Top Five:
Top 5 Time Management Tips

Karen Thickstun, NCTM

MTNA Business Digest, Volume 3, Issue 3

April 2024

An article about time management should not take a lot of time to read. So here it is, short and simple: five strategies for time management. Or depending on how one numbers them, there are eight “ate” strategies.

1—Consolidate and dedicate.

2—Imitate and automate.

3—Delegate or eliminate.

4—Innovate.

5—Rejuvenate.

Ok, that might be too short. Depending on your time, keep reading for more context.

1—Consolidate. Batch “like” tasks into one time slot, especially activities that use the same tools, materials or supplies, such as meal prep and social media posts or lesson planning for the week, and monthly tasks such as invoicing and parent communications/emails.

Online resources can help manage these batching processes. Ashley Danyew describes some great options in Best Time-Batching Strategies for Musicians.

Dedicate a set time to work on each batch of tasks. Establish boundaries for office hours and reading email. Staying organized means you don’t waste time thinking about what’s next or looking for something. When creating a set time for a task, consider Parkinson’s law: “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” (Cherry, 2022) The more time we schedule for a task, the more the task tends to grow in complexity or become daunting and time-consuming. A strategy to mitigate this tendency is to break a large task into smaller pieces and set a deadline for each piece. When creating a set time for a task, also consider how much focus is necessary to accomplish the task and schedule high focus tasks for when you have the most mental energy.

Stop multi-tasking. Research shows that productivity goes down by as much as 40% since multi-tasking is really “switch-task[ing], rapidly shifting from one thing to another, interrupting ourselves unproductively, and losing time in the process.” (Bregman, 2010) “Deep work,” as described by Cal Newport, is productive and energizing. Read more in Ashley Danyew’s book review .

2—Imitate. Use templates whenever possible – for lesson plans, recordkeeping, assessments, recital programs. Write a script for recurring parent communications and questions. Cut and paste!

Automate whenever possible! Autopay can save hours of invoicing time. Write emails and social media posts in a batch (see #1 above) and schedule when to send. Schedule anything that is a priority, including family time and vacation weeks. My families know that mid-March is the MTNA National Conference because I auto-schedule it into the calendar every year.

3—Delegate. Outsource certain tasks to an older student. Consider hiring an assistant; Andrea Miller has advice for when, how and why. Utilize technology—instead of the back-and-forth of scheduling student appointments, use an app (such as calendly.com) that allows parents to schedule their own appointments based on available times that you offer.

Eliminate. Ask yourself: Will anyone miss this studio tradition or activity if I eliminate it? Is it essential? Instead of printed recital programs, post or email a QR code for parents to access a digital program. Stop reading click bait or going down rabbit holes.

4—Innovate. Work smarter, not harder. Consider studio changes that impact your time in a positive way, such as holding group classes for one week each month instead of private lessons, offering make up classes for only one week at the end of the semester, or keeping tuition the same while reducing the number of weeks you teach.

5—Rejuvenate. Participate in creative activities outside of teaching or any activity that taps into your passions. Then bring that creative energy into the studio. With energy and fresh eyes, we get more done and often done better.

Many time management tips simply require willpower and a commitment to stay the course. Do it and move on. This may require a mindset change to “done is better than perfect.”

Time management is not about quick fixes; it’s about working smarter. And sometimes that may mean slowing down to get it right the first time. This “strategic slowness,” as articulated by Stanford management professor Bob Sutton, is desirable in certain situations where large, irreversible decisions are involved or when solving complicated problems. Sutton also notes that when our brains assess people and situations quickly, there is a greater chance of bias and stereotyping (Stillman, 2024).

“The most precious resource we all have is time.”
                                                                    —Steve Jobs

References

Peter Bregman, Harvard Business Review, 2010. How (and Why) to Stop Multitasking Accessed February 15, 2024. https://hbr.org/2010/05/how-and-why-to-stop-multitaski.

Kendra Cherry, What Is Parkinson’s Law?, 2022. Accessed February 15, 2024. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-parkinsons-law-6674423.

Jessica Stillman, Inc.com, 8 Times You Should Slow Way Down at Work, According to a Stanford Management Expert. Accessed February 14, 2024. https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/8-times-you-should-slow-down-work-stanford-management-expert.html.

Karen Thickstun, NCTM, teaches piano pedagogy at Butler University and recently retired as founding director of the Butler Community Arts School. She holds degrees in music, economics and business. Thickstun is MTNA immediate past president.