:18
That means your third step is to sort.
14:21
Heidi: This is where you decide what deserves your attention and
14:24
when. Everything goes into one of four groups. Urgent tasks are
14:29
do now. Anything that has to get done but isn't as pressing is a
14:33
do later task.
14:35
Emily: But the key is making sure you have a way to keep
14:37
those do later tasks front and center because it's really easy
14:40
to feel like you've taken care of them just because you wrote
14:42
them down. You put them on the do later list, isn't it done?
14:45
Heidi: Yeah, it should be covered. And okay, I know this
14:48
is not the same thing, but I do this every year with my
14:51
Christmas cards. Like every year, I order super early. In
14:55
fact, I already have my cards for this year, so you know, gold
14:59
star to me. But once I've ordered them, my brain seems to
15:04
think that the job is done, and then it just forgets that you
15:08
know everything needs to be stuffed in an envelope and
15:10
actually mailed to people.
15:12
Emily: Yeah, it's such an easy trap to fall into. So if you're
15:15
kicking something down the road, give it a place to go. Write it
15:18
on your calendar or set a reminder on your phone to come
15:20
back to it before it's due.
15:22
Heidi: Okay, that's a good prompt. I need to put a reminder
15:24
in my phone to deal with this in November.
15:27
Emily: I've started making my reminders in my phone my
15:30
favorite app because I just accepted I can't remember
15:34
anything. I need to be reminded.
15:36
Heidi: Honest, I almost made that my extra credit for today,
15:40
as the reminders.Okay, besides your due now and your due later
15:46
categories, you have delegate. Maybe this is something that you
15:50
could hand off to a teammate, or even better, maybe it's
15:53
something the kids can help take care of.
15:55
Emily: And then we have the best category: drop it. If something
15:59
doesn't absolutely need to happen, or if it's not directly
16:03
benefiting students, it's not worth your time.
16:05
Heidi: I love this category so much because you get the
16:08
satisfaction of crossing something off your list without
16:11
actually having to do any work.
16:13
Emily: That's like finding 20 bucks in your coat pocket.
16:16
Heidi: I love that.
16:17
Emily: Then take a look at your sorted tasks and identify what
16:20
matters most. Which three tasks would make the biggest
16:23
difference for your students or your well-being?
16:26
Heidi: Those are the tasks you need to prioritize. Add them to
16:29
your schedule first. Dedicate time and energy to managing
16:32
them, and then you can work in the less important obligations.
16:36
Emily: Okay, so far in our reset, we've rounded up,
16:39
examined, and sorted. Those are all thinking tasks. Now it's
16:43
time for some action with our second E, execute. This is where
16:46
you make the copies and find the slides and the books and
16:49
everything else, and make sure it's ready to go.
16:52
Heidi: And this is where having the whole week's list already in
16:55
front of you pays off, because now you can batch prep. So
16:59
instead of making copies every day, you can copy what you need
17:02
for the week in one trip.
17:04
Emily: Yeah, assuming your coworkers won't mind you hogging
17:07
the copier for 30 minutes, then batching really is a time saver.
17:12
Every time you switch between different kinds of tasks, you
17:15
lose a little time just reorienting yourself. Batching
17:18
by type, copies with copies, emails with emails, really cuts
17:23
that lost time out.
17:25
Heidi: But batching only gets you so far if you don't know how
17:28
to get yourself moving. So, what do you personally need to be
17:32
successful? Some people need to eat the frog first or knock out
17:36
the task that they're dreading most, so that it stops looming
17:40
over the rest of the day.
17:41
Emily: But some people do better starting with an easy win and
17:44
then letting that momentum carry them into the harder stuff. So
17:48
there's no best solution here; just the one that gets you
17:51
moving.
17:52
Heidi: Yes, set yourself up to succeed, however that looks for
17:55
you. And then once the doing's done, we only have the letter T
18:00
left, so that means it's time to tidy.
18:03
Emily: Do what you can to organize your physical space,
18:05
even if that means putting all the loose papers in one stack
18:08
instead of sorting them right now.
18:10
Heidi: And then don't forget everyone's least favorite task:
18:13
digital tidy. Close the tabs you don't need. Clear your inbox. Do
18:17
what you can to reduce friction for the teacher who walks into
18:20
that room next week, which also happens to be you.
18:24
Emily: When you're tired, it's so easy to tell yourself that
18:26
you'll just deal with it later. But don't fall for that trick.
18:29
Later is exactly when you'll be annoyed that you didn't just
18:32
finish it.
18:33
Heidi: I know I have mentioned this before, but Sam over at
18:36
Engineer Does Education posted about this a while back, and it
18:39
has really stuck with me, so she showed the wreck of her
18:43
classroom at the end of the first week of school, and she
18:45
said she was cleaning it up before she left because, quote,
18:49
that's not how Friday Sam is going to treat Monday Sam.
18:53
Emily: Yeah, that's such a compassionate way to look at the
18:55
clutter problem. Even if you're tired and annoyed right now,
18:58
deal with at least some of it so the problem doesn't compound
19:02
later.
19:03
Heidi: So that is the framework for our weekly reset: round up,
19:07
examine, sort, execute, and tidy. Hopefully, this is
19:11
happening at a predictable time every week, but that doesn't
19:14
mean that there's no room for flexibility. If you've got the
19:18
time and energy, go ahead and do the full thing, and if you
19:20
don't, you can adapt.
19:22
Emily: Okay, so let's go back to that Monday morning we started
19:24
with. You walk into your classroom, and all those
19:27
unfinished things from the previous week come rushing back.
19:30
Except this time, let's back up a few days.
19:33
Heidi: Yeah, it's Friday afternoon, but instead of just
19:36
closing your computer and hoping you'll remember everything,
19:39
you've taken a little time for your weekly reset. Are you
19:42
completely caught up? No, but here's what's different: you're
19:46
not starting Monday carrying all of last week's work debt.
