Organization & Time Management Tips for Occupational Therapists

07.25.2015

The benefits of effective organization are many. Organization refers to the ability to create and maintain systems for recording and monitoring information and materials. As Occupational Therapists, a system for tracking schedules, attendance, due dates, meetings, consults, screenings, progress reports, evaluations, and other caseload information is a necessity. It’s no wonder that caseload management can be overwhelming, even for those of us with the best executive functioning!  Rather than just expect our clients to develop their executive functioning skills, let’s practice what we preach. Tools to Grow has wonderful resources for organization to keep your therapy items and materials neat, orderly, and accessible; as well as time management tools for prioritizing, scheduling, and completing tasks.

When an organizational system is in place, it improves accountability, increases productivity, and decreases time spent managing paperwork. Last, but not least, the therapist should experience much less stress! This allows time and energy for the most important aspect of our career, working with our clients/students!

This blog will detail Organizational Strategies for (1) Efficient Scheduling, (2) Managing Student Information, (3) Tracking Professional Meetings, (4) Managing Time, and, (5) Managing Clinical Resources/Professional Handouts.   

Organizational Strategies for Efficient Scheduling

Scheduling can be a tricky and complicated process. As school based therapists we understand the choas and difficulty in scheduling when dealing with multiple teachers and schools, not to mention accommodating other therapists and special area teachers. To complicate matters, some therapists travel between schools and children’s homes/other community settings. Follow these steps and scheduling will hopefully become a little less stressful!

Step 1: Meet or Contact Teachers/Preliminary Information Gathering

Classroom/Teacher Information Forms: Mrs. Jones wants this, but Mr. Smith would like that…it can be so challenging!! Use these handouts when meeting or contacting teachers to begin to form your OT Schedule. Great way to organize and collect information such as meals and special period times, perferred therapy days and times, and other significant scheduling information. This is a great resource to keep when schedules need to be adjusted later in the school year.

Step 2: Create & Document the OT Schedule

OT Daily Schedule: We offer a FREE Schedule Template with two different versions: 1) Week Days (Monday - Friday) and 2) Letter Days (A - F). Organized in half hour time frames/units. Using the perferred days and times from each classroom, pencil in schedule for each child/student on your caseload. Use pencil - this is a constantly changing process.  Once a schedule is formed, use our Editable PDF, where you can simply TYPE right into the form and save it!

Step 3: Give Teachers  and/or Parents the OT Schedule

OT Schedule Forms for Classrooms/Teachers: This is a great form that allows you to list Occupational Therapy day(s) and time(s) for students by classroom/teacher. Simply fill out the form and give to teachers for their use. Teachers will LOVE this simple and organized method to know when their students have OT.

OT Schedule for Parents/Caregivers: List the Occupational Therapy day(s) and time(s) as a reference for parents. Great for home-based and community visits. Also includes a version with all services (OT, Speech, PT, Other), so parents/caregivers can have one comprehensive organized form!

Step 4: Introduction To Parents

Welcome to Occupational Therapy/Parent Letter: Editable PDF! Simply Type in Information & Print!! A great way to introduce yourself to parents and caregivers. Send home these simple and fun letters welcoming each student (and their family) to Occupational Therapy. Includes two Versions: 1) Welcome Back to School Year and 2) Welcome to OT.

Organizational Strategies for Managing Student/Child Information

Use the following forms to organize each student’s/child’s information:

IEP’s at a Glance: Organize and manage a student's IEP information in this high quality PDF! These forms allow for a great way to consolidate and highlight important information: contact information, alerts/precautions, medical information (doctor and medication), other therapy/services, equipment, service coordinator/case manager information, and goals/outcomes.

IFSP's at a Glance: Organize each child's IFSP information on this one page colorful resource. A great way to organize and highlight important information: Contact Information, Doctor/Medication, Alerts/Precautions, Services, Equipment, Service Coordinator Information, and Goals/Outcomes.

504 Plan at a Glance: A great way to Organize and Manage each child's 504 Plan information on one page. Organize and highlight important information, Contact Information, Doctor/Medication, Alerts/Precautions, Services, Equipment, Service Coordinator Information, and Goals/Outcomes.

Student Information Organizer: Organize and Manage Student Information on this convenient form! Includes Student Information (Birthday, Contact Info, Diagnosis, Medication, Allergies, Alerts/Precautions, Doctor), Services (OT, PT, Speech, Other), Strengths/Interests, Areas to Improve, OT Goals & Outcomes.

Parent Communication Logs:  Keep track of communication with a Parent/Caregiver with this organized form! Keep contact information all in one easy and convenient location! This form Includes date, time, reason for contact, method of contact, notes, and follow up.

Organizational Strategies for Tracking Professional Meetings

Use the following forms to organize meetings:

Meeting Notes: A great way to organize meeting notes. Simply jot down important information and things to remember. Helps with follow up and accountability.

IEP Meeting Notes: Use this form to organize IEP meetings. This organized one page form includes Student's Name and Information (ID, DOB, Parent, Review Date, Diagnosis, Alerts, Medication, Allergies, Classroom Location, and Teacher/Classroom), Individuals in Attendance, and lined paper for written notes.

IFSP Meeting Notes: Organize IFSP Meetings on this convenient form! Includes Child's Name and Information (ID, DOB, Parent, Review Date, Diagnosis, Alerts, Medication, and Allergies), Individuals in Attendance, and lined paper for written notes.

504 Meeting Notes: This is a great form to use during 504 meetings. Includes Student's Name and Information (ID, DOB, Parent, Review Date, Diagnosis, Alerts, Medication, Allergies, Classroom Location, and Teacher/Classroom), Individuals in Attendance, and lined paper for written notes.

