;

There IS a more sustainable way to teach.

The average teacher is contracted to work around 40 hours a week. Our systems help you maximize those hours, so you're not working endlessly on nights and weekends.

Does this sound familiar?

"I love teaching, but it consumes every spare minute of my time."
"I love teaching, but it consumes every spare minute of my time."
"It feels like I'm always working, yet I've never done enough."
"It feels like I'm always working, yet I've never done enough."
"I'm exhausted and nothing is getting easier."
"I'm exhausted and nothing is getting easier."
"Something has to change."
"Something has to change."

If so, you are not alone.

The teaching workload seems to be increasing every year, but you DON'T have to figure out ways to navigate it all on your own.

40 Hour is designed to help you find ways to take control of your time AND do a great job for kids.🖤

We provide everything you need to streamline and simplify your workload as a K-12 teacher

  • Clear, Actionable Steps

    You’ll get 12 months of classroom-tested productivity ideas in both PDF and audio form so you can read or listen. We’ll go step-by-step through each focus area. Choose just a few ideas each month, & watch as small changes add up to big results!

  • Positive, Supportive Community

    You can finally stop reinventing the wheel! The club’s coaches + thousands of other teachers will share ideas, answer your questions, and provide encouragement and accountability. You’ll never have to do this alone!

  • Printables & Templates

    More than $350 worth of forms and teacher resources are included. Some are club-exclusive; others are curated from the best of the digital marketplace so you don’t have to spend time + money searching them out.

  • Free Bonus Materials

    6 additional resources (called 40 Hour Foundations) are available as soon as you join. Many members say these resources were the key to better work/life balance.

  • PD Certificate

    Use our PD log to track your learning if you’d like. After the yearlong program is over, you’ll receive a certificate of completion. You can receive credit for up to 104 professional development hours. Graduate-level semester credit is also available.

  • Ongoing Support Indefinitely

    You’ll keep your access to the membership site AND the Facebook community/message boards when the course is over at no charge! Revisit the resources and get support even as a club graduate, so you can maintain your new habits permanently.

The average teacher joining the program works 62 hours per week. 🫠

In our survey 6 weeks after joining, the average teacher reports a typical workweek of 51 hours.

That's a savings of 11 hours weekly and over 500 hours per school year!

What could YOU do with an extra 11 hours per week?

Get ongoing support throughout each season of the school year

You don't need to change everything at once. We'll tackle one aspect of your work each month, so you have plenty of time to experiment and bounce ideas off your cohort members.

July: The Self-Running Classroom

Plan for a learning space where students will take ownership:

  • Design a school/home space that facilitates productivity
  • Plan procedures for a smooth first week
  • Automate and delegate tasks through classroom jobs
  • Organize a stress-free parent orientation (Open House)

August: Sustainable Systems

Be intentional about your organization, procedures, class culture & more:

  • Establish productive daily routines for you and your students
  • Designate an easily-accessible spot for every paper in your classroom
  • Create a sustainable work schedule for back-to-school and beyond
  • Build a healthy class culture focused on productivity and wellbeing

September: Communication and Documentation

Easy ways to manage email, document interventions, and keep families in the loop:

  • Streamline communication with admin, colleagues, and families
  • Track, document, and communicate about behavior and intervention
  • Redesign parent conferences to be more efficient and effective
  • Establish boundaries and set realistic expectations with families

October: Lesson Planning

Practical ways to create meaningful, creative lessons more quickly:

  • Simplify your planning to create better lessons more quickly
  • Plan holistically in advance to feel more prepared each day
  • Co-plan and leverage the experience of other teachers
  • Reduce planning for differentiation with replicable routines

November: Grading & Assessment

Systems that will save you time and provide better insight about student learning: 

  • Streamline grading and make assessment more meaningful
  • Reduce the time it takes to score student work
  • Assess student writing more efficiently and effectively
  • Find creative ways to informally assess and monitor student progress

December: Time Management for Kids

Empower students to complete their work and turn it in on time:

  • Strengthen student work habits and differentiate for individual work paces
  • Empower students to take charge of re-takes, late work, and missing work
  • Simplify homework systems to protect your time, class time, and kids’ time
  • Increase homework completion with meaningful assignments and incentives

