Routines Beat Heroics

Some teachers spend the day solving the same problems again and again. No pen. No book. Wrong seat. Late to start. Talking during instructions. Nobody knows where to put the work.

By Friday, the teacher deserves a medal. Or a better routine.

Am I repeatedly solving a problem that should have been designed out?

A good routine removes dozens of small decisions. Pupils know how to enter, where to sit, what to collect, how to ask for help and what to do when they finish. That does not make the classroom rigid. It makes it calmer.

Which part of my lesson causes the same friction every day?

If the same irritation keeps returning, the answer may not be greater effort. It may be a clearer system. The Lazy Teacher does not want to become more skilled at firefighting. The Lazy Teacher wants fewer fires.

What would the Lazy Teacher do?

Probably not spend six weeks saying, “How many times do I have to tell you?” Probably once. Then build a routine that means they do not have to say it again. Good routines are not about control. They are about making the right thing easier to do.