Organizational Strategies for Managing Time  

Time Management is an important executive functioning skill that involves the ability to prioritize the steps needed to complete and schedule tasks with adequate timing to complete the work satisfactorily within the time limits and deadlines. Just as a student needs to know how to estimate the time needed to complete tasks and use time wisely, therapists do too! Time Management resources include records for prioritizing, scheduling, and completing tasks. 

OT Daily Schedule: This is a FREE Editable/Fillable PDF Schedule Template. Two Different Versions: 1) Week Days (Monday - Friday) and 2) Letter Days (A - F). Simply open PDF, Save to your device, then TYPE directly into this form! Organized in half hour time frames/units.

Usernames & Passwords: Tired of forgetting all the various usernames and passwords you have? Use this organizer sheet to keep track of this information at your fingertips.

Professional Development & Continuing Education Log Tracker: Keep track of Continuing Education and Professional Development units with this FREE organized chart! No more scrambling to calculate your units or hours!

Annual Review Checklist: Annual Review time will be a breeze with this Editable/Fillable Checklist! Use this form to organize student's name and AR information. Simply open this PDF, type in information directly into the form, and print!

Caseload Manager/Organizer: This is an Editable/Fillable PDF to Organize your Caseload. Simply open PDF, Save to your device, open and TYPE in your information! A great way to organize the students or clients on your caseload. This form allows you to list Students, OT Mandate/Frequency, School/Site, Teacher/Classroom, and OT Time/Day.

Daily To Do Lists: Includes 3 Different Versions of To-Do Lists! Versions include Today's Priorities, Schedule, Reports, Notes, and Meetings!

Week at a Glance: Organize your week with this High Quality PDF! Includes To Do's (Work & Home), Schedule (Monday - Friday), Reports to Do (Evaluations, IEPs, Consultations, and Screenings).

Monthly Calendars: Includes August 2015 through August 2016.  Each Month includes space to record Evaluations, Consults, Annual Reviews, Screenings and To-Do's. This Calendar is Perfect for Organizing your 2015/2016 School Year! Two different versions: 1) Two Page Full Sized and 2) One Page Layout.

Year at a Glance: This FREE One page Year at a glance form will allow you to quickly view all twelve months in one organized high quality page.

Monthly Attendance: Monthly Attendance will be a breeze with these forms! Simply open the Editable/Fillable PDF and type in information! Includes August 2015 - August 2016. You only have to type in your information once and it will transfer to each month!  There are 2 Versions Available:

1) Codes Added - TYPE in your name, school, and student's names. Codes are already entered for you!

2) You Type in Codes - TYPE in your name, school, student’s names, and Attendance Codes.

Monthly Paperwork Organizer: Organize all your monthly paperwork with these colorful resources! This 14 PAGE PDF will help you organize IEPs, Re-Evaluations, Consultations, and Evaluations for each month in the 2015/2016 School Year. Includes August 2015 - August 2016.

Consultation Forms: Complete Consultations on this organized and high quality form! Includes Student Name, DOB, ID#, School, Teacher, Frequency, Therapist Name/License#, Date, Concerns, Strategies, and Follow up.

Missed Visit Log Tracker:  Use these FREE handouts to keep track of missed OT Visits or Sessions. Great way to organize date visit was missed, reason missed, and date made up. 2 Different High Quality Versions included!

Treatment Plan Templates: Improve your effectiveness by using a step by step approach to help children reach therapeutic goals. Use this simple form for recording the child's progression during therapy. Helps with planning based upon individual needs, as well as follow-up based upon the child's response.  

Managing Clinical Resources/Professional Handouts

Binder Organization: Tired of locating your Winter resources just as Spring arrives? Are some of your favorite paper resources buried in the bottom of an old file cabinet? We have the answer! Organize paper resources by Performance Area or by Holiday/Season.

Simply print out cover page and binder spine for each area/subject and place in a binder. Use plastic sheet protectors to organize papers and re-use with dry erase markers. Included for each cover page is binder spines for 5 different sized binders!

Binder Cover Pages and Spines are organized in the following: (1) Performance Areas, and (2) Holidays/Seasons:

(1) Performance Areas:

• Coloring Resources

• Colouring Resources

• Copy Shapes

• Copy Lines

• Executive Functioning Skills

• Fine Motor Skills

• Gross Motor Skills

• Figure Ground Skills

• Form Constancy Skills

• Letter Formation Handwriting Resources

• Handwriting Skills - FREE Printable!

• Hole Punch Activities

• Map Skills

• Mazes & Dot-to-Dots

• Paper

• Playdough Mats

• Pre-Writing Skills

• Reversals

• Scissor Skills

• Self-Help Skills

• Sensory Processing

• Sequential Memory Skills

• Sequencing Skills

• Spacing/Alignment Handwriting Resources

• Spatial Relations/Position in Space

• Visual Closure Skills

• Visual Discrimination Skills

• Visual Memory Skills

• Visual Perceptual Skills

• Visual Scanning Skills

(2) Holidays/Seasons:

• Back to School - FREE Printable!

• Fall/Autumn

• Halloween

• Thanksgiving

• Christmas/Holidays

• Winter

• Valentines Day

• St. Patrick's Day

• April Showers

• Easter

• Spring

• Summer

• OT Month

You can find these binder covers and binder spines for all the above mentioned performance areas and holidays/seasons by clicking here. Print a FREE Back to School and Handwriting Binder Cover and Spines! All Caseload Management Resources can be found here. Back to School resources can be found here. 

If there is a form or resource that you are looking for, please comment below or email us.

We hope that these organization tools and resources help to make your job easier! This will give you time to focus on what is important ... helping children grow!

Related Topics: Caseload Management, Free Resources , School Based OT

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