January: Students Not Scores

Revamp routines mid-year to build rapport and increase motivation:

  • Revisit expectations and reboot routines for kids’ changing needs
  • Strengthen rapport and relationships even when you’re busy
  • Problem solve through class meetings and restorative circles
  • Make test prep more meaningful, and testing less stressful

February: More Time for Learning

Maximize instructional time and eliminate time-wasters:

  • Maximize instructional time and reduce time-wasters
  • Speed up transitions and refocus students more quickly
  • Systematize collaborative learning and group work
  • Simplify centers and stations for student-directed learning

March: Work/Life Balance

Identify priorities and bring your life into alignment with long-term goals: 

  • Refine your work habits to protect your time off
  • Give yourself permission to relax and turn off your mind at night
  • Align your life with priorities and long-term goals
  • Uncover more time by eliminating, automating, and delegating

April: Technology Timesavers

Discover the best tools & tips to streamline teaching and learning:

  • Develop new approaches to solve your biggest tech issues
  • Overcome digital clutter and create efficient email habits
  • Simplify your search for the best tech tools and apps
  • Cultivate a collection of go-to sites & apps for student skill practice

May: Ending Strong

Finish the school year on a high note with a stress-free classroom closeout:

  • Finish on a high note with a stress-free classroom closeout
  • Create an effective system for packing up and moving classrooms
  • Overcome procrastination when you’re overwhelmed with tasks
  • Contemplate and prepare for the job you want in the fall

June: Maximizing Your Summer

Make the most of your break to get organized at home and rejuvenate for fall: 

  • Plan for summer priorities to maximize your break Implement
  • “The Big Five” tips for productivity at home
  • Develop home habits and organization systems that simplify your life
  • Track your time and energy to rejuvenate for fall

Work through the resources each month whenever it's convenient

There's no deadlines and no assignments to submit unless your district requires it.
Just follow these 3 simple steps to get results:

Each month, login to the site and find new resources organized into Core Concepts and 3 optional extensions

Each month, login to the site and find new resources organized into Core Concepts and 3 optional extensions

Skim over the Core Concepts PDF (or listen to the audio) to learn a variety of strategies, habits, and mindset shifts

Skim over the Core Concepts PDF (or listen to the audio) to learn a variety of strategies, habits, and mindset shifts

Choose a few ideas to experiment with, using the optional extensions anytime you want to go deeper

Choose a few ideas to experiment with, using the optional extensions anytime you want to go deeper

Get a sneak peak into the membership site + free resources to see if the program is a good fit.


Learn more about 40 Hour and have sample materials sent to your inbox now.

Enter your best email address, and I’ll send the PDF straight to your inbox:

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You WILL get results.
Promise.

I'm Angela, and I founded the 40 Hour Teacher Workweek back in 2015.

I've spent 11 years as a classroom teacher and over a decade as an instructional coach and educational consultant. I designed this program based on what worked for me as a teacher, and spent years refining the strategies based on what I've observed through supporting club members.

Together, we are proving that you can be a great teacher without sacrificing everything else for the job. There IS a more sustainable approach to this work, so you can keep doing what you love, without burning out.

When you join the 40 Hour program this summer, I personally guarantee that you will feel less stressed and overwhelmed, and more prepared and organized. And, you’ll begin setting up systems that enable you trim 10+ hours off your workweek.

If not, send us an email by Sept 15th, and we'll refund your entire payment, so you have nothing to lose.

Angela Watson

Founder of The 40 Hour Teacher Workweek

Still not sure if 40 Hour Full Year is right for you?

Here are the some of the most common questions teachers ask us when deciding whether to join:

Over 60,000 K-12 teachers have successfully used these materials to help them conquer overwhelm and reduce their work hours.

Only 2.5% of teachers who join later request a refund.

That’s because the club is about your mindset and your habits, not what or where you teach. You can take what you learn through the club and apply it in ANY job for as many years as you’re in the classroom.

The best way to find out if the club will work for YOU is to jump in with both feet and give it a shot. Immerse yourself in the community and try out some of the strategies.

