Relieve Back-to-School Stress with the Urgency Matrix [#143] Wife Teacher Mommy

Click below to listen to episode 143, Relieve Back To School Stress with the Urgency Matrix:

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Key themes from Relieve Back-to-School Stress with the Urgency Matrix [#143]:

The importance of prioritization for time management
Identifying and delegating non-urgent tasks.
Be flexible in planning by adjusting expectations and simplifying tasks.

It’s that time of year when the hustle and bustle of back-to-school season hits like a whirlwind, and it can feel like you’re juggling a million things at once. But don’t worry—we’ve got this! Whether you’re gearing up for a classroom full of eager faces, setting up your homeschooling groove, or prepping as an administrator, there’s a way to manage all that stress. Today, I’m breaking down the magic of the Urgency Matrix and sharing some killer time management tips to help you conquer the chaos. Let’s dive in and make this school year the best one yet!

Conquer Back to School Stress: The Urgency Matrix and Effective Time Management

When life gets crazy busy—especially during back-to-school season—it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the never-ending to-do list. But with the right tools in your arsenal, you can turn that chaos into calm. Enter the **Urgency Matrix**, your new best friend for tackling tasks like a pro!

Understanding the Urgency Matrix

The Urgency Matrix is like your personal backstage pass to prioritize like a boss. This nifty tool, made famous by Stephen Covey, helps you sort your tasks into four key quadrants so you know exactly what to tackle first.

Quadrant 1: Urgent and Important

This is where the big stuff lives—the tasks that need your attention, like, yesterday. Think getting ready for that big open house, finalizing your curriculum, or handling those can’t-wait admin duties. These are your headliner acts, so they need to be front and center on your schedule.

Quadrant 2: Not Urgent but Important

These tasks are the unsung heroes of your long-term success. They might not scream for your attention right now, but they’re crucial for your future. Carve out some time for things like self-care, professional development, or quality family moments. By putting these on your calendar, you’re investing in a better you—and a smoother school year!

Quadrant 3: Urgent but Not Important

These are the things that pop up out of nowhere and try to steal your spotlight but don’t really move the needle. It’s time to delegate or simplify! Maybe that’s ordering groceries online or streamlining your paperwork. The less time you spend on these, the more you can focus on what really matters.

Quadrant 4: Not Urgent and Not Important

Let’s be real—these tasks are just taking up space in your mental playlist. They don’t help you reach your goals, and they definitely don’t need to be on your to-do list. It’s okay to say goodbye to them and free up your time for what truly counts.

Simplifying the Back-to-School Experience

Using the Urgency Matrix can be a game-changer as you prepare for back to school. By focusing on what’s truly important and letting go of the rest, you’re clearing the stage for what really matters—whether that’s nailing your lesson plans or enjoying a peaceful night with your family.

Delegating and Simplifying Tasks

Don’t be afraid to hand off those urgent-but-not-important tasks. Delegation isn’t just for CEOs—it’s for anyone who wants to lighten the load! Look for ways to delegate at work and home, and watch how much easier life becomes. And remember, delegating doesn’t mean losing control; it means sharing the spotlight so you can shine even brighter.

Embracing Imperfection

Here’s the deal: Perfection is overrated. When it comes to back-to-school prep, “good enough” is sometimes exactly what you need. It’s okay if everything isn’t picture-perfect—what’s important is that you’re managing your time in a way that leaves you feeling balanced and ready to take on the year ahead.

The Urgency Matrix is your backstage pass to a smoother, more manageable back-to-school season. By sorting tasks based on urgency and importance, you can streamline your workflow, focus on what really matters, and leave room for a little fun along the way. So as you gear up for the new school year, let’s prioritize with intention, delegate like a pro, and embrace the beauty of imperfection. You’ve got this! Now, let’s make this school year rock!

