| You CAN do everything.
Repeat.
You CAN do everything. What you
cannot do, however, is do everything
at the same time, or create a
day that’s longer than 24 hours.
The two most important aspects
of time management are acceptance
and choice. When you think of
time in terms of acceptance and
choice, you’re never “wrong”,
“bad”, or “lazy”, you’ve just
made certain choices. When you
think in terms of discipline and
willpower, however, your inner
critic can really do a number
on you. We already have low self-esteem
as artists; let’s not add to the
problem!!
An example of this from my own
life is that I choose to live
alone instead of with a roommate;
that means I also choose higher
rent and the need to bring in
enough income to cover that rent.
When sneaky thoughts of resentment
or self-pity creep in to my head,
I need to remember the choice
that I made, and I need to accept
this is how things are for now.
Here are some tips for using choice
and acceptance to manage your
time.
Decide what you want to have time
for. What keeps getting pushed
to the back burner or rushed through?
How will you spend your time once
you’ve made your songwriting dreams
come true and you’ve become the
artist you’re meant to be? Nourish
this vision until it’s clear in
your mind. It’s essential to know
what you’re working towards. Remember,
you won’t always be this busy
unless you choose to be.
Choose not to be this busy – for
one week, track your time using
a time log. You can make one yourself;
simply chart out (on paper or
on the computer) your day in fifteen-minute
intervals and then record what
you do in each of those blocks
of time. Completing a time log
will illuminate how much time
you’re spending on different things.
Look carefully at the choices
you’re making. What do you most
want to do with the time you have
available?
Accept your day job for what it
is – a source of the financial
support you need to eat and live
– and write songs! Practice feeling
grateful for the job you have,
instead of feeling resentful about
the time it’s taking away from
your songwriting. For instance,
what recording equipment, CD’s,
manuscript paper, software programs
or musical instruments have you
bought from the money you earned
in this job? Also, the job is
giving you life experiences, and
most likely lots of opportunities
to interact with other people.
Your passion is to communicate
with people through your music
– how can you take some of that
passion and apply it to your day-to-day
interactions? What kind of stories
do your co-workers have to tell?
What ideas do those stir up for
you that you can use in your writing?
Look for a “day job” that’s meaningful
and that’s taking you in the direction
of your dreams. Do you need some
ideas? Try meditating to access
inner wisdom and spiritual guidance.
If songwriting is your primary
passion, what’s your second passion?
What ELSE gets your juices flowing?
There’s no need to be in a job
that doesn’t make you feel alive,
in order to support what does.
Some artists that I know get lots
of fulfillment from teaching children
or adults about their craft. Others
take jobs that involve public
speaking, to give them more experience
and confidence talking to groups.
Some take jobs in music stores,
where they can have lots of time
to learn about the newest equipment,
meet lots of fellow artists, and
get a discount, to boot!
Schedule time with yourself for
your songwriting, collaborating
and rehearsing. Keep these dates
with yourself and others as sacred
appointments!
Be good to your body and don’t
sacrifice sleep for productivity
(if you keep doing that, you won’t
be in much shape to produce anything!).
There are only a couple of things
that we really NEED to do every
day. Everything else is a choice.
This article was originally published
on the Muses Muse Songwriter’s
Resource website (November 2004)
http://www.musesmuse.com.
(c) Copyright 2005, Genuine Coaching
Services.
Linda Dessau, the Self-Care Coach,
helps artists enhance their creativity
by addressing their unique self-care
issues. To receive her free monthly
newsletter, “Everyday Artist”,
subscribe at http://www.genuinecoaching.com/artist-newsletter.html
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