Note from the future: Please visit https://expoed.org/ for more examples of how to scale your skills and become a 10x teacher.
Multiplying Your Impact Through Exponential Education
A close friend of mine recently posted on Instagram, sharing 2022 research from RAND indicating that 60% of teachers report feeling burnt out, and 30% are experiencing symptoms of depression. She added her own simple commentary- “I left teaching this year 💔”
Most teachers work harder than ever, yet feel like they’re barely keeping up. What if you could multiply,not just add to, your impact as an educator? That’s the idea behind being a 10x Teacher: applying the principles of exponential education to amplify both what you teach and how you teach.
Most teachers I work with would gladly welcome 10% better results- being able to help 10% more students, or requiring 10% less work to serve your their current classes. We’re not thinking large enough. Instead of looking for 10% improvement, look for opportunities to 10x! I’m not saying teachers will serve 10 times the students, although larger classes are an option.
Becoming a 10x Teacher isn’t about working 10 times longer hours. It’s about working differently, using two complementary kinds of productivity to unlock compounding growth: macroproductivity and microproductivity.
Macroproductivity: The Big Levers That Change Everything
Macroproductivity is about mindset, systems, and behaviors that generate exponential returns over time. It’s not the little things you do, it’s putting you in the right state of mind to be solve problems and work on the most important things. Macro levers include:
Be Relentlessly Curious
The best teachers are professional learners. They explore, test ideas from other fields, and ask, “Is there a better way to do this?” A curious teacher uncovers better methods before others even know they exist. If something is difficult, ask why it has to be that way. Is there anything you can learn, practice, or invent to make it simpler?
Always Be Iterating
Your classroom is a laboratory. 10x Teachers constantly run micro-experiments- trying new discussion formats, adjusting lesson timing, or tweaking assessments- and keep what works. Over time, iteration compounds like interest.
Think in Templates and Systems
Instead of solving problems piecemeal, build processes. A single well-designed feedback system can improve hundreds of assignments without extra work. A structured template can save you time every single day, and reduce the mental load of designing from scratch every time.
Microproductivity: The Small Wins That Add Up Fast
While macroproductivity is about the big decisions and mindsets that save you massive amounts of energy in the long term, microproductivity refers to the tools that save you small amounts of time more often. Some tools that have saved me time and energy through the years:
Text Expansion
Stop typing the same feedback again and again. Tools like Espanso can insert full paragraphs with a few keystrokes. A 30-second setup can save you typing time for common messages, email addresses, or weird characters.
Learning HTML
HTML isn’t just for coders- it’s the way the modern web works! You don’t need to design your own websites, but the ability to read and tweak basic HTML can be the difference between a 5-minute job and calling the IT team to add something to their queue.
Keyboard Shortcuts
Chances are, you spend more time than you’d like behind a computer screen. Grading, messaging, browsing, and scrolling take hours of time. Learning to navigate and control your computer with the keyboard keeps your brain focused and your hands quicker than going back and forth to a mouse. If you’re spending as much time at the computer as I am, make it your home.
Exponential Education in Action
The combination of macro and micro approaches creates compounding effects. A curious, system-thinking teacher (macro) who also automates repetitive tasks (micro) can spend more time on creative instruction, mentor more students more effectively, and iterate faster.
The goal isn’t perfection- it’s momentum. Each small optimization gives you more time and energy to tackle the big levers, which in turn open up space for even more innovation.
Next Steps
Becoming a 10x Teacher can start small. Pick one macro and one micro change this week:
- Try a new experiment in your classroom
- Set up a text expander for a common piece of grading feedback
Multiply these over time and your students, and your future self, will thank you.