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Read the transcript for #143 Relieve Back To School Stress with the Urgency Matrix:

How long is your back to school to do list? Does just thinking of how much you have to do make you wanna pull your hair out? Let’s relieve some of that stress by getting clarity on what actually needs to be done and what doesn’t. We’re diving into the urgency matrix today on episode 143 of educate and rejuvenate, the podcast. Let’s dive in. Welcome to educate and rejuvenate, the podcast to help you revitalize your teaching, renew your spirit, and reignite your passion for life. I’m your host, Kelsey Sorensen, a former teacher, current homeschool mom, published author, and certified life coach. Whether you are a teacher in a traditional classroom, homeschool from your kitchen table, or anywhere in between, I am on a mission to help you not only survive as an educator, but thrive. Get ready to up level your skills with incredible insights from guest experts and discover the missing piece, rejuvenating yourself. Are you ready to both educate and rejuvenate? Let’s go.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:01:06 – 00:01:39

I am back to recording here on the podcast again today. So excited. I’ll be recording this week and next week’s episode, which are really going to go together. So make sure that if you’re tuning in this week, that you stay tuned for next week. Or if you’re just popping in, make sure you listen to both episodes because they’re really going to tie in well together. So what we’re gonna be talking about today. So if you’re listening to this as this episode comes out, most of you are going back to school. Right? Now, whether that’s getting back into your classroom, getting set up to teach online, getting curriculum set up for homeschooling.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:01:39 – 00:02:09

Hello. If that’s you, that’s also me. Or if you’re walking into your office as an admin, there’s a lot that comes up when we’re prepping for a new school year. That’s why 2 weeks ago, we did that guided practice for processing your emotions. So if you’re feeling a lot of emotion, a lot of stress, make sure to save that episode and come back to it whenever you need it. The one I did 2 weeks ago. It just says a guided practice for processing your emotions. It actually shot up to one of our top episodes recently within the 1st few days.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:02:10 – 00:02:30

So you’re gonna going to wanna check it out. We’ve had some great reviews on it. Teletub here on Apple Podcasts said, I’m definitely going to play this again. Regulating emotions and nervous system is something we don’t do as often as we need to. Hopefully, more teachers find this podcast. I agree, Teletub. So hopefully, all of you who are listening, share with your friends. That episode was very popular.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:02:30 – 00:03:13

If you missed it, make sure to go back and listen to it. If you listened to it, probably go back and listen to it again because I feel like we could all process our emotions on a regular basis. And you could even add that one to your weekly rotation. We are back to just one episode per week, but again, we have this whole archive of episodes that you can always refer back to. Now, so we did that guided practice for processing emotions, and now, today, we’re getting into the more tactical. Like, what do we actually do with all that stuff you have to do? Like, yes, let’s feel our emotions, let’s process it, let’s get into a clearer head space, and then what do we do when we get into that clearer head space? So we’re going to talk about how to use a tool that I call the urgency matrix. It was actually penned by Stephen Covey. And we talked about it a little bit at our during our self love challenge on the podcast too.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:03:13 – 00:03:57

We’re we’re going to dive into it, especially how it ties into back to school today. Before we dive in, I have just a couple of announcements that I’m really excited to share with you here on the podcast today. So first off, I was invited back to the Teach Your Heart Out cruise for 2025. And I went this past year for the 2024 cruise where we went to Cozumel, and it was so much fun. And the people there, oh my goodness. And getting to see some of the people who I’ve been connecting with online in person, it was just so wonderful, and I cannot wait to do it again. And I hope some more of you will come and join us this time because it was such a great time. I mean, honestly, a bunch of teachers on a boat, and they did such a good job with it because they kinda front load the PD the day before you go on the cruise.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:03:57 – 00:04:27

And then, the amount you do on the cruise is, like, very, like, manageable because, of course, when you’re on a cruise, you’re gonna wanna just enjoy as well. And they do such a great job at balancing that. With that educate and rejuvenate, I feel like what they do at teach your heart out with these cruises is really in alignment with what we’re doing here. So I’m so thrilled to be back at the Teach Your Heart Out cruise for next year. It’s going to the Bahamas. We’re going to be on a really cool ship. It is the Utopia of the Seas. It’s pretty new.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:04:27 – 00:04:45

It’s a Royal Caribbean ship. Like, I mean, just Google Utopia of the Seas, and you’ll be like, oh, my gosh. This looks like so much fun. It’s going to be next summer. So you’ll want to arrive on June 28th. We’ll have that full day of PD on 29th. They always get such incredible speakers. And the cruise will be June 30th to July 4th, leaving from Orlando.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:04:45 – 00:05:09

