Capture the Plan and Live the Moment

26 December 2025 | Fliss Falconer

How are you going to hand over your admin to AI in 2026?

“Recording in progress…”

There’s something magical about a good summary. One of the strange gifts of technology is the way it can make teaching look far more structured than it feels. A neat recap of a lesson can make me sound like the most organised, informed, degree‑holding, ten‑years‑experienced teacher in the room. It reads as though every step was carefully planned, every outcome anticipated.

The reality? Teaching is rarely that tidy. It’s improvisation, humour, detours, and the occasional technical hiccup.

Even in observations, with their non‑negotiables and checklists, the only thing I could reliably demonstrate was that children are not good at non‑negotiables. Neither am I. We are good at being human.

But these days, my tutoring sessions look different. They’re online. I’ve kept the best parts of Lockdown teaching (images, links, backgrounds, websites) and ditched the worst (teaching without cameras… what a time). And now, with strict permissions and safe storage, the sessions are recorded.

When I look back at the written summary, the chaos transforms into something that appears formal, structured, purposeful. Suddenly my “teaching ludicrousness” looks like a masterclass in pedagogy.

And that’s the point:

Technology can hold the structure so I can hold the humanity.

The value of capturing a session isn’t to flatten the energy into bullet points. It’s to give me a record, a reflection point, and a springboard for next time. I can walk in with a plan, but I can also walk in as myself: free to respond, improvise, and connect.

AI maps the next steps.

I make the next connection.

Working with students who must attend, must learn, must sit exams, must remain in education until 18… the list of “musts” is endless. Meanwhile, they’re also navigating bodies, minds, homes, influences, responsibilities. Their world is loud. Their pressure is constant.

Children absorb learning at astonishing rates — but the pressure we place on them, pressure we would never tolerate ourselves, is heartbreaking. For them to cope, they need adults who can be present, attentive, and emotionally available.

And that’s where technology becomes a quiet act of care.

Take this down…

This is the message I want to emphasise at work:

AI can hold the scaffolding.

We can hold the humanity.

Staff can use it to capture their varied, personalised plans. But in the moment, we can be freer — to notice vulnerability, to coach, to support, to show compassion. Because what matters most in a classroom, meeting room, or interview isn’t another reminder of rules. It’s the human connection — the buoyancy, the anecdotes, the warmth — that no summary can ever fully capture.

And yet, the admin still needs doing.

Before a meeting, we’re meant to consider:

• What’s the purpose?

• What outcome do we want?

• What are the options?

• Timescales?

• What if Option A fails?

• Who needs to agree?

• What needs to happen first?

• What tone should we set?

• How do we make people comfortable?

• How do we rehearse the important sentence?

• How do we enter the room with confidence?

Reading that list, do you feel your shoulders tense? Do you freeze at the thought of preparing all of it?

Here’s the truth:

You don’t have to.

We live in a world where our phones can access the sum of human knowledge, yet we still ask AI to Google things for us. And honestly? I’m fine with that. I’ve fully jumped on the AI bandwagon this year, and I can only imagine how it will shape 2026.

I know I sometimes ask it to do things far beneath its abilities. I hand it endless opportunities to mock my simplicity (thank you, Copilot, for never openly mocking me). But I’m excited to see how AI can tackle my admin so I can be me.

I could ask it every one of those meeting‑prep questions — typing, pasting, or speaking into my microphone — and my strategic partner, my AI double, would guide me from the first glimmer of an idea to the review after a successful meeting.

She (she for me, not necessarily for you) can introduce me to professionals, professors, influencers, entrepreneurs. She can upskill me in technology, statistics, scaling, investments. She can compare, suggest, tweak, improve, generate — all at the touch of a button.

And as I learn, she learns.

It’s exciting, and it’s only the beginning.

If you’ve seen my creations over the years, you’ll know they’ve grown and improved. There’s still a long way to go. But embracing the power of AI to handle my administration?

That’s a New Year’s Resolution I’ll happily keep.