How to Avoid Procrastination with Your Committee During the Holiday Season

The holiday time is exciting! It is a time for parties and gifts and upcoming vacations. It’s also a time when most of us like to “loosen our belts” and tend to lose focus on everyday tasks and goals. That includes the yearbook committee.

Group people in santa hat at Xmas business party.So how can you keep your committee productive and avoid procrastination during the holiday season without being called “the Grinch?” Here are some tips:

  • Provide your committee with a work party. While this may sound counterproductive, work parties can motivate the team to continue working while simultaneously enjoying the season. Maybe have a Secret Santa for just the staff and bring in special holiday food for the committee while they work.

  • Implement a rewards system. Reward systems are spectacularly beneficial during the holiday season because there are so many unique activities that will for sure entice team members. For example, reward team members that finish their tasks with a gift card that they can then use on holiday gifts for their friends and family.

  • Create looser goals. Yes everyone wants to slow down the pace during the holidays. That doesn’t mean the great yearbook you are creating should be neglected. By giving the team lighter written goals each day you can help them stay motivated but also reward them with free time that they can enjoy. Remember a little bit of work is better than no work at all.

The holidays are about being together. Productive yearbook committees will more than likely continue to enjoy each other’s company while they are staying productive and creating a great yearbook!

Why A Yearbook Style Guide Is Important

There are a lot of hands that go into creating a class yearbook, and just like a big business, there needs to be proper communication in order to create a fantastic finished product.

Color chart with woman hand choosing pink

One extremely important part of the yearbook that needs to stay consistent throughout is the style of it. That includes for example, how the photos are cropped and what fonts are utilized throughout the yearbook.

For this reason, it is definitely a great idea to create a consistent style guide that everyone on the yearbook staff can utilize when creating and doing his or her portion of the book.

Basically, a style guide can be a master document that provides guidelines on how the yearbook should be presented after it is printed.  Here are some elements it should define and include:

  • The tone of the yearbook: This area should explain the theme of the book and how that theme is approached. Should the book have a serious tone? Maybe more of an academic or educational type tone? In this section of the guide your tone should be defined clearly so that everyone is on the same page.

  • How the yearbook should speak to the readers: Should the book include sarcasm or should it include more dry and matter of fact type humor? How should photo captions be written? It is here where you will define the voice of the yearbook.

  • The visual component is another important area: It is here where you will showcase the approved typography that should be used as well as font and image sizes as well as any approved logos. In addition, a color palate should be created with CMYK colors so no one gets confused with the shades of a particular color that is being used.

  • Defining the potential variables in the book needs to be mandatory: For example, dates and times. Should it read April 8th or April 8?  Maybe it should read the 8th of April? As for times should you use 12 noon or 12:00p.m.? While either of these methods can be used it is important that the book is consistent throughout.

  • Lastly, every yearbook style guide should include a checklist: This will help make sure nothing gets missed. Some bullets on this list should include – I have run a spellcheck, I checked spacing and I have saved the work in the proper file. This is a great way to make sure “no stone is left unturned.”

A style guide is a great “bible” that everyone on the yearbook committee should have a copy of to make sure the book exceeds all expectations for everyone on the yearbook committee as well as everyone in the graduating class.

How to Keep Your Yearbook Staff Organized

Putting together a school yearbook doesn’t just take one person; it takes a team! That is because there are a lot of moving parts involved. From the design to the photography, to the marketing and fundraising there are definitely a lot of hands on deck.

Businessman's hand drawing an red organization chart on a white board

We know an unorganized staff can lead to a slew of potential problems and headaches. So what should you do to keep your staff organized?

The first thing you need to do is assign roles. Just like in any group or company everyone has a specific task or responsibility. By having a description of each role can surely keep everyone in line on what is and isn’t expected of him or her. Editors should be assigned one role; photographers and writers should be assigned their roles and so on.

It is very important though that each one of these roles be put in writing and even signed by the person who is responsible for them. This way there is no finger pointing and everyone is held accountable.

If you are the yearbook advisor or the overall head of the entire project, it is important to keep your staff happy and motivated. This will help in the outcome of the overall school yearbook. A simple thank you or job well done can go along way with a staff member and will show them you care in their work. In addition, you will want to create an atmosphere that is fun and welcoming. This will motivate the team to share ideas and resources. If you reached a particular goal try to create some sort of celebration so everyone is recognized for his or her accomplishments.

Besides the motivational organization, a yearbook involves tactical organization. The Pictavo design software is a great tool that can be very useful throughout the entire yearbook process, keeping everyone organized and on the same page.

Learn more about the collaboration tools and features of Pictavo >>

An organized yearbook staff is sure to turn out a great finished yearbook. Simply put together, a great strategy ahead of time and your execution should become flawless.

 

Simple Steps to Getting Started with Your School Yearbook

How do we put our book together?

Determine the approximate number of pages you will need in the book, based on the number of students and staff members, number of grades, extracurricular activities and other pages you might want in the book. If you plan to use portraits from your school
photographer, contact the photographer at the beginning of the school year. Arrange to have your portraits available, preferably on CD, as early as possible, as you will need them to begin page layout.

How do we organize our yearbook staff?

Assign committees: e.g., coordinator, publicity (advertising and sales), photography, design and layout, proofing, bookkeeping. We suggest the staff include both an adviser and an assistant adviser. Please notify us early with contact information. Include home phone numbers and e-mail addresses to avoid delays. Hold a staff meeting at the beginning of
the school year to set up a schedule for regular staff meetings.

What steps should we take to assemble our book?

Have your photographer supply you with photo prints or a high-resolution digital portrait CD. Follow the guidelines in this guide to create your yearbook. This can be done through school curriculum, your parent/ teacher organization or volunteers. Using committees, you can put the book together in stages. For example, at the beginning of the school year, put together the classroom pages, and then, as each activity, event or sporting season
concludes, add those pages to your book.

What process do we follow to get our book printed?

Complete the Yearbook Checklist found on the PDF Plan Production Form. Gather all the publication materials and send them to us.