You wake up with the best intentions—today will be the day you finally get ahead, stick to the content calendar, and have a stress-free, productive workday.
Then, reality hits.
By 9 a.m., your inbox is on fire, the website needs an urgent update, someone needs a flyer “real quick,” and you just found out there’s an event happening right now that no one told you about—but they’d love for you to “snap some photos.”
Welcome to a day in the life of a school marketing and communications professional—where every day is an unpredictable mix of planning, crisis management, content creation, and trying to remember if you ate lunch.
Let’s take a walk through your day, shall we?
7:30 a.m. – The Inbox Explosion Begins
You open your email to find:
- A dozen “urgent” requests that were definitely not urgent when people thought of them yesterday.
- A faculty member asking for a flyer—but they don’t have any details yet.
- Admissions needing a last-minute social media push for an event this weekend (that you just learned about).
- Leadership asking if the website can be “freshened up” today. (Because, sure, why not?)
Your coffee hasn’t even kicked in, and already, the to-do list is longer than your job description.
Your First Thought of the Day: Is there a way to clone myself?
9:00 a.m. – The “Can You Just” Requests Roll In
“Can you just whip up a quick flyer?” (No details, no deadline, just vibes.)
“Can you just update the website real fast?” (With an entire new page, apparently.)
“Can you just post something on social?” (No idea what, just… something.)
And, of course: “Can you just cover morning carpool real quick?”
Because somehow, being a marketing professional means you’re also on standby for carpool duty. (Secretly, this is actually the highlight of your day—seeing those smiling faces is the energy boost you needed!)
Your Internal Dialogue: Sure, I’ll just pause my actual job to direct carpool.
10:00 a.m. – The Social Media Scramble
You sit down to tackle your carefully planned social media content for the day…
…only to find out that there’s a big event happening RIGHT NOW that no one told you about.
So now you’re:
- Running across campus, camera in hand, trying to get a good shot without interrupting.
- Scrambling to post a live update so parents don’t ask, “Why wasn’t this on social?”
- Suddenly interviewing people on the spot for an Instagram reel.
Meanwhile, someone will 100% ask why you didn’t post about that other event last week (the one you also didn’t know about).
Your Social Media Strategy in One Sentence: Do the best you can with the information you have—because you rarely have all the information.
12:00 p.m. – Lunch? What’s That?
You’ve been so busy that you:
- Forgot to eat.
- Have three half-drunk cups of coffee sitting at your desk.
- Just realized you’ve been on your feet for three hours.
You finally take a bite of your sandwich… just as someone walks in with a “quick question.” Spoiler: It’s not quick.
Your Thought Process: Do I eat at my desk or accept my fate as a person who survives on caffeine and adrenaline?
2:00 p.m. – The Last-Minute Flyer Request
A staff member rushes into your office, breathless.
“We need a flyer!”
“Okay, when do you need it by?”
“Um… in about an hour?”
You:
😐😑😵
Your Self-Control at This Moment: Astronomical.
3:15 p.m. – Accidental Sports Photographer
Just as you finish the impossible flyer, you get a text: “The championship game started 10 minutes ago! We need action shots for the website!”
You grab your camera and sprint across campus, joining the sidelines where you:
- Take 300 photos hoping 5 will be usable
- Sweat through your professional outfit in the 90-degree heat
- Somehow still take notes for a recap article no one has asked for yet (but they will)
Your Athletic Skill: Running between the field, court, and pool in dress shoes.
4:00 p.m. – The “One More Thing” Email
You’re packing up to leave, feeling (relatively) accomplished when…
DING.
Your inbox delivers: “Hey, before you go, can you just…”
And just like that, you open your laptop back up.
Your End-of-Day Reflection: How does every day feel like five days in one?
8:00 p.m. – The Night Shift
Just as you’re sitting down to dinner, your phone buzzes with a text:
“Sorry it’s late! Can you use this photo for tomorrow’s newsletter?”
Attached: A blurry, dark image taken from 50 feet away
Your Magical Powers: Making unusable photos look professional and writing compelling stories about events you never actually witnessed.
The Reality: Too Many Hats, Not Enough Time
Let’s be honest—your actual job description probably covers about half of what you actually do.
The other half?
- Carpool duty (the 15 minutes of zen in your chaotic day).
- Skipping lunch to finish a “quick” project.
- Running around with a camera, capturing moments you never get to enjoy.
- Fixing website glitches you didn’t cause.
- Being the “voice of the school” at a moment’s notice.
- Marketing and communications isn’t just a job—it’s 10 jobs rolled into one.
Why We Do It Anyway
Despite the chaos, the missed lunches, and the never-ending “can you just” requests, there’s a reason we show up every day:
- That moment when a student stops you in the hallway to share their science fair project—which you promptly feature in the newsletter.
- When a parent tells you they chose your school because your communications made them feel welcome before they even visited.
- Watching the kindergarteners grow into confident 5th graders, and knowing you helped tell their story along the way.
- Being part of a community that’s shaping the future, one student at a time.
The truth is, school marketing isn’t just about promoting an institution—it’s about supporting education, celebrating learning, and building a community where children thrive.
And that makes all the chaos worth it.
The Hat Trick: 3 Key Takeaways
Find the Sweet Spot
Balancing urgent requests with strategic initiatives creates sustainable marketing that serves the whole school.
Leverage Your Team
Identifying allies across departments creates a network of content creators and storytellers.
Tools That Work
The right systems and processes can transform marketing from reactive to proactive.
At House of Hats Marketing, we help independent schools manage, streamline, and elevate their marketing efforts—so you can focus on what you do best: supporting the educational mission that matters so much.
