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During the pandemic, I started doing puzzles. 🧩
Now, I have another business idea around building the "Netflix of Puzzles" (you do them once and never put them together again. We should be exchanging them!). But for this post, we will focus on puzzles as an analogy for our work.
Every semester, as a nursing instructor, you essentially orchestrate a complex, 2000-piece puzzle. Except that the pieces are moving, and the image is constantly changing. But that adds to the challenge, right? 😉
How can you make this puzzle easier on yourself? That is where a project plan, a checklist of tasks you can repeat every term or semester, can help.
🗃️ What is a project?
A project is a unique deliverable with a definitive beginning and end. The repetitive but constantly changing work we do as educators each semester lends itself well to the concept of a project.
For this article, I want you to think of each theory course, each clinical, and each workload demand as a project.
🪄 Why use a project plan?
With increasing schedule demands and the increasing complexity of the educator role, having a clear path each term from start to finish can free up your time, energy, and mental bandwidth. 🧠
I will always advocate for being more than a nursing educator and setting up our work so that we can fulfill the other roles in our lives. We all want to have time to hike outside 🧗🏼, cook a healthy meal🍳, read a book for fun 📚, or go to a child's soccer game ⚽ without checking email or thinking about to-do lists.
Having a project plan for your semester can free up valuable mental space. We carry so many tasks and to-dos in our brains. Having a system to capture all these tasks and present them to your future self when they are due is life-changing!
In this article, I will guide you through developing a project plan for a course I am teaching. And once it's created, you can use it again and again with only minor edits every term. Once it is in place, you will wonder how you functioned without it. It will become a part of your workflow, as second nature as checking a blood pressure.
🚛 Start with a task dump
The first step when you get a new puzzle is to get it all out of the box. Start by getting it all out of your mind!
Using whatever writing tool you prefer (or the template below!), start brainstorming all of the tasks you do to start up a course or clinical section. Here are some thought joggers:
Revise Syllabus
Print rosters
Send a welcome email
Update LMS (Blackboard/Canvas) lessons
Check the drop date for a course
Prepare online exams
Setup quizzes
Review gradebook
Sometimes it can help to divide these into sections, such as "things to print" or "tasks in LMS (Canvas/Blackboard/etc.)."
But the idea is to get it all out of your brain and onto the page. Even small tasks, that maybe only take 5 minutes, should be included.
✅ Organize the Tasks
Now it is time to sort the puzzle pieces.
Everyone has a system to clump like pieces together when starting a fresh puzzle: by color, by shape, etc. You can do what works for you here.
Putting them into buckets labeled "Beginning, Middle, End" is the most natural organizational method for me. You perform tasks to start and close a course, and labeling them by time can help you naturally progress through the term's flow.
I am also a huge fan of color coding as an organizational tool. For example, if you are doing a task dump for multiple courses or clinicals, assign them an ink color. This action will help you quickly visualize which course a task belongs to when sorting them into categories by beginning, middle, and end.
📝 Decide on an Organizational System
Now, there are hundreds of tools to organize a project. The key here is to choose something that works for you and that you will stick to using.
If that is a traditional paper calendar, go with that! If you want to try a more advanced system that will send you text messages when you forget a task, there is something for that too! Here are a few virtual tools that I know of that can help you to manage a project:
I used Todoist for many years. It is simple and functions just as you expect a to-do list to work. You can create templates to use every semester, and you can set up recurring tasks. Additionally, there is phone app that allows you to easily capture your thoughts on the go.
But I outgrew it. As my life and work grew more complicated, I needed a different system.
Now, I use Notion, which offers a free account and numerous features. I have included a simplified version of my Notion workflow as a template for you to start using if you’re interested.
- You will need to sign up for a free Notion account to use this template.
- Once you click the button, you will see a “Duplicate” selection in the top right corner. This will allow you to copy the template into your own workspace.
- Once it is copied, you can make edits and create your own Notion workspace!
🗃️ Using the Notion Template
Here is a short video explaining how to use the Nurse Educator Project Plan.
📆 Use the System Daily
As a new educator, I was surprised by how little direct supervision I had. I had come from an ER environment where I worked alongside a charge nurse every single day. If you didn't pull your weight, it was evident to the team, and you received feedback immediately. When I started as a new faculty member, I had a few teaching observations, but that was it.
