Piano Teacher Reset: Setting Goals For the Year

New Year’s is a typical time to set goals, reset habits, and reevaluate the direction of your life.  But there really isn’t a bad time to initiate this process.

If you’re a piano teacher, that likely means you are your own boss.  One of the many perks of the job!  But that also means no one is challenging you, keeping you accountable, or pushing you in a certain direction.  That’s on you, Kid.

Let’s walk through a simple, yet eye-opening exercise to find out:

• Where you are in your piano teacher journey
• What direction you are headed in your piano teacher journey
• What course changes you want to make, if any.

Piano Teacher…Journey?

Wait, it’s a journey?  I thought once I became a piano teacher I, well, was a piano teacher.  What do you mean “journey?”

Oh, yes, my friend. This is most definitely a journey.  Think about it.  So many occupations are “all or nothing.”  In other words, you’re a full-time surgeon, or you’re not a surgeon at all.

But piano teaching can range from teaching your nephew every other week just for fun to teaching six days a week and maintaining a studio of 50 students–and everything in between.

Because every piano teacher is unique, every piano teacher journey is unique.  And your destination will not necessarily look like another teacher’s destination!  

So, the good news is it’s entirely up to you what path you take, in what direction, to what destination.

And, the bad news is it’s entirely up to you what path you take…  You get it.

Now that we’re on the same page, are you ready to unveil your unique journey?

Piano Teacher Reset: Where Are You in Your Piano Teacher Journey?

To start your piano teacher reset, let’s paint a picture of where you are in your piano teacher journey.

Take a moment to consider these factors.  Jot down some ideas for each question.

• How many students do you teach?
• How many years have you been teaching?
• How much do you charge per lesson?
• How much do you make per year?
• How many lessons do you teach each week?
• Do you have another job or is teaching your main source of income?
• How many studio events do you host each year?
• Have you hired any teachers to work with you or under you?  How many?
• Are you a member of any teacher groups or associations?
• Have you received any awards or accolades?
• Have any of your students received any awards or accolades?

Great job.  Now just take a moment to consider your thoughts and feelings about each answer you gave.  

Because, you see, it’s not about the milestones I suggest to become a successful piano teacher.  It’s about what you want to be.

Piano Teacher Reset: What Direction Are You Headed as a Piano Teacher?

So far you should have thought through the tangible measurements, let’s say, of your piano teaching career.

And you should have also thought about your reaction to each one.  Yes, your thoughts and feelings towards each question matters greatly for this next step.

Take Inventory of Your Feelings

Now consider your reaction to the above questions and answers.  Did you feel…

• Dismissive?  Did any question make you think, “Well, I don’t care about that at all and I probably never will.”  Good!  That’s a message from your inner self about what is important to you!  Keep going.
• Embarrassed?  Would you be embarrassed about any of your answers?  Yeah, yeah, I know…we shouldn’t care about what others think.  And that is true.  But, your feelings are valuable information about where you want to grow!
• Proud?  Were you proud to write out any of your answers?  Great!  That means that area of your piano teaching business is important to you and you’re finding success in that area as well.
• Defensive?  “Why would she even ask this question?!”  Oof, this is a tough one.  If you are feeling defensive about any of the above questions, that may be a sign that this area is important to you, but you have not put the effort into that area that you would like to.  Be honest with yourself!  If there are changes you want to make, you’re the boss!  You can do that!
• Inspired?  And lastly, did any of the questions inspire you to set a goal or take action?  Well, that’s pretty self-explanatory.  You have stumbled upon an area you’d like to grow and you’re ready to take the necessary sets to get there!  Whoo-hoo!
• Any other feelings?  Maybe you’re feeling something I didn’t mention.  Great!  Look at you, self-diagnosing.  What would you call that emotion?  And what insight can it give you on that area of your piano teaching business?

Take Inventory of Your Direction

Time to go back over those questions, now armed with your personal feelings and thoughts about each one.

Evaluate what direction you are headed by “rating” each area of your piano teacher business.

For each question assign a “direction” as follows:

• Not Relevant – this area is not important to you and you have no desire to achieve anything in this area in the future.
• Backwards – this area is relevant and you’ve been slacking, the numbers are going down, or you’ve been focused on other areas to the detriment of this area.
• Stagnant – this area is holding steady or is unchanged in the past year or so.
• Detour – this area has been nurtured but in the wrong direction.
• Slowly Moving Forward – this area is making progress at a slow rate.
• Moving Forward – this area is making steady progress.
• Racing Ahead – this area is making leaps and bounds in the right direction.

Piano Teacher Reset: What Course Changes Do You Want to Make?

By now you should have a really good idea of where you are and where you want to be.

The only thing left to do is to figure out how to get there!

In the areas where you aren’t making the progress you would like, how can you foster that area?  More time dedicated to it?  More money?  Do you need to further your education?  Find a mentor?  Find a new resource?

Brainstorm some ideas on changes you can make in the next twelve months to end up closer to where you want to end up a year from now.

You can do this!  You are now more self-aware than most adults.  Even if you make a course correction that fails, you will have information to help you reach your goals in the future.

Piano Teacher Reset: Try a Time Audit

If the needed course corrections are not obvious at this point in the process, you might consider conducting an experiment on how you spend your time.

Consider trying a TIME AUDIT, a week of time tracking to give you an accurate, objective picture of where you are spending your time.

If you feel busy all the time, like you’re working really hard, but you’re not seeing results in the areas you value most, this can be an eye-opening exercise!

I’ve created a FREE PDF Time Tracking Chart if you like the idea of pen and paper time tracking. There are apps that will help with time tracking, but personally I like having something physical on my desk that I can’t ignore.

Here’s how the Time Audit works:

1. Pick a typical work week to track your time.
2. Print out the Time Tracking Chart.
3. Track every minute of your work time for seven days.
4. At the end of the week, total up your minutes in each work (or life) category.
5. Assess the percentage of time spent on each activity verses its outcome.
6. Determine where you can spend less time and where you want spend more time.

You can download the Time Tracking Chart PDF from my Resources page.

What’s Next?  Setting Goals For Piano Teachers [Free Goal Setting PDF]

Now that you’re in super goal setting mode, check out my blog post about setting goals for the new year as a piano teacher. 

I’ve also included a free PDF to walk you through the goal setting process.  (Yes, this is a Goal Setting PDF not to be confused with the Time Tracking PDF shown in this post.)

There is also a video of me setting my goals for the year as a pianopreneur!

Check out the blog post and video here.