So that first day is in Orlando. We leave from the Orlando port. We go to the Bahamas. There’s going to be a school visit in the Bahamas. It’s going to be beautiful. It’s going to be so much fun. And we’re going to have an educate and rejuvenate party on the boat with our community, where we’ll get to meet up and just have a lot of fun. And, honestly, I’ll probably get feedback from those of you who sign up to see what we wanna do with that because I could do, like, a short little something, or we could just get together.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:05:09 – 00:05:38

I don’t know. It’s gonna be a great time. I can’t wait to party on a boat with those of you who decide to join us. So I will be emailing more info about that soon. We’ll also put the link in the show notes if we have it by the time this episode airs, and I’ll be doing a live soon to go over it and share more and answer questions. But I just wanna let all of you on the podcast here know first. Okay. The next thing is, we’ve been talking a lot about our planners this summer and how they were free if you joined us in the educate and rejuvenate club on the quarterly, annual, or, lifetime plans.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:05:38 – 00:06:23

We were sending those out. And at the time, we were saying we only had them available when you joined us in the membership. But we realize now that the reason we had stopped selling it, I mean, I’m not gonna get into all of that, but had to do with, like, our website and just taxes and everything there. But we realized if we sell them on Etsy, we are able to just sell them directly to you as well. So we still have that as an option. So if you’ve been if you saw our planners and you’re like, oh, I really wanted one of those, but for whatever reason, it wasn’t the time for you to join us in the club, those are available on Etsy now, so be sure to check them out. And then the final announcement is that next month, less than a month from today, the educate and rejuvenate book will be released. And I am so thrilled for this book.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:06:23 – 00:07:08

Like, it’s really, like, honestly takes everything that I teach on this podcast, everything that I teach to our members in the club, and puts it into one guidebook that is really gonna be a reference for you and that you can refer to anytime. And it’s really going to give you so much clarity. One of our members who’s been in the club active, coming to almost all the calls for years, said that reading this book really gave her even more clarity behind every single call she’d done in the club this year. So if you’ve never even been in the club, you’ve never experienced coaching, this book is a great way to get started. And, honestly, I didn’t hold back. I gave everything I could in this book and book format because I want all teachers to be able to not only educate, but also rejuvenate. And that’s why this book, it’s called Educate Rejuvenate. It’s a 3 step framework to revitalize your teaching, renew your spirit, and reignite your passion for life.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:07:08 – 00:07:38

Now if you’re listening before it comes out, stay tuned because we’re going to have awesome preorder bonuses. If you preorder it or if you purchase during launch week, week, you’ll get bonuses. Such a great time. And I’m gonna have some lives and kind of an event, actually, to go along with that book launch. So it’s gonna be a fun time, so make sure you are on our email list. And in fact, either way, if you are or if you aren’t, you’re going to want to sign up for the book wait list because we will send you the link to chapter 1 and the intro of the book. So you can read that right away. It can It can kinda give you a taste of what to expect with the book.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:07:38 – 00:07:58

So go to educate and rejuvenate.com/book to get more info about that. Okay. That was a lot to share. It’s been a minute since I’ve recorded a new episode, and there’s just some really exciting stuff happening. Okay. But, again, let’s get back to all that back to school stress that you’re feeling right now. Okay. So in back to school, you probably experienced, like, no.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:07:58 – 00:08:07

You have this to do list. It’s probably your running to do list, and you may or may not have it written down. It might be in your head just driving you crazy. Right? Like, all these things. I need to do this. I need to do that. I need to do that. Like, all the things.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:08:07 – 00:08:44

And there always is a lot more to do with back to school time. It’s just the nature of it, like getting ready for a new classroom for all the kids to come in, getting curriculum together, figuring out different ways you want to teach, and starting to lesson plan for the year, what you wanna keep from last year, what you wanna change, like, so much going on. And with that, you might have one plan for your day. You might already have stacked your to do list maybe a little too long, and then something else comes up. Right? Something that feels urgent. Like, oh, this has to happen right now. Like, let’s say you’re getting ready for your classroom or whatever, and then your your administrator comes in and was like, oh, did you remember we have this PD today? And you’re like, wait. I forgot about that.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:08:44 – 00:09:20

