When I started my journey as a self-employed educational consultant and contractor, I had no idea what I was doing! I knew I wanted the freedom to create my own schedule and avoid working full-time for any one company that would require 40 hours a week. I was aiming for the retired (or semi-retired) life! On the flip side, I also needed to bring in enough income to supplement my modest teacher retirement if I wanted to enjoy that lifestyle.
I retired from teaching while we were still recovering from COVID. Teachers and students were back in school, but professional trainings were still primarily conducted online. There was a high demand for professional development specialists who could lead synchronous virtual trainings. I was lucky enough to be hired by not one, not two, but three educational companies to deliver their PD sessions!
Learning the products was easy since I was familiar with them, and each company provided ample support during the onboarding process. Plus, I could conduct the sessions from the comfort of my home office, allowing me the flexibility to do multiple sessions a day if I wanted.
At the time, I kept all of my training sessions on a desk calendar, using different colors for each job, including session titles, school district names, and the times of the trainings. It seemed like a good system—until I realized it had its flaws. If my calendar wasn’t nearby, I wasn’t always sure of what I had scheduled at any given moment.
So, it probably wasn’t a total surprise when I had my first MAJOR screw-up: I totally forgot about a training session! About 45 minutes after it was supposed to start, it hit me that I had made a huge mistake. I scrambled online, and luckily, my participants were still patiently waiting. I apologized profusely and conducted the training, but the company I was working for was understandably not happy. Shortly after, they let me go. (And they were right to do so! They were a fantastic company to work for, and I still recommend them to other teachers.)
Through trial and error, I have since developed a much better system for keeping track of all my professional and personal engagements. Here’s what I’ve learned works best:
- Keep a portable calendar notebook – This is easy to travel with and always stays in my travel bag. When new job opportunities come up, I can quickly jot down important details (company, location, times). I color-code each company and use erasable Flexion pens in case plans change.
- Keep an online master calendar – Each week, I update my Outlook Calendar. I include all personal events, birthdays, and holidays. Since I travel a lot for work these days, I also add flights, hotel reservations, and car rental information to that calendar.
- Link each company calendar to my Outlook/Google master calendar – Each company manages engagements differently. For example, one company uses Google Calendar to assign sessions, so linking it to my master calendar ensures those jobs show up automatically. Other companies don’t send calendar appointments, so I create them manually. By linking each account (whether Google or Outlook), I can integrate all calendars into my master one. I even assign a different color to each account to easily track everything.
- Make weekly updates to company calendars – Every company I work with has its own system for recording assignments and personal days. Some share Google calendars, while others use platforms like Salesforce. Each company has strategists who set up client goals and resources, and they check my availability through the company calendar. That’s why I dedicate time each week to update my availability for upcoming projects.
Want to learn more about how you can become a trainer or professional learning specialist?
I started my journey with Ali Parrish and Teacher Transition. The courses she offered at the time gave me the boost I needed! Now, I’m thrilled to be part of her team as a mentor for her newest course and cohort: Becoming a Trainer! Check out all of the courses at Teacher Transition [here]! (Note: I’m excited to be able to share this affiliate link!)
More than a Teacher 