Join us and check out the resources. You’ll be able to tell right away if Full Year is a good fit. If it’s not, there’s nothing to lose. Send me an email by Sept. 15th and I’ll refund your entire payment.

Nope. 40 is the number of contractual hours many educators are required to work.

Our systems help you maximize those hours, so you're not working endlessly on nights and weekends.

We conquer overwhelm right away so that you’ll have the energy and mental bandwidth to follow through on systems to get organized, streamline routines, give kids ownership of the classroom, and be truly intentional about how you use your instructional, contractual, and personal time.

THAT’S the real benefit of the club, and it’s the process which makes it possible to work fewer hours.

Each month, we'll give you a plan for simplifying ONE aspect of your teaching, plus 3 optional extensions.

You can use as many or as few strategies as you’d like—just a few small tweaks to your mindset and daily routines in that one area will start moving the needle, so you’ll feel relief from overwhelm immediately.

Jump in and out of the resources whenever it’s convenient for you. Some teachers read over them with a cup of coffee on Saturday mornings, others listen to the audio version during their Monday morning commutes.

There’s no pressure to “do it all.” Use only the ideas and printables that seem most relevant to your teaching context.

You can always come back to anything you skipped later, as you’ll keep your access to all these materials for the rest of your teaching career (at no extra cost!)

Our Full Year program always begins in July, so we can offer you ongoing support throughout the entire school year, from start to finish.

The next start date will be July 2025. 

You can now get graduate-level credits toward your masters degree for completing any of our 40 Hour programs!

Learn more about our NEW partnership with the University of the Pacific–Benerd College.

Though we don't have accreditation through any state departments of education, many of members have been able to use the editable professional learning log provided and the PD certificate we provide.

You may be able to use 40 Hour as support in meeting your personal PD goals, and we'll help you provide documentation for your principal to show that you have made progress toward those goals.

We've chosen not to incorporate generative AI strategies into the Full Year program except as bonus tips, because not everyone wants to use AI or is permitted by their district.

However, anyone joining the 2024-2025 cohort of the Full Year program will get a year of access to the 40 Hour AI membership as a free bonus.

This way, any Full Year members who do want to use AI to streamline their workload will have access to the complete collection of trainings which will be updated throughout the year, so you're always current.

Course curriculum

    1. Welcome!

    2. Access the Facebook group

    3. Course overview blueprint

    4. Professional development log

    1. Bonus: Plan for Summer Priorities to Maximize Your Break

    2. Bonus: The "Big 5" at Home for Summer

    3. Bonus: Home Habits/Organization Systems That Simplify Your Life

    4. Bonus: Track Your Time and Energy to Rejuvenate for Fall

    1. Foundation #1 The Big 5 Tips for Teacher Productivity

    2. Foundation #2: How to Pick a Target Number of Hours (and Stick to It!)

    3. Foundation #3: The 40 Hour List-Making System

    1. Core Concept - Design a learning space that facilitates productivity

    2. Extension Choice #1 - Plan procedures for a smooth first week

    3. Extension Choice #2 - Automate and delegate through classroom jobs

    4. Extension Choice #3 - Organize a stress-free parent orientation

    5. Mid-Month Surprise Bonus: Back-to-school activities

    1. Core Concept - Establish productive daily routines for you and your students

    2. Extension Choice #1 - Designate an easily-accessible spot for every paper in your classroom

    3. Extension Choice #2 - Create a sustainable work schedule for back-to-school and beyond

    4. Extension Choice #3 - Build a healthy class culture focused on productivity and wellbeing

    5. Mid-Month Surprise Bonus: Sub plan resources

    1. Core Concept - Streamline communication with admin, colleagues, and families

    2. Extension Choice #1 - Track, document, and communicate about behavior and interventions

    3. Extension Choice #2 - Redesign parent conferences to be more efficient and effective

    4. Extension Choice #3 - Establish boundaries and set realistic expectations with families

    5. Mid-Month Surprise Bonus: Report Card Comments

About this course

  • $175.00
  • 71 lessons
  • PDF
  • Audio

Don't settle for survival mode.

We'll give you the practical support needed to create a SUSTAINABLE approach to your work.

Doors are now closed for the 2024-2025 school year, but our Fast Track program is available now:
Explore 40 Hour Fast Track