Tips for Organizing Your Physical, Digital, and Mental Environment

In our recent survey, we asked Band Directors Talk Shop readers to share a tip for organizing your physical, digital or mental environment. With many responses to the survey, we came up with this list of your answers. Thanks so much to all of our readers who took time to fill out the survey. Keep an eye out for more Readers’ Collaborative Posts in the future.

Physical

Put your school name on EVERYTHING when you travel.
I maintain separate locations for each ensemble
Create templates for everything you can so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel for routine tasks.
I train my students to set up and clean up for concerts using checklists. I review with them beforehand what excellence looks and feels like so they are empowered to make choices during the set-up clean-up process without having to ask me things.
Insist on students taking care of the classroom every day. Nothing out of place.
Label things in bright colors.
Utilize folders for New music, To Be Reviewed, and Ready to hand out.
We color code our stands with tape wrapped around the bottom so we can easily reset the room between band and general music.
Magnetic strips hold everything on walls for easy retrieval.
Physical – our teaching space has lots of bright colored posters that inspire us to be our best and learn something new everyday. That applies to the students AND the teachers!
Do small things every day, consistently. Paperwork? File it immediately. Then, you know exactly where to find it and it’s not overwhelming to do.
Physical organization: take time once a week and clean off your desk. (Piles count). Once a month, go through all the piles and deep clean your desk (disinfect!)
Teach instrument, music, and equipment care to your students before they even begin playing. Encourage them to communicate if something is damaged or broken so you don’t have to find it by accident. This will lead the teaching environment to stay organized and functioning!
Lots of labels. 🙂
Set aside 10 minutes every week or do to tidy up your space.
I teach k12 band, choir, and music. Physically I have spaces in my room designated for different groups. Older kids know where to find things and even my young students know where to find most things they use.
Get the kids to help keep the room clean and set up the stage – they LOVE to help out.
I label everything. Drawers, cabinets, doors. Kids know where to get a pencil or a band-aid and I don’t get asked 100 times!
Have places for things that students can/should access (reeds, pencils, papers, music) and they won’t invade your space as much.
Put things away regularly so they don’t pile up.
Write down your to do list this alleviates stress as it is less likely to forget something.
Physically – have a librarian, or get on things right away as the paper pile in music will drown you if you don’t manage it
Date everything!
Keep your desk clean
Keep a small whiteboard on your desk. Write your top three priorities for the day. Erase them as you complete them.
Color coding your digital library to correspond with the physical drawer/shelf they are on.
Make lists, make separate email folders to keep emails easy to find, stay positive regardless of the circumstance.
Color code with tape the tops and bottoms to all percussion stands so when they are taken apart, they can be matched up again easily.
Get a giant calendar that contains the entire school year, put it on the wall of the office, and put every possible event, registration deadline, day off, anything that you can think of on it.
Make sure everything has a home
Number everything- stands, folders, metronome
Paper calendars are easier to see everything all at once
Color coding!!
Physical – color coding permission forms. Digital – folders, folders, folders – save all attachments that are applicable and FILE them in a digital folder immediately.
I have separate cupboards for band, recorder, ukulele, and general music papers/music/equipment.
Make a list and check off as you accomplish your task
File, file, organize; leave work at school.
For playing tests and daily participation grades, I use a clipboard for each class with the up to date seating chart on it. Way easier than using a gradebook since I can look right at it and match the kid with the grade.
I keep a weekly calendar of events and digital files for all activities with the school year (Marching Band 26-27, etc)
Buy a 6 drawer organizer to keep extra copies of music/handouts. Keep a tool box with common repair tools needed,
Make to-do lists. You can’t remember everything.
Create systems where the kids take ownership and you are not cleaning up after them
Color code everything
Keep it bright and interesting
Physical environment- in the HS Band world, find your helpers. There are many students who can be trusted with organizing the band room, paperwork, percussion section, and uniforms.
Inventory management can be much easier with an application like BatonSync which was specifically designed by music teachers for music teachers.
I am a traveling teacher so I use baskets to pass out and collect papers, and I use folders to organize all my papers in a filing system by instrument. Everything should have a place.
Simple, but effective – 3 ring binders for every ensemble.
Have a designated place for everything and teach that to the students.
Clean off your desk once a week – I do Fridays.
Have a student assistant to help you organize your music and file pieces.
Seating charts – this year I made the chart with all the arcs for myself. For the students (5th graders) I put down numbered dots in my classroom and then made a table in word and assigned a student to each number. It’s saved a lot of time because my full band only gets together once a week.
Stay on top of it. Take a few minutes each week to declutter your email and office.
I carry a notebook around with me and write all my notes, memos, to do lists; I know it is old school but it works
Have a few organized students become music librarians and teach them score order and you will always have music relatively sorted!

