The first year as a band director can be both exciting and challenging. From managing daily tasks, replying to emails, planning rehearsals, and finding time for reflection, a person can easily feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of responsibilities. While there are countless approaches to time management and organization, the strategies below are a few that helped me stay organized and reduce stress during my first year. It is my hope that you can take some of this information and use it to help you.

Task Management

One of the biggest challenges for new teachers is keeping track of the endless list of tasks that arise each day. The important thing is to find a system that can be used consistently. While many people use a paper planner to write down tasks or lesson plans, I prefer to keep a running to-do list on my phone. Because it is always accessible, I can add new tasks as they come up and can reference the list when I have a free moment. For time-sensitive items, I set a notification which removes some of the mental load that comes with remembering little things and allows me to stay focused on the present moment.

Reflection

One of the best pieces of advice I received before starting my first year was from Frank Troyka. He suggested that I write things on a calendar as they happen throughout the year, so I can reference it during my second year. At least once a week, I sat down with a planner and brain dumped everything I did during the week onto the page. I tried to keep it in categories based on class or topic, but if the week was busy and all I had time for was a bulleted list, that was better than nothing at all. Some of the best things to record are things that need to be done differently in the future. Write down those improvements now as it is easier to remember them now than in one year. The goal is to reflect well enough throughout your first year that you feel more confident in your second. There will be busy weeks during which it is difficult to find time for reflection, but your future self will thank you.

Email

As teachers, we are flooded with daily emails. It is challenging as a new teacher to determine which ones will need to be referenced later. To stay organized, I use folders in Outlook to sort my emails into categories such as these:

This is a flexible system and can include any categories that are helpful to you. Additionally, I make it a point to avoid opening emails until I am ready to respond or file them away. If I open an email and realize that I need more time to consider my response, I mark it as unread and leave it in my inbox so it is not forgotten. Another major time-saver is creating email templates for common situations. For instance, I have a template for student absences from marching band. Instead of writing the same email repeatedly, I simply update the necessary details and send it. This reduces the amount of time I spend writing emails allowing me to spend more time teaching and planning.

Concert Planning

Rehearsal planning is another area where organization has a significant impact. As a new band director, I often struggle to estimate how long it takes to teach new material or how frequently I need to review. To address this, I create a broad weekly rehearsal plan and more detailed daily rehearsal plans in one document that I can continuously edit. In my document, I start by creating a calendar and identifying days during which rehearsal will be cancelled or altered by events such as testing, professional development, holidays, field trips, and bad weather. This gives me an accurate count for rehearsals and helps prevent over-programming.

After selecting repertoire, I listen to recordings, study my scores, and split the music into manageable chunks. I make a numbered list of the chunks for each piece of music that looks like this:

Then, I look at my calendar and pencil in the chunks I plan to teach each day. This is meant to be very broad and serves as a starting place for making more specific rehearsal plans later. A good goal for me is to get through the entirety of the program in the first ten days of rehearsal and to touch on each piece daily. Here is an example of what my calendar looked like in the month of January:

Once the broad weekly plan is in place, I create a detailed daily plan. I typically write these immediately following each rehearsal as everything is still fresh on my mind. Here is an example of one of my daily plans from February:

Listening to recordings of my band, following along with a score, and creating a list of issues as I go helps me greatly as it is often hard to hear everything while standing on the podium.

Final Thoughts

Being a new band director is both challenging and rewarding. Seeking out help is perfectly fine. Think about projects and tasks and decide whether they are things that must be done by you or whether you can seek help from other directors, students, or parents. Students often love helping as it gives them ownership over their program, gives them ways to strengthen their relationship with you, and provides them with valuable learning opportunities.

There is no perfect organizational system, and what works for one director may not work for another. The key is to create systems and routines that decrease the amount of time spent on administrative tasks and allow more time to focus on students and their growth. We chose this profession because we love music and want to share it with those around us. At the end of the day, every organizational habit we build should help us spend more time doing what we love: making music with students.