No one really "checked" my work. I quickly discovered that my department's standards guided my evaluations, grading, and feedback to students, but I was responsible for upholding the standards. And I would need to be a little hard on myself to do that.
I started using this project plan system as my “supervisor,” checking in on my progress, keeping me on task, and ensuring that I do not let anything slip through the cracks. It is my current self who creates tasks, makes plans, and sets due dates, so that my future self knows what to do to accomplish my work effectively and efficiently.
Make it a goal to use the system every day for two weeks. In a previous newsletter, we reviewed the importance of using our environment to create a habit, and you can certainly apply that concept to building this habit. Notion has a desktop app, and I keep it open on my computer's toolbar, making it easy for me to check every day when I sit down at my computer. I also use the app on my phone to review the day or add reminders. It has become as natural as checking my calendar.
🤔 Other Uses for a Project Plan
While the example we covered here applies to a course or clinical project, this concept can also be applied to other types of work that we do as educators. Here are three other ways that I use a project plan:
Taking on a New Initiative
Anytime that you want to start something new, you can start a project plan.
For example, you want to implement an escape room lesson into one of your theory courses. Or you are going to begin a research project. These projects have a definitive start and end but do not repeat, and easily fit the definition of a project.
If you are building a plan for this type of project, I recommend adding one step at the beginning. Take the time to visualize, write down, and clarify your big picture goals for the project. How does the final result look? Get into the feelings of it. Does it simplify your life? Do you feel proud presenting your work at a national conference? Take the extra time to define the "why" and incorporate it into your project plan.
Keeping Track
A database in Notion is an excellent way to keep track of your progress. For example, renewing your certification can be a project. Just set up a CE credit tracking database in your Notion system, and you can easily upload your documents, keep track of hours, set up visual progress trackers, and even connect it to research, conferences, or the speaker that you connected with after the presentation.
Recurring Tasks
I am not sure about you, but I need reminders for everything. I use a life maintenance project, so even simple tasks every month or every three months get put into my system. It frees up mental space for me and lets me let go of the responsibility of remembering.
⚡️ Using a Project Plan as a Nurse Educator
While there are entire certifications and various courses on project management, a simple project plan for your semester can be the key to unlocking more free time, creative energy, and mental bandwidth.
Start by creating a list of tasks, organizing them into categories, and implementing a system to manage your workload effectively.
This plan can then be reused, edited, and built upon every semester. It will just get better with time.
Conclusion
A semester project plan can help you to get everything off your plate and into a system that works for you. Here are three things to take away from this article as you get started:
A task dump is the most important first step. Getting every responsibility out of your brain and onto the page is what makes the rest of the system possible. Don't skip it or rush it.
You don't need a complicated tool to make this work. Whether you choose a paper calendar or a Notion workspace, the best system is the one you'll actually open every day.
Once your plan is built, it pays you back every semester. With only minor edits each term, you'll spend less time starting from scratch and more time on the work that matters most or doing the things you love outside of work.
Martha Johnson
Martha Johnson, MSN, RN is a nurse educator and the creator of BreakoutRN. She helps nursing faculty build active learning into the classroom and clinical setting, one practical idea at a time, using tools that support clinical judgment, engagement, and real-world nursing practice.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to build a semester project plan?
The initial setup takes the most time, but it's a one-time investment. Plan for an hour or two to do a thorough task dump and organize everything into categories. Once that foundation is in place, refreshing it at the start of each new term should only take 15–30 minutes of edits and updates.
What if I teach multiple courses or clinicals at the same time?
That's exactly when a project plan becomes most valuable. Color coding is a simple and effective way to keep multiple courses organized within the same system. Assign each course its own color (or emoji ⚡️) during your task dump so you can instantly see which tasks belong where as you sort them into beginning, middle, and end categories.
I've tried to-do list systems before and never stick with them. What makes this different?
If you have a paper system that works for you, awesome!
The one key difference here is thinking of each semester as a project with a defined start and end, rather than an endless list of tasks. Building the plan once and reusing it creates momentum. Starting with a template can also help reduce the friction of getting started.