Digital

Create a Band Master with google slides. Each band gets its own page with important links related to that band (roster, parts, calendar, instrument checkout, etc.)
Google drive dedicated to your program
Organizing your emails into folders.
I’ve made a spreadsheet listing all my music. On it, I include the title, composer, publishing company, level, when it was last performed and by which group, genre, and any other notes I have about it. This helps me quickly find a good piece when I want something specific.
Make a spreadsheet of accommodations for quick reference.
Organize your digital files by event or time of year. Everything I use at the beginning of the year – handouts, worksheets, forms – goes in the Beginning of Year folder. Makes it easier to find things.
Notion pages
Use the reminder app on your phone and use it often. Especially if you teach in multiple buildings, it is the best way I’ve found of keeping things organized. Just ask Siri (if you have an iPhone) to remind you about something!
Tab grouping in Chrome
Google Calendar for each ensemble.
Fantastical to create calendar groups to toggle on and off
Notes on my phone
Try to take a few minutes at the end of the week (or every two weeks) to clean up emails, as in deleting ones that are no longer relevant.
Google sheets. Pick a day each week to update it or check it.
Google Drive has been amazing for organizing all of my band stuff. Make folders for everything and share it with trusted parents/school secretaries to help keep it that way!
Google drive and archiving can save your skin many a time. Screenshots and timestamps are gold.
Have a clear digital organization method. Organize each folder by year, and create shortcuts to other folders as needed.
I teach in 8 schools, so for digital files – notes, etc – I start the file name with the two letter initials of the school that it’s for. Then all the files for that school are grouped together in your documents.
Use google drive as much as possible – BAND app for an online calendar is helpful too
Make sure you give detailed labels on your stored files. Digitally make several folders for distinct reference. And, keep a duplicate on an external drive
Google Sheets works great. Find a friend who is a wizard with the system to create a tracking system that works for you (music library, uniforms, tracking purchases).
Schedule to send emails when able to!
Use technology if you can to make things accessible and communicate with families.
Tell your phone to remind you of something when you get back to school/during your prep time. For example, it may be Saturday and I’ll remember that I need to do grades, I’ll tell voice recognition “Remind me at 8am tomorrow to do grades!” It has worked for me many times.
Digitally, in each event folder, have an outline document for each event that links to documents needed in each step of the planning.
Every time you download a new file, whether it’s a piece of music, an article, a worksheet, or a lesson, name it something that makes sense and put it in the right folder from the start.
Have a cubby system. In google sheets, recreate the cubbies and link everything in there to the sheet so you can easily find them when it’s time to print more.
Digital-folders…lots of folders and add dates to documents!
Make ongoing google doc notes.
Digital: Create a single folder on your desktop called “Processing.” Every file that comes to you goes here first. Once a week, sort the folder into permanent locations. A clean desktop is a clean mind.
I use ClassDojo for all of my communications!
Establish a solid digital folder hierarchy before the school year begins. Likewise, use meaningful and consistent document names so it is easier to use the search function.

Mental

Don’t be afraid to turn your work email off when the day is done – you don’t need to be available online 24/7 – not even management have the right to demand an answer outside of working hours
Separate personal and professional life.
Make a list and then prioritize
Everything needs a place. And if it doesn’t have a place, you don’t need it.
Find a system that works for you, and stick to it. Whether it’s paper, an app, or a hybrid, find what works for you, and build your system out of it.
2 minute rule. If it can be done in 2 minutes or less, do it right away.
Delegation of authority to student leaders saves my sanity..
Create systems for everything! What is your process for collecting papers, what is your process for handing things out? How do you store music so it’s easily accessible? What do you do with extra copies?
Prioritize, reprioritize, rereprioritize. Daily. Hourly if you need.
Take time off!
At the end of the day, it is just a job. Find your reason to leave work everyday on time.
Make a small goal like, “My desk will be clean every afternoon before I leave the building.” Once that’s a habit, make another: “Agenda will be displayed on the board/screen daily”
Plan for events 6-9 weeks ahead!
Give yourself time to think about something other than work.
If you have a spouse or family, make a plan to be home if possible at a certain time. You can work at home but being present is really important.
TAKE A MENTAL HEALTH DAY…. it’s OK! Make the day AFTER your concert a clean up and reflect day.
When it’s time to “clock out”, you must do so. Delete your email app, and if you need it, turn off ALL notifications.
Take daily walks and use some self affirmations, because you are making a difference in the lives of your students.
Get outside and move.
When a worry or task pops into your head, write it down immediately — not on your hand, not on a sticky note, but in a dedicated “capture notebook.” The act of writing it down tells your brain, “I have not forgotten this. You can let it go now.”
Drink fun coffees, chew gum, go for a walk around the building, and listen to your favorite music. Sometimes listening to a professional concert band really cheers you up. Share some of those with your students!
I have a weekly meeting with myself where I look at next week’s calendar to figure out what I need to do and when. What do I need to prepare and when can I do that?
Take 15 minutes to reset at end of day
Keep improving. Remember what worked 5 years ago might need an upgrade. And enjoy the improvement.
Make it exist first, then make it good. Whatever works for YOU is something that WORKS. It doesn’t have to be pretty or aesthetic for it to be functional and good.