Protect Your Prep: 5 Ways to Avoid Ambushes, Interruptions, and Procrastination

The prep period. Sigh.

If you are lucky enough to have one, you know how quickly it can become a dumping ground for last-minute meetings, interruptions (welcomed and unwelcomed!), and procrastination.

Before you throw up your hands and give up on getting any substantive work done during the school day, here are five tips to protect your preparation period. All of them require trust, upfront communication, and a little dose of courage -- and only you know your particular school's culture -- but I have seen great success when teachers give these strategies a try.

1. Have Upfront Conversations Around Protecting Work Time

You can do this as a school, a grade or subject team, or with co-teachers. One elementary school in Rhode Island does a whole set of role-plays around teacher interactions at the beginning of the school year. Here's an excerpt from the role-play about "interrupting teacher friends":

This school's entire teaching staff held a proactive conversation to brainstorm actions teachers could take when this situation inevitably occurs (more on those below). If you can't influence your whole school, start with your department or grade level. Better to get ahead now than land in an uncomfortable or unproductive situation in November.

2. Create a Visual Cue

I recently saw an Austin-based middle-school teacher’s humorous yet effective door sign that describes how she is focused on intense planning or grading work. She explains why she hangs it during certain prep periods: "I created this sign to signal when I absolutely have to focus." Her colleagues understand that she isn't anti-collaboration or unavailable -- she is simply trying to get some of those report card comments in before deadline. You could make a funny sign that says, "Mr. or Ms. ________ is grading/planning/phoning families. Please return at ________.” Or hang out a feather boa as a signal. You get the picture here.

3. Develop a Party Line

You may also want a few sentences in your back pocket that you can state simply and neutrally when hit with an interruption. This may feel hard at first, but if you practice, it gets easier with time. No one wants to come across like the stereotypical DMV clerk to his or her colleagues, but all of us want to take a little less work home. I like sentence stems, such as:

• I'm buried in finishing these progress reports. Can I stop by later?
• I'm in a zone with this unit plan. Can you leave it in my mailbox?
• I'd love to help, but I'm cranking over here on this pile of grading. Will you drop me an email?

And if you do get pulled into a conversation, gently remind people that your day is run by a clock -- and children. Stephanie S, a DC-based teacher, says she notes at the beginning of meetings, "I want to remind you that I'll need to leave the meeting by XYZ time to set up for my next class."

4. Discuss the Impact of Lost Prep Time with Your Principal

I get it. You're often hit with last-minute meetings or emergency deadlines. And we all have a responsibility to deal with "known emergencies," such as a last-minute coverage for an absent colleague or an urgent student discipline meeting. It happens, and we do what we need to do in the moment to get the job done. However, if this happens in circumstances that your principal can control, and if you have a positive relationship with your supervisor, initiate a professional conversation, with real data, about how often this happens and the impact it creates. Claire S, another DC-based teacher, offers, "If possible, advocate for standing regular weekly meetings to avoid the sporadic pop-in!" Administrators, too, are often subject to dozens of unforeseen emergencies. Once yours realizes the impact of the constant pull, he or she can often help the entire staff protect their time during the workday.

5. Make a Clear Plan for How to Use Your Prep

You will inevitably swing to the emergency, interruption, or fun distraction if you're not sure what else you'd be doing. Take the tips and templates from my previous post to map out your week at a high level of detail. Sometimes it's best to change your plan and pivot to what "comes up," but it's important to be conscious of the tradeoffs you'll make. And remember, sometimes we have to protect our prep from ourselves! Ever found yourself cyberloafing away a weekday prep, only to spend Saturday afternoon grading papers?

No one is going to gift you a million free prep periods (though wouldn't that be nice?). We just have to use them wisely. Otherwise, that tote bag of work and good intentions is coming home with us.

If all else fails, find a supply closet to hide in!