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Episode 228: Cheers to Avoiding Common Distractions in Our Work

Well hello there, studio teacher friends!  Welcome to the Beyond Measure Podcast: your place for teacher camaraderie that fits in your own schedule. Christina Whitlock here; your host and self-appointed Anytime Piano Teacher Friend. I’m speaking some important truths to you today; hoping to help you see past the distractions that keep us from doing our best work. If you feel called out by today’s episode, just remember: I’ve lived through these convictions first.  I’m right there with you. But sometimes your friends have to speak the truth in love…and that’s what I’m doing today.  So, Episode 228 of the Beyond Measure podcast: let’s do this thing!

There’s been a trend on social media this summer where people say, “Here’s what I would tell you if I wasn’t afraid of hurting your feelings”. The truth is, I *am* afraid of hurting your feelings… so I find it important to remind you that, when it comes to running an independent music studio, I’ve made all the mistakes already.  The words I speak today don’t come from a seat of judgement… just experience. I’m talking to ALL of us here. But since I keep my ear very close to the ground when it comes to music teaching, I can’t help but notice a lot of teachers focusing on the wrong things. We get distracted by things that are, frankly, EASIER to deal with than the actual dilemmas at hand.

The problem is, none of us have time or resources to waste. So my heart breaks a little when I see teacher chasing the wrong problem.

Do you know the expression of chasing the red herring? Back in the day, if you were hunting with dogs, and someone wanted to throw the dogs off their scent trail, they would use a red herring – a pungent smelling fish – to throw the dogs off track. Dogs started chasing the smell of the fish, rather than the thing they were hunting in the first place.

Piano teacher life is FULL of red herrings. It’s EASY to start chasing down a problem that is not, actually, the problem. In the early days of this podcast, I used to say, “Sometimes the thing you THINK is the thing is not REALLY the thing.”

…and there are A LOT of things in our work that we THINK are the things, but they really aren’t the thing, friends.

So, today we’re going to talk about one of them, and that’s the BUSINESS of music teaching. Gird your loins, we’re going there.  The business, my friends, can be a TOTAL red herring.

Most of us got started in this profession because we loved MUSIC, not entrepreneurship. So the business stuff can feel pretty overwhelming.

Here’s the flipside though: building a business *is* a creative act, and even though it is often unfamiliar to some of us, it can also light us up and give us another creative outlet. It can be FUN to dream up new marketing tactics and write perfectly-crafted studio policies. Designing beautiful materials and building presences on social media?  Very artistic, very satisfying for some of us. And there’s NOTHING wrong with that! I actually wish more of us would recognize how uniquely-suited we are to entrepreneurship. We act like building a business is the antithesis of artistry, when, actually, there’s a lot to love about it.

The problem that I see often is this: some of us would rather believe there’s a software or a system or a model that is going to be THE THING that turns our work around.  While there are plenty of great resources out there for us to use, I have yet to meet a teacher whose career was completely transformed by any of those things – despite being promised otherwise.

This is because the BUSINESS is not, actually, the problem. I’m all for tightening up your systems and working for efficiency in your business practices. 100% here for that.

I want to remind you that your studio policy is only as good as your willingness to communicate it. Having a laundry list of expectations in written form will only take you so far. You have to be willing to back it up in action, and you have to be willing to talk about it openly. You have to speak about it pro-actively, before you are put on the defensive.

If you’re feeling targeted at the moment, I’ll link a previous episode in today’s shownotes for you. It’s episode 139; Cheers to Bravery in Communication. That episode goes into further detail on why we have to stop hiding behind our written policies.

I’ll say it again: your written policies are only as good as your willingness to communicate them.

So, thinking you just need better written policies in place can be a red herring. More often than not, the REAL challenge is getting more comfortable with expressing and maintaining your own personal boundaries and expectations. Getting them in writing is a great first step… but it won’t save you if you’re not willing to advocate for yourself.

And yet – online Facebook groups are full of people asking how to write policies for X, Y, and Z situations.  Why? Because it’s a LOT more appealing to focus on writing an exemplary studio policy than it is to deal with actual human people. Accepting there will be conflict in our work?  Learning how to determine when an exception is worth it?  Seeing past your own perspective, and helping studio families do the same?  Ugh – that’s all HEAVY work. Heavy, but necessary. Don’t get distracted by the red herring; stay on your path.

By ALL MEANS: Write great studio policies. Systemize your procedures. Please do. But don’t give them more power than they actually have. Don’t pour ALL of your efforts into creating systems and plans and procedures for your studio. There are more important fish to fry.

(so many fish metaphors today… sorry guys)

All of this is equally true about marketing. Since marketing is so CLEARLY actionable, it’s a lot easier to block out time on your schedule to work on building your website… or sending emails… or making social media content. Those are definable tasks that have a clear result. You can check them off your list and feel good about yourself. It’s great.

…but…marketing might not be your problem.

I want to be clear: good marketing is never going hurt you. I think keeping your name active in your community is incredibly important, even when your studio is full. You want to be known in your area for being great at what you do. And, to some extent, that means marketing yourself in some way, shape, or form at all times. So I’m not telling you to ignore marketing.