Like, so that’s urgent. I gotta go to that now. Right? Or it could be, like, if you’re homeschooling, it could be, like, you know, you’re getting stuff together, and then all of a sudden, your child falls down and breaks their arm or something. And again, these urgent things pop up. Right? All the time, we have things that pop up in our lives that we weren’t expecting in addition to all the things we have on our list. Right? And things tend to come up a lot of times at back to school, like just little urgent fires that pop up. Now I want to share a a quote, and I’m pretty sure I shared these during the self love challenge, but I think it’s really good to hear these again. And these were from Eisenhower.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:09:20 – 00:09:55

Right? He was a president, and we can imagine that that is a pretty, busy job. Right? And here’s what he had to say. He had said, who can define for us with accuracy the difference between the short and long term? Especially whenever our affairs seem to be in crisis, we are almost compelled to give our first attention to that urgent present rather than to the important future. Right? So when those things pop up, it’s like, oop, squirrel. We’re doing that now. We’re forgetting about all this right here. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Sometimes, like I mentioned, for example, if your child does fall down and break their arm, obviously, we’re going to take care of that first.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:09:55 – 00:10:28

Or Or if you have a PD that’s required for your job, obviously, you’re going to go to that. The problem is when urgent things are popping up so much that we and we have allowed room for that in our schedule that it makes it so other important things in our life aren’t getting done. And if we have too many things cluttering that list that maybe don’t need to be there in the place. So that is really what we need to analyze. Now another thing he said, Eisenhower, was that I have 2 kinds of problems, the urgent and the important. The urgent are never important, and the important are never urgent. So we have urgent and we have important. Right? Urgent means timely.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:10:28 – 00:10:56

It needs to be happening right away. And important means it’s, like, very important, right, for our long term goals. Like, 3 years from now, it’s going to matter that I did this thing. Right? Or it’s going to matter to the kids, or it’s going just in general, it’s going to matter that this got done. And it can be, like, maybe your workout one day isn’t that important. For example, if you skip a workout one day, like, it’s okay. You could could get back on the next day. But if you’re consistently not doing that important thing, then that progress isn’t going to be made.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:10:56 – 00:11:36

That happened when I was writing my book too, like I’ve shared here on the podcast before. I had to actually, for a while, do replay episodes here on the podcast, which wasn’t ideal. Like, now I’m trying to get more new content out to all of you more often. But I needed to give myself creative time and energy to write the book, which is, again, I cannot wait for you to get your hands on this book. I should be getting my physical copy in the mail next week. I am so psyched. But it’s really knowing what is the most important to us and making sure that it doesn’t slide through the cracks. So Stephen Covey of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People kind of took this statement or, like, the idea behind things that are urgent and things that are important and put them into a matrix.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:11:36 – 00:11:58

Now if you’re watching on YouTube, maybe we can put on the screen here so you can see it, if my team member Megan is able to do that. But either way, we will put an image of it in the show notes. I’m going to describe it right now. So basically, you kind of imagine urgent and important on a little matrix. Then there’s 4 squares. Right? So we have the urgent and important. And that is something that we want to do right away. We wanna make sure that we get it done.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:11:58 – 00:12:26

So for example, let’s say that you have a back to school night or an open house coming up. You need to do that. Right? You need to take care of preparing for that open house. So maybe you even want to do some things like put together a fun scavenger hunt. Maybe you want to listen to the episode here on educate and rejuvenate the podcast about how to rock your open house or back to school night. Maybe you want to put some things together. Now, that is urgent and important. Right? So it’s like, okay, we need to do this.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:12:26 – 00:12:54

It actually has a set date that it needs to be done by, so we’re gonna make sure that we do that. We’re gonna do it right away or schedule it very soon. Right next to that is where it’s not urgent, but it’s important. Right? And that might be something that it doesn’t need to be done today for back to school or for whatever. It can be again, and we talk about both your personal life and teaching here. So if I’m going back to I mean, I and I’ve started a new workout routine, so it’s really popping up in my mind a lot. But, for example, working out. Right? Not urgent, but it’s important.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:12:55 – 00:13:27

