Music Information

Managing Your Time, when Music isnt Your Day Job


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


MORE RESOURCES:

Bend Weekly

Fans vote for top star at Country Music Awards
Arizona Republic, AZ - 6 hours ago
For the first time, music fans are being asked to join in the voting for the Entertainer of the Year honors at Sunday's 43rd edition of the Academy of ...
Country Music Artists Flocking to Vegas for ACM Awards CMT.com
Keith Urban up for country music awards The West Australian
Kenny Chesney looks set to dominate Academy of Country Music Awards Trend News Agency
Tyler Morning Telegraph - WNDU-TV
all 30 news articles


From Dining Table to Web, Chili's Uses Music to Deliver a Spiced ...
FOXBusiness - 44 minutes ago
PlayNetwork also provides custom in-store music programming for Chili's globally. Accessible via the "Fun" section of the Chili's Grill & Bar website, ...


Times Online

The Cistercian monks being groomed for music stardom
Times Online, UK - 9 hours ago
But the truth is that people do respond to this rarefied, ancient music again and again. I can recall in the early 1990s, every visit to my Uncle Peter’s in ...
Austria's singing monks hail miracle debut album Reuters
Austria’s singing monks don’t want to be pop stars Thaindian.com
all 20 news articles


Bradenton Herald

Conga drums drive compas beat at Miami Haitian music festival
The Canadian Press, MIAMI - 12 hours ago
MIAMI — Thousands of fans of Haitian compas music, the up-tempo music driven by conga drums that has served as a link between scattered Haitian communities ...
Conga drums drive compas beat at Miami music festival WWSB ABC 7
Local students collect funds, food for Haitian families Sun-Sentinel.com
all 22 news articles


National Research Firm Launches Music Video Contest for Election '08
FOXBusiness - 44 minutes ago
The music videos will support the Democratic or Republican parties or their presidential candidates. -- The music videos will be reviewed by mediacurves ...


CityNews

Comment: Machines muscle in on music
Telegraph.co.uk, United Kingdom - May 15, 2008
Music is supposed to be the area where we humans reveal our humanity best, but the truth is the machine has been muscling in on music-making for some time. ...
Video: Robotic Conductor Finds His Rhythm AssociatedPress
Robot conductors could take the baton from us guardian.co.uk
Asimo robot conducts symphony orchestra VNUNet.com
EndScore - The Associated Press
all 655 news articles


MLive.com

Country music newcomer Rissi Palmer to perform at Matrix:Midland ...
MLive.com, MI - 29 minutes ago
"I know I thanked my parents, but beyond that I don't remember what I wrote," says the 26-year-old country music singer/songwriter today. ...


Wall Street Journal

The Dizzying Heights of Movie Music
Wall Street Journal - 1 hour ago
By JACK SULLIVAN The music for Alfred Hitchcock's "Vertigo," which turned 50 this week, is widely regarded as the cinema's greatest score. ...


Listening to music found to lower blood pressure
Reuters - 14 hours ago
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Listening to half an hour of music each day may significantly lower your blood pressure, according to research reported at the ...
Music can help lower blood pressure MusicRadar.com - The place for music makers
BP problem? Tune in to 'ragas' Times of India
all 13 news articles


Tribbett takes a "Stand" for gospel music
Reuters - 6 hours ago
By Deborah Evans Price NASHVILLE (Billboard) - A few years ago, Tye Tribbett made a decision to forgo a lucrative career working with music stars like Faith ...

Music - Google News

home | site map

Visit our other sites:
GamesBlog | GamingDepot | GimmeaRide | GimmeNetwork | Golf Biz | HotorNotGame | I Want Computers | I Want Games | I Want Hosting | I Want Music | I Want Security | JokeBox | ScriptShock | Wantedfonts | Webalize
© 2006