19:50
Emily: That's really what a weekly reset is about. You don't
19:52
have to finish everything before you can leave the week behind.
19:55
You just need to know what you're leaving unfinished, what
19:58
happens to it next, and what you can do now to make Monday a
20:01
little easier.
20:02
Heidi: And that's a pretty good way to end a school week. So if
20:05
this conversation was helpful, we would love to have you in the
20:08
Teacher Approved Club. We dig into this kind of thing every
20:11
month, the stuff that actually makes your week lighter, not
20:14
just longer to-do lists.
20:16
Emily: Now for our Teacher Approved Tip of the Week, where
20:18
we share an actionable tip to help you elevate what matters
20:21
and simplify the rest. This week's teacher approved tip is
20:25
build yourself a closing ritual for Friday afternoons. Okay,
20:28
tell us about Heidi.
20:29
Heidi: Well, even if your weekly reset doesn't happen on Friday,
20:33
it still helps to have a small ritual that signals that the
20:36
work week is over, and now you can enjoy your downtime. Because
20:40
otherwise, you are leaving the door open for weekends spiraling
20:43
about what's not getting done.
20:45
Emily: So when we say ritual, we definitely don't mean anything
20:47
elaborate. Your ritual might include physically closing down
20:51
your workspace or creating a defined stopping point, like I'm
20:55
done with the week once I prep my welcome slides for Monday.
20:58
Heidi: And your transition ritual could even happen after
21:01
you left the classroom. Maybe you save a particular podcast
21:05
for the Friday drive home, or stop and treat yourself to a
21:07
coffee from your favorite place.
21:09
Emily: The specific ritual doesn't matter nearly as much as
21:12
having a reliable signal that now you're off duty. When you
21:16
repeat that same cue regularly, it creates an automatic
21:19
connection between the activity and the way you want to feel.
21:23
Heidi: So to wrap up the show, we are sharing what we're giving
21:25
extra credit to. Emily, what gets your extra credit this
21:27
week?
21:28
Emily: I'm giving extra credit to the Thera Ice Migraine Relief
21:32
Cap. So it's basically like a gel ice pack that's designed to
21:36
go on your head, but it's super comfortable. It has really good
21:40
reviews. It's just it's stretchy, so you don't have like
21:43
Velcro you're trying to get on there. It's made to keep the
21:47
cold off of your ears, so your ears don't get cold. So it just
21:51
fits nicely around your face, and so it's nice for headaches
21:56
for sure. But I think also for like allergies or when your
22:01
sinuses hurt, or your eyes are irritated and puffy, like any of
22:04
those, it's so soothing, and it just feels really nice. It's
22:08
well, it's well made.
22:09
Heidi: It probably feel really nice when you come in after on a
22:12
hot day and you're all sweaty and feel like you're gonna melt.
22:17
Emily: All right, what are you giving extra credit to, Heidi?
22:19
Heidi: Well, I'm giving extra credit to the Muse Apothecary
22:23
Pillow Ritual Calming Pillow Mist.
22:25
Emily: Okay, tell me.
22:27
Heidi: And I specifically got the Cara Orange Fig and
22:30
Blackberry Vanilla Scent.
22:31
Emily: Oh, that sounds amazing!
22:32
Heidi: It really does smell so good, but it's not like an
22:35
overwhelming fake perfumy smell that gives you a headache that
22:40
you would need an ice cap for. And going back to our tip about
22:43
having a transition ritual, I'm trying to make bedtime a lot
22:47
more ritualized so I can signal to my brain that it's time to
22:51
shut down.
22:52
Emily: Yeah, it's hard for us night owls.
22:54
Heidi: Yeah, so I was hoping that this scent could be another
22:58
cue I could add to just help me transition for the rest of the
23:01
day, and I really do like the scent. Now I'm like, oh, do I
23:03
need a new scent for each season?
23:06
Emily: But then you're going to be messing up your connection in
23:08
your brain and that smell.
23:10
Heidi: That is true.
23:11
Emily: But you could probably do a different smell for a
23:13
different connection.
23:14
Heidi: That's that's true. And I do not spray this on my pillow
23:17
because that would definitely drive me nuts at about two in
23:20
the morning.
23:21
Emily: I was wondering about that because I was like,
23:22
"There's no way she's spraying smell on her bed."
23:25
Heidi: So I do it more of as a room spray, like in my bedroom
23:27
and the bathroom as I'm getting ready, and it, I haven't noticed
23:31
it lingering, so it's just like a little scent cue.
23:34
Heidi: Yes, that's a really powerful stimulus for your
23:34
Emily: That's perfect. And I really was thinking that when we
23:35
brain. So something to think about, everyone.
23:36
were talking about the Friday ritual, I was like, Oh, if you
23:37
Emily: Yeah, we'll link to both of those in the show notes.
23:39
had something in your car that had a certain smell and you
23:42
opened it up on Fridays, like some little air freshener you
23:45
only open on Fridays, or something like that. That would
23:47
be a good way to signal like it's weekend time.
23:57
Heidi: And that's it for today's episode. Remember, you don't
24:00
have to finish everything before you are allowed to leave the
24:02
week behind. You just need a system for managing what's left
24:06
undone.
24:09
We hope you enjoyed this episode of Teacher Approved. I'm Heidi.
24:13
Emily: And I'm Emily. Thank you for listening. Be sure to follow
24:16
or subscribe in your podcast app so that you never miss an
24:18
episode.
24:19
Heidi: You can connect with us and other teachers in the
24:22
Teacher Approved Facebook group. We'll see you here next week.
24:25
Bye for now.
24:26
Emily: Bye.