Day 323: Schedule downtime.

It’s important to schedule our work. I like to have larger goals scheduled broadly and smaller goals (themselves broken down into the smallest components) scheduled more specifically.  (I don’t always follow my own advice/see yesterday/I’m trying.) It takes discipline to keep at our work. But today I’m writing to advocate for scheduling downtime, too.

Today I needed smaller goals, but I took a new approach to tackling them. I scheduled today’s downtime before I did anything else. I placed the largest block first, so my work time would be more relaxed and focused. This wasn’t a procrastination, but a purposeful allocation of time that I set a timer for. I wasn’t allowed to do any work for 45 minutes in the morning, and then when I did do my first work, it was to schedule the rest of the day into small, attainable goals, including at least one more (shorter) block of relaxation. But I think the key to today, a very productive day, was that first 45 minutes. I sipped some half-caff in my pj’s and read a funny story online. I watched a little news (not relaxing for many, but I love it) and chatted with a friend. In the middle of this, I caught myself trying to worry and glancing at a bill in the corner of my eye, so I turned it over and added 5 minutes to the downtime timer. Of course we don’t always have this luxury at all, but this morning I did and I took it. And scheduling downtime is just that… finding what works for a given day. Many days are just go-go-go, but maybe we can schedule 5 or 10 minutes to sneak away and decompress.

Day 292: hurting.

So…  apparently I have a small injury. Yesterday, I began having some pain in my right arm. I immediately stopped playing because  I don’t know what’s going on and I don’t want to make it worse. Since then I’ve taught in creative ways, with singing and clapping and explaining. (But that’s not too bad because I already did all that, I just demonstrated (on viola) in addition.)

Today I’m hurting. Kind of a lot. I don’t know exactly what the problem is. Maybe a pinched nerve in my neck. (I’ll keep you guys posted.) It doesn’t mean I stop studying or learning or growing. Right now my full time job is healing and keepin’ on keepin’ on.

When we hurt, it doesn’t mean we stop. Period.

Day 157: work less

Today’s entry is simple: work less.

When stuff gets tough, we tend to work too hard. When we play on two strings or more, we tend to press. When we approach a difficult passage, we can get tight. All of it results in tension and crunch in the sound, and after some time, actual pain.

Let’s let go.
Let’s ease up.
Let’s work less.