scheduling
Tuesday, June 26, 2012 I'm sure I've complained about the yoga teacher schedule before. Early AM classes, noon classes, and evening classes. Basically the times when everyone else is not working. So, lunch with friends is difficult. No movies during the week, no meeting at the brewery after work...
I know. My life is soooo rough.
Plus, there is the art of actually scheduling classes and when the studio will be open. I like to put out the next month's calendar in the middle of the previous month so that if the studio is closed any days there is ample heads up. Spontaneous trips and days off are out. But, I also have the flexibility to take the days off I need.
And, I've built the whole deal around the idea of consistency. I get that things come up, but we have all been to that studio where classe are inexplicably cancelled all of the time. For the record I've posted a "classes cancelled" sign on the studio door twice in two years. Once for a family emergency and once I was so sick I couldn't get out of bed and had the wonderful husband post a sign for me.
I take consistency beyond that. I rarely mess with the schedule. If I try a new class, it is on the schedule for a long time. I have found that any little change really wreaks havoc with people. Once you realize that, you have room to maneuver the schedule. My last major tweak was in September. I added two classes.
All of this is just a very verbose way of saying that I'm been playing with the schedule.
Last week I hit one of the major goals I set for the studio. A goal that takes the studio from something I'm playing with, something I'm trying to make work to something that is working. It was a really huge moment for me. Up until then I had been willing to do whatever it takes to make it work, to make a living, to create a great studio. That moment hit hard. I still have to be willing to do whatever it takes, but now I have to shift that into a sustainable thing. That is where the schedule fiddling comes in.
I teach six days a week and by the end of my Saturday morning class, I am exhausted. Physically my body is wasted. And, emotionally I have nothing left to give. Which leaves me a zombie for my Sunday.
Two things are happening with the schedule.
One, I am taking next week off! I'm not going anywhere. I'm not doing anything special. I'm just taking time off. Pretty amazing to be able to do that. And, quite honestly, it is much needed. I had this planned before I hit my huge milestone so now it just feels like a well deserved reward.
Two, I'm mixing up the noon classes. Instead of having a noon class four days a week, I'm taking it down to three. Not a huge shift. But, that gives me two days a week that I don't have to be to the studio until 4:00 PM or so. It gives me more time for my writing and for my own practice (which I desperately need to sustain me).
Reader Comments (2)
Thank you so much for writing this! People so often underestimate just how hard teaching really is! I hate being labeled as having a super 'easy' job.
you disappeared!