Category Archives: time management

Be in Control of Your Author Visit Schedule

Leave a reply

POST 0096 - Schedule - Clock

Here’s what I find surprising – when I hear seasoned authors start with these words, “I didn’t know until they sent me the schedule . . . “ The sentence is completed in any number of ways: “. . . that the host didn’t schedule lunch” “. . .has me addressing Pre-Ks and I write middle grade” “. . .  cut my 60-minute presentation to 30 minutes.”

The solution to these scheduling surprises, of course, is to work out the kinks ahead of time.

While we all try make accommodations for special situations, you are the expert on determining the best flow for your day. Your goal is to deliver the greatest educational value to kids through your presentations. But scheduling can be challenging for schools. They often have to rearrange recess and juggle classes to adjust for an author visit. So why not help them out?

I work out scheduling details at least two weeks before a visit. I send a Sample Schedule for the school to use as a guide and ask to review it before it is published for the staff.

The schedule includes the time needed for each assembly (Primary, Intermediate, Middle) or workshop, and even the transition time needed to reset my props between sessions or to travel to a workshop location on campus. I’m flexible on time needed for lunch.

A few years ago, I also learned to stand firm on one thing: the order of events in my day at the school. Why? The turning point came when I was in a school of over 1,000 children, all PreK to Grade2. The host scheduled all the Kindergartners for the last period in the afternoon. It’s not a leap to picture the outcome!  I now require that my elementary school assemblies are held in the morning.

Get your schedule in writing ahead of your visit. And don’t be timid about speaking up to make adjustments. In the end, the students are the ones benefitting from a schedule that flows and an author who can perform at the top of their game.

Bundling Your Time

Leave a reply

Author Dori Butler wanted to be able to offer free mini-Skype visits to schools, but needed a way to manage requests:

 

“I like to be able to offer something [to schools] for free, in the interest of promoting literacy. But I’m doing it on MY terms. I’ve decided to set aside one day a month in which I will do four 15-minute Q & A sessions during my ‘lunch hour,’ and schools can sign up, first come, first served. When those slots are filled, they’re filled. And I will still require that everyone in those sessions have read or heard at least one of my books.”

 I loved that Dori took charge of her schedule and determined what would work best for her life of writing and appearances.

 One year when my calendar looked like Swiss cheese, pocked with non-writing obligations, I knew I needed to do something. So I crossed off the second week of every month and made it a ME week: no appointments, no food shopping, no writers meetings, no trips to the post office, no school visits. Just me, my desk and my computer.

 During times when I’m on tight deadlines, I’ve done a similar thing with school visits. I’ll pick a week out of the month in which I try to book the bulk of my visits. This is a little harder to do, especially when a juicy offer comes my way. But if I keep my ME week intact, it’s a little easier to cut the school visit week a little slack.

 At a business meeting a couple of weeks ago, I heard a consultant use the phrase, “Money Mondays.” What she meant was that she dedicated Mondays to doing financials related to her business. What a great way to tame must-do tasks!

 Our livelihoods depend on our being creative. And as much as we may love doing appearances and other things, we need to be smarter about how we use time so we can keep making terrific books. So, choose days of the week – or month – to bundle tasks and tame a time a little bit better. Trust me – it can reduce stress and lead to higher productivity.