But – the kind of teacher you are: your communication skills, your expertise, your approach to teaching… THOSE are skills FAR MORE WORTHY of your attention than marketing. And we ALL have room to improve on those fronts.

And, sure, in a perfect world, we would continue to improve everything all at once. 😊 But I live in the real world. We just don’t have endless time and energy for all the things. Oh – AND – we are more than piano teachers, right?  We have lives outside of our work and cultivating richness THERE is even more important than any of the things I’m talking about today.

Here’s an example for you: When it comes to this podcast, I’m so happy with the audience it has found. I feel connected to my listeners in a way I really did not think possible when I started this venture.  Even still, I know it has room to grow. I know there are teachers out there who would benefit from listening. So, much to my dismay, I need to market it.

I’m a team of one here, right?  I write/record/edit/publish/market all the things myself. The truth is, any time I’ve tried to prioritize marketing this show in my life, I’ve ended up feeling like the content suffers. I can’t say I’ve ever put out a show that I haven’t been proud of… but there are times I know I could have done better.

And herein lies the problem: Would I rather produce quality content? Or would I rather market it? Producing quality content builds a stronger audience.  It might be growing slower than some, but ya’ll are committed to this show. I know it. It is an unexpected joy in my life and I am so grateful.

To the contrary: if I double-down on marketing but my content is lackluster? That will get me listeners who will tune in to a few shows and then abandon me for something better.  I might see the download numbers spike, but numbers are empty if they don’t stick around. I’m here to help teachers. And I can only do that when you keep showing up week after week.

So, yes, I have to consider sustainable marketing tactics. But I have to keep creating quality episodes at the very top of my priority list for this work.

And you have to find the same hierarchy. It won’t matter if you bring in new students if you don’t provide a lesson experience that keeps them coming back.  Studio turnover is expensive in time, energy, and money. Retention is the goal, right? THAT’S how we get to do the real life-changing work of music study… by keeping students for years at a time, helping them see what they are truly capable of.

I realize we all know this on some level… but here’s what I think we miss: the REASON we end up chasing marketing is, again, it’s EASIER. It’s more cut-and-dry. We can measure the number of responses we get for our efforts. We can study marketing techniques. Whatever.

It’s also far less PERSONAL. It’s one thing to think our studio needs more media attention. It’s a completely different thing to admit we have room for growth as teachers.

…but you probably know where I stand on that: we ALL have room for growth as teachers. We can ALL get better at communicating with our students. At figuring how exactly what makes them tick.

We can ALL get better at clarifying our teaching philosophies and examining what it ACTUALLY means to teach students to play their instruments. We can all spend more time reflecting on what we want to keep and what we want to change from our own student experiences.  We can all learn more about the repertoire available to us, the inner-workings of how the brain TRULY learns, the list goes on and on…

All that – the most MEANINGFUL work we can do on our studios –  is very difficult to build into a checklist. It requires thought and humility and curiosity and willingness to experiment. It means admitting you have room to improve on in your teaching.

So here’s the problem: there’s ONE THING I never want to leave you feeling from this podcast, and that’s overwhelmed. I feel like I just opened up a whole can of worms.  Because, yes, the business and marketing aspects of our work DO need attention, and yes, our actual TEACHING needs even more attention than that.

I’m NOT trying to overwhelm you with an insurmountable list of improvements you need to make in your work life. Far from it.

Today is REALLY about making sure you don’t chase the red herring.  I want you to think about what has been receiving the bulk of your attention lately. I want you to ask yourself if that is an EASIER fixation than what really needs doing. Weigh the costs of your time and energy and make sure your current focus is really where it needs to be.

Time and attention are finate resources. We have to spend them wisely.

Now – if you LOVE playing with your studio website and you don’t care that you spend a disproportional amount of time on it? Carry on, my friend!  Again, we are artists and business is a creative outlet for us. If it feeds you, there’s nothing wrong with doing it.

But if you have a real pain point in your studio right now? I want you to make sure you are REALLY addressing the heart of the issue; not just the thing that is easier to measure or check-off your to-do list.

Fair enough?

Sigh. Believe it or not, we’re just scratching the surface of the things that distract us from our work. I’ll be talking about another common distraction next week… and, again, I’m pretty sure it’s going to ruffle some feathers.  (ooh, check that out…a bird reference… no fish this time). 😊

Let’s toast ourselves out of here and get on with our big week ahead!

Studio teacher friends from all around the world: Today we raise our glasses in remembrance of our limited time and energy for the work we do. May we study our business with great discernment, spotting the MOST immediate cause for attention and acting accordingly… whether it fits on a checklist or not.  Let’s embrace a spirit of humility and experimentation this week and always.  Hear, hear.

Okay! That’s episode 228.  Next week?  Another – maybe controversial – red herring we often find ourselves chasing. I’m nervous about it already… can you tell?  Well, again, I’m here to speak the truth in love, friends. If you appreciate the work I do, please consider sharing your favorite episode with a colleague.  And – if you are able – join the SuperFriends community on Patreon. That community keeps this show running ad-free so you don’t have to listen to me tell you about a new life-changing multi-vitamin every week. I know you and I both appreciate THAT.

Thanks again for being here and enjoying the messages I bring through Beyond Measure, friends.  Onward and upward!