And so that’s why I wanna schedule a time to make sure it happens. So every day, either at 6:30 or 8:30, I’m at my new gym, making sure I get my workout in, and that’s on top of the yoga that I’m doing too. And I have a lot of other things going on, right? I’m homeschooling my kids, I’m running my company, wanna just be with my family. So I have to be very intentional on my schedule, and that’s where I make sure to schedule a time to make sure it happens. Because otherwise, with everything else, it would not be happening. Now underneath those 2, so imagine there’s like the urgent and the important on the matrix. Underneath it, we have urgent but not important. So we have not important now.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:13:28 – 00:13:46

And this is where we want to see where we can delegate. If it’s like this does need to happen and it’s kind of urgent, but it’s not, like, super important. It’s not gonna help me long term. For example, like, grocery shopping is one I often like to talk about because we need to have food on the table. Right? I need to eat. My husband needs to eat. My kids need to eat. So we need to make sure we have food.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:13:46 – 00:14:16

And, I mean, obviously, my husband and I, we tag team most of that stuff. But one of us, at least, needs to make sure that we have food, and that is an urgent thing. Now we could, you know, lug up all our kids and go to the grocery store which is going to take longer. It’s going to cost more because of all the things they want. We say no we say no to a lot of stuff. But you know how it is if you have kids. Right? Again, one way we delegate that is by just doing a Walmart delivery order. And, yeah, there’s, like, a small fee for it, but we actually save a lot more doing that.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:14:16 – 00:14:44

And we save so much time, which is also money. Right? Time is money. And energy. Right? Like, saving that energy for something that’s more important. So we get those groceries delivered, and then that’s something we could delegate. And, actually, next episode is where I’m gonna talk about more how you can delegate as a teacher. Because one thing, like, for me as an example, as a business owner now with Educate in Rejuvenate, I do a lot of delegation to my team. Right? I have people who I’ve hired to help me do my job.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:14:44 – 00:15:23

But as a teacher, you’re not really going to go out and hire your own assistant. You might be like, oh, I would love to have an assistant. Like, you might go to your admin and try to get that, but you may or may not get it. Right? So what are some ways that you can delegate? Or maybe you’re a homeschool school parent, and you’re like, I can’t afford to hire a tutor or whatever. What are some ways to get delegate that aren’t just hiring somebody to do things for you? So we’re going to be talking all about how to delegate more this school year next week. So make sure to stay tuned for that episode. And then the final thing on the matrix is not urgent and not important. So if something is not urgent, it’s not super timely, and it’s not important for long term goals, chances are you have things on your list that are like that.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:15:23 – 00:16:05

They’re just things that your brain is telling you that you have to do. But maybe because you think somebody else might expect it, maybe because you think it would be nice, or just because you kind of want to, but it’s really not important and it’s causing you extra stress. Like, if you want to and it’s gonna be fun, then sure, keep it. But if you want to and it’s having this long list is making me stressed out, so maybe I need to save that for another time. The other thing that I don’t think I’ve mentioned yet when we’ve talked about the urgency matrix is I think that within this category, it can be a category within a category. So let me explain. So for like back to school night that I was talking about, you need to do that, right? You need to prep, you need to have your open house ready, but there might be things within that that you’re telling yourself you have to do. Even maybe I mentioned like, okay, scavenger hunt, that would be so fun.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:16:05 – 00:16:50

And I mentioned that under like, oh, yeah, we need to do that. There are things you wanna do. But if you’re feeling super overwhelmed, you can ask yourself, do I need to do a scavenger hunt? Or what are things, like, are there decorations I’m telling myself I need to have that maybe I don’t? Or do I think all of these things, like my classroom needs to be completely perfect before it happens and maybe it doesn’t? Right? So, yes, it’s happening. Yes, there are urgent parts, but what parts of the prep or what parts of it am I telling myself I have to do that I don’t have to? This can kinda be an example of all or nothing thinking. Like, you might think and, again, I’m using back to school night as an example, but it could be really anything in your life or parent teacher conferences or it could be your homeschool co op or whatever it might be. But you might be telling yourself it has to be all this way. It has to be all perfect to do it. Like, all or nothing.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:16:50 – 00:17:24

Right? Like, it’s either not happening or if since it is happening, I have to do everything to make it absolutely perfect. And that’s not true. So in this category, I don’t just think of, like, what can you completely delete off your list that cross it off altogether, but how can you simplify what’s already on your list? How can you make b minus work work for you? Like and that’s one thing we talk about a lot in coaching. Like, I think a lot of us, especially as teachers, we want everything to be a plus work. We want it to be amazing all the time. But the thing is, it can’t always be. We can’t put our 100% into absolutely everything. We have to choose what we put that 100% into.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:17:24 – 00:18:20

