It can be difficult to pace work as a private Suzuki violin teacher.

Sometimes we take on too much. Sometimes we feel like we aren’t doing anything.

I’ve found it helpful to split of my work season by season. I define objectives for Spring (Jan-June), Summer (July-Aug), and Fall (Sep-Dec).

Within the season I establish some kind of flavor (through playlists, uniforms, habits, etc.) and break down each month into a sprint of at least one project.

For example, in this season (s’23) I developed this playlist, this collage, and split my schedule in half (8pm-8am is completely off at home, 8am-8pm is completely on at work).

The meta goals for the season (s’23) are to..

1. Stay hyper-consistent with content on blog (here), instagram, and YouTube.
2. Develop a magnetic studio that can take students from Book 1 to 10.

To support those goals I’ve planned weekly recurring (content every Monday, teacher training every Thursday) and the following projects for each month.

• JANUARY: Student Violin (Q1), Financial Shift (Business, Taxes, etc.)
• FEBRUARY: S.O.P.’s, launch Suzuki Archive
• MARCH: Blueprint (B1-10)
• APRIL: Student Vision (Q2), C.O.A, and Parent Podcast
• MAY: Studio Recital, Yearbook
• JUNE: Transparency Report

I hope this gives you some insight into how I continue to make small changes month after month after month. It is from choosing not to do most things. Specifically choosing just to do two big projects (content and studio prep) and 11 small sprinting projects. One at a time. I hope this inspires you to make small, tangible steps towards your goals, too.

It might be fun for you to see all of this come to life in the next five months. Cheers!