Organizing a Band DIRECTOR Calendar - 3 Tips

What is a band director calendar? I’m talking about your personal calendar. The one on your phone or on your desk that you check every day and you look at a month ahead of time to see what’s coming up. It will include your band events and performances, but this post is about what else it should include.

Here are 3 tips about what to include to help you have a smoother year. My favorite tip is #3 so be sure to check that one out.

Specific reminders of when to start tasks. For example:
-Choose music for beginner band concert
-Start picking solos for solo/ensemble (then 2 weeks later have a notation that all students should have a copy of their solos)
-Contact elementary schools about recruiting concerts.
-Contact private lesson teachers about talking with classes.
-Send thank you note to principals and teachers that attended our concert. (day after a concert)
-Order buses for contest.
Overarching (or more specific) goals for the school year. For example.
-Begin Rhythm Set 1 with beginners.
-Reminder – beginners should be finishing Rhythm Set 1 in 2 weeks. (2 weeks later write ‘Begin Rhythm Set 2’)
-Begin 1 octave scales in brass classes.
-Begin having advanced students perform region music during band class.
-Begin clarinet chromatic scale (1 month later – clarinets play chromatic scale 1 octave)

As a band director, much of your success involves how well you juggle all your responsibilities – immediate and long term. Having a sketch of year long goals on a band director calendar can keep you on track.

Now, here’s my favorite tip:

3. Keep a calendar that is at least 2 years ahead. If there is something you hear this year and is a great idea (like something on BandDirectorsTalkShop.com!) and you want to implement it, but it’s too late, add it to the calendar the next year when you should start thinking about it.

If you miss something this year, mark it for next year. For example, if you see a post about a great list of beginner solos, but you’re school has already gone to solo contest for the year, make a note in your calendar for the next year when you should start thinking about it. Print out the post (or post the link on your calendar) and keep it in a folder titled “Calendar Resources.) That way the next year 2 months before solo & ensemble you’ll see that reminder on the band director calendar, pull out the post and have the list at hand.

If you make a mistake this year – say you forget to send home information about the winter concert early enough – you can fix it for the future. Make 2 notes on the calendar for next year in November. The first one can say “Prepare send home note (email) about winter concert)” and the 2nd can say “Be sure winter concert note has gone out.”

Here’s the final beauty in this idea:
You can copy all your reminders from one year to the next. That way once you get it on the calendar, you’re likely to never forget it in the future! We hope this helps you have a more organized band director calendar. Organization on your part means better preparation for you and your students.

How do you keep up with your band director calendar? Let us know in the comments. And please consider sharing this on Facebook and twitter to give others a new way to get organized.