Another example of this is, again, when I was doing our educate and rejuvenate event recently, just a couple weeks ago, and I was on a live and I was sharing our planner actually. The one I just mentioned that we have now have for sale on Etsy. And I in my slides, I had it switched to a screen where it went full screen and showed me on camera instead of just my slides so I could actually flip through the planner. Problem is I’ve been kind of refiguring out my layout with my computers, and so my laptop is on the other side of the room while I have these other monitors pulled up. I’m trying to you might have noticed the sound on the podcast is now a little better and the video on YouTube were kind of for a while, it was figuring things some out in my office. But what happened was it connected to my laptop camera instead of the camera facing me. And so I showed everybody, 100 of teachers on this call, my super messy closet. That is what I showed to everyone when I was trying to show them how to have an organized life in their planner.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:18:20 – 00:18:46

I showed them my messy closet, And I could have freaked out about that. Right? I could have been, like, oh, my gosh. I’m a life coach. They shouldn’t have seen that. They weren’t supposed to see that. The reason why I hadn’t cleaned it out is because, again, it was not urgent. It was not important to me right now. What was important to me right now was, again, actually getting those slides together, actually putting this event together, getting things together to homeschool my kids this year, my workout routine I’m doing, time with my husband and my marriage, and everything else.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:18:46 – 00:19:10

Cleaning up that closet, not important to me. So So I bought this blue curtain that was closed most of the time, but of course it wasn’t when I accidentally showed my screen to everyone. So I totally laughed it off. And the great thing is somebody in the comments was like, that was totally what I needed to see because again, we’re not all perfect. We can’t do everything exactly the way we want to. Like if life could be perfect, yes, I would have that closet cleaned out and do all these things, but I can’t. I can’t do everything. So that closet, total mess.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:19:10 – 00:19:27

I have a blue curtain. It’s totally fine. I’m not having any mind drama about it. Like, that’s just how it is right now. It probably will be for a while. And so there might be things like that, like, does this need to be done? Maybe it doesn’t. And maybe in the perfect world, this thing would be done too. But you know what? We’re not in a perfect world.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:19:27 – 00:20:01

We’re in a world where we’re all human doing the best we can. I just want you to keep that in mind. Again, what’s not urgent and not important? How can you just delete that right off your list? I feel like that is such an important thing to be thinking about at this back to school. Okay. So let’s quickly review that urgency metrics. So we have Again, we’re talking about things that are urgent and important, and urgent means that it needs to be done right away. Important means that it’s, you know, going to help you towards your long term goals or towards the long term wellness of the children you teach or your own children. The first category, the urgency matrix is urgent and important.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:20:01 – 00:20:35

That’s when we do it right away if possible or schedule it really soon because there might be a few things that fall into that category for you. The second category is not urgent and important. This is when we want to schedule a time to make sure it happens because it something that’s really important that but it may not happen if you don’t make the time for it, if you don’t be intentional because it’s not urgent. So that’s where we need to be really mindful. Like, that would be things like your workout routine or reading to your kids before bed every night, things like that. The next category is urgent and not important. So, like, it needs to be done. It needs to be done soon, but it’s not really important for you.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:20:35 – 00:21:04

And this is where you see if you can delegate wherever possible. We’re gonna talk a lot about how to delegate more this school year next week or how you can simplify it for yourself, like maybe with AI. I don’t know. We’ll talk about that some more next week, so stay tuned on the podcast for that. And the 4th category is that not urgent and not important. Again, that’s why I have a freaking messy closet that I could be looking at right now but instead of a beautiful blue curtain that is closed right now that I can look at. Because again, we have to choose what’s important and choose what we actually need to do and what we don’t. Okay.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:21:04 – 00:21:39

So that is all for this week. But again, next week, we’re gonna be talking more about how you can delegate more next school year. And there are also several other episodes you might want to give a listen as well. Like, we have this whole archive of episodes that you can always tune tune back in. I would really recommend that guided practice for processing your emotions. That was just 2 weeks back. So just scroll back 2 weeks of episodes and make sure to check that out. And also, if you want more about what to do with the urgency matrix after you’ve kinda gone through it and creating that intentional schedule, make sure to check out the episode called how to create an intentional schedule and actually stick to it.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:21:39 – 00:22:11

