What to Change Before Starting Next Year’s Yearbook

By the time the yearbook is submitted, most advisers feel two things at once:

First, RELIEF, and second, PERSPECTIVE.

The deadlines are behind you. The hard part is done. And for the first time in months, there is enough distance to look back and ask:

Do I want next year to operate the same way?

That is one of the most valuable questions an adviser can ask right now.

Once summer begins, the stress fades, the details blur, and many programs quietly fall back into the same habits that made this year harder than it needed to be. Before that happens, it is worth taking a step back and deciding what should actually change.

⚠️ What Felt Harder Than It Should Have?

It’s normal for every yearbook program to face pressure. But not every challenge is “part of yearbook.” Some situations feel difficult because they are difficult. Others find the challenges difficult because the process around them is not working as well as it should.

Ask yourself:

• What created the most unnecessary stress?

• What slowed us down the most?

• Where did we lose the most time?

• What problems kept repeating?

  
  

Those answers usually reveal what needs the most attention next year.

✅ What Should Stay the Same?

Not everything needs to change. Most likely, some parts of this year worked well and should be protected.

Maybe your staff dynamic was strong. Maybe your theme process worked. Maybe your deadlines were solid. Maybe your students took real ownership.

Those are not just wins to appreciate, they are systems worth repeating.

Improvement is not just about fixing what was hard. It is also about recognizing what already worked and building on it.

🧩 What Felt More Complicated Than It Needed to Be?

This is often where the biggest opportunities are hiding. Sometimes, the most frustrating parts of yearbook are not the biggest tasks. They are the parts that felt harder than they should have:

• getting clear answers

• organizing content

• managing student workflow

• solving small problems

• keeping things moving

  
  

Those are often the clearest signs that something in the process, not the effort, is what needs to change. That is important to recognize now, while it is still easy to remember where the friction was.

🔄 What Do You Not Want to Repeat Next Year?

This may be the most useful question of all.

What do you not want to do the same way again?

• What felt too reactive?

• What created avoidable stress?

• What took more energy than it should have?

• What would you change if you could reset it now?

  
  

That is usually where the clearest next step lives. Most yearbook improvements do not start with adding more; They start with deciding what no longer makes sense to carry forward.

🤝 What Kind of Support Would Have Helped Most?

By the end of the year, most advisers have a much clearer sense of the areas that were lacking.

Maybe it was:

• clearer structure

• stronger student training

• better organization tools

• faster answers

• more proactive guidance

  
  

Those gaps are much easier to identify now than they will be in the fall. Once you know where support was missing, it will become easier to decide how next year should look different.

📝 5 Practical Things to Do Before Summer Starts

You do not need to rebuild next year’s yearbook right now. But there are a few simple things you can do before summer that will make next year much easier.

1. Write down the 3 things that slowed you down most

Do this while it is still fresh. Was it communication? Deadlines? Student follow-through? Organization? Write down the three biggest friction points now so you are not relying on memory in August.

2. Identify 2 students who should lead next year

Before students leave campus, decide who has leadership potential. When you know who your strongest returning students are, even if their roles are not finalized yet, you will have an easier starting point in the fall.

3. Make one note about what support was missing

What would have made the biggest difference this year? Better training? Faster answers? More structure? Easier tools? Knowing the answer now gives you something concrete to improve before the next cycle begins.

4. Save what worked

Do not just document the problems. Write down what actually worked well this year:

• a deadline system

• a theme process

• a strong student role

• a meeting format

Good systems are worth repeating.

5. Decide one thing you are not doing the same way next year

Finally, I direct you to the most important change:  Pick one part of the process that needs to change. That one decision often creates more momentum than trying to overhaul everything at once.

💡 Final Thought

Before next year begins, do not just ask what needs to get done. Ask what needs to change. 

Then write it down while it is still fresh. That is often the difference between repeating the same stress and building a stronger process next year. 

Email us at info@unitedyearbook.net or call our toll-free number: 1-877-33-YEARBOOK (international: 909-373-4087).

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Copyright © 2026. TSE Worldwide Press. All Rights Reserved.

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.