How to Keep Your Yearbook Staff Engaged When Energy Drops

Jessica Carrera
Jan 22
3 min read

Two yearbook students are excited as they work together on the yearbook project.

By late January, the yearbook season often hits a tough stretch.

The excitement of the holidays has faded, winter break is over, deadlines are closer, and pages are piling up. Deadlines are looming, and both students and advisers may be feeling tired, overwhelmed, and lackluster compared to a few months ago.

The work is no longer exciting, and not urgent enough to feel final. This is the phase where motivation quietly fades, habits slip, and dependable staff can lose their rhythm.

This isn’t a planning problem. It’s a leadership moment!

The Middle Is the Most Formidable Part of Any Long Project

In long-term creative projects, there’s a predictable curve:

Excitement drives energy at the beginning.
Deadlines drive energy toward the end.
The middle almost entirely depends on the Leadership to keep momentum.

By January, students:

Understand the workload better than they did in the fall
Feel the pressure more distinctly
And are more cognizant of how much work remains

During this period, advisers have the most influence through culture, not through schedules.

Shift From Managing Tasks to Managing People

Earlier in the year, success was about systems:

Deadlines
Training
Workflow

In the middle of the year, success is about people:

Confidence
Ownership
Emotional endurance

Ask yourself:

Who on my staff is quietly struggling?
Who has lost confidence in their work?
Who has disengaged, but is still capable?

Motivation rarely returns through reminders. It returns through connection.

Replace Pressure With Purpose

When energy drops, advisers often increase pressure:

More reminders
Tighter deadlines
More corrections

Without purpose, pressure leads to burnout.

Instead, reconnect students to:

Why this book matters
Who it’s for
What story they are responsible for telling

Even a short conversation about legacy, storytelling, or representation can restore meaning to routine work.

Use January to Develop Leaders, Not Just Finish Pages

This is the ideal time to:

Let section editors run critiques
Ask students to mentor younger staff
Involve students in solving workflow problems

Engagement will rise naturally when students feel trusted as leaders.

A Word to Advisers

This part of the year is heavy.

You’re balancing:

Teaching
Deadlines
Student motivation
And your own energy

If this feels harder than the fall semester, that doesn’t mean you’re doing something wrong. It means you’ve reached the phase where leadership matters more than systems.

Support Matters in the Middle

This is also the point in the season when a partner is most beneficial for advisers.

A quick design check
A pacing conversation
Reassurance that the book is on track

Final Thought

The winter slump isn’t a problem to fix. It’s a phase to lead and manage. And how you guide your staff now will shape not just the final book, but the confidence your students carry long after it’s finished. Feeling alone in the process? Reach out to us at info@unitedyearbook.net or give us a call at 909-373-4087. We’re happy to help.

Image of Jessica Carrera, a United Yearbook representative.

Contributor: Jessica Carrera, Associate Editor at TSE Worldwide Press and Marketing Coordinator at United Yearbook, holds a B.A. in English with a concentration in writing from Biola University. She aspires to touch the lives of others through her words.

Editor: Donna Ladner obtained a B.A. in Education and a minor in English from California Baptist University, and a M.S. in ESL from USC, Los Angeles. After she married Daniel, their family moved to Indonesia with a non-profit organization and lived cross-culturally for 15 years before returning to the U.S in 2012. Donna has been working as an editor and proofreader for TSE Worldwide Press and its subsidiary, United Yearbook since 2015.