And then I also mentioned an open house one. So if you do have an open house coming up, make sure you’re gonna need to scroll back a minute because it was a I don’t know if it was last back to school or the one before, but it’s called how to rock your back to school night air open house. That episode was really popular when it came out. So, again, there’s so much content here on the podcast. Make sure you check it out. And then I’ll continue having a new episode pop into your feed every week on Tuesdays. We looked at our data and saw that Tuesdays were when more of you were listening than Fridays. We’ve had Tuesday and Friday episodes, and Tuesdays were consistently other than that guided practice one they think came out on a Friday,

Speaker B 00:22:11 – 00:22:12

but I think that was

Kelsey Sorenson 00:22:12 – 00:22:20

just the topic that everybody loved. So every Tuesday, we’ll have a new episode hit your podcast player. You can listen to it whenever it works for you. And again, next week, we’re going

Speaker B 00:22:20 – 00:22:21

to talk more about how

Kelsey Sorenson 00:22:21 – 00:23:05

you can delegate next school year, so stay tuned. And again, if you go back to school between now and when I’m going to talk or see you again, I hope everything goes well. Sending all my love your way, and we’ll chat next week. Thank you for joining me on educate and rejuvenate the podcast today. If you love what you heard in this episode, be sure to hit subscribe so you don’t miss the next one. And if you’re hungry for even more, be sure to check out the book that I wrote. It’s called educate Educate and Rejuvenate, a 3 Step Guide to Revitalize Your Teaching, Renew Your Spirit, and Reignite Your Passion For Life. It takes everything you learn here on the podcast and that I teach our members inside the Educate and Rejuvenate Club into a guidebook you can refer to again and again.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:23:05 – 00:23:36

0:00 – 23:36

One of our early readers said it was like clarity for her brain. Plus, it’s not only a book. With your purchase, you’ll get a full PDF guide with exercises and links to videos and more so that you can not only consume, but apply everything that you learn. If you’re ready to make educate and rejuvenate, not just a podcast you passively listen to, but a lifestyle that you put into action, it’s time to grab your copy on Amazon today or head to educate and rejuvenate.com/book to read the first chapter and the introduction today.

More about Educate & Rejuvenate: The Podcast

Being an educator is beyond a full-time job. Whether you’re a teacher or a homeschool parent, the everyday to-do list is endless. Between lesson planning, grading, meetings, and actually teaching, it probably feels impossible to show up for your students without dropping the ball in other areas of your life.

Educate & Rejuvenate: The Podcast is the show that will bring you the teacher tips, practical strategies, and inspiration that you need to relieve the stress and overwhelm of your day-to-day. Your host, Kelsey Sorenson, is a former teacher and substitute turned homeschool mom. Tune in weekly to hear Kelsey and her guests cheer you on and help you thrive as a wife, teacher, and mommy. Because with a little support and community, you can do it all. For access to every single Wife Teacher Mommy resource, join the club at educateandrejuvenate.com/club.

Join the waitlist for Kelsey's book, Educate & Rejuvenate - A 3-Step Guide to Revitalize Your Teaching, Renew Your Spirit, and Reignite Your Passion for Life! Plus, you'll get immediate access to Chapter 1 as a FREE bonus!

Relieve Back-to-School Stress with the Urgency Matrix [#143]

Click below to listen to episode 143, Relieve Back To School Stress with the Urgency Matrix:

Key themes from Relieve Back-to-School Stress with the Urgency Matrix [#143]:

Conquer Back to School Stress: The Urgency Matrix and Effective Time Management

Understanding the Urgency Matrix

Quadrant 1: Urgent and Important

Quadrant 2: Not Urgent but Important

Quadrant 3: Urgent but Not Important

Quadrant 4: Not Urgent and Not Important

Simplifying the Back-to-School Experience

Delegating and Simplifying Tasks

Embracing Imperfection

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Read the transcript for #143 Relieve Back To School Stress with the Urgency Matrix:

More about Educate & Rejuvenate: The Podcast

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