Life and Art--A Balancing Act

Sometimes it’s hard to just sit down and write music. Family members need your time, the house is a mess, chores beckon to you, and bills need to be paid—all things that need to be done as well, but so does your music. Like homework, unless you complete assignments, you can’t expect to pass to the next level, so you need to have output if you are to improve as a professional. The trick here is to learn to have some balance, and set priorities so you can do all of what needs to be done, not go to extremes and neglect areas in favor of others, and create a negative working atmosphere. Sure, many musicians gave up everything and lived on nothing for their craft, but most of us aren’t able to make those kinds of sacrifices. Here is a practical set of suggestions to keep your music career moving along while still “having a life.”

LITTLE DROPS OF WATER, LITTLE GRAINS OF SAND

The above is my favorite line from a childhood song, and has become my mantra of late. Like writing a song you don’t want to write, any task can be tackled if you at least take small steps—as long as you keep moving forward, you will be a lot further along than you would if you stood still and did nothing. Make the bed when you get up in the morning—it only takes a few seconds. Pick up the clothes from the floor and put them into the hamper. Soak the dishes right after the meal is done, and wash them as soon as possible right after the meal so nothing has the chance to dry and cake and make more work for you. A favorite organization guru of mine suggests spending 5 minutes a day on each room—it’s amazing what you can accomplish in so little time, and it all adds up. Scrub a little on the tub each time after you use it, and it never really gets dirty, and you not only don’t have to spend an hour cleaning it later, but some visiting musician won’t see your filthy tub and use it as an excuse to not work with you. Pay the bills as soon as you get money in the door, and you avoid late fees, and the temptation to spend your money on things you shouldn’t have, as well as have more money to spend on your music later. Filing bills and throwing out unwanted circulars when they come in the door means no huge piles of trash to wade through, wasting time trying to find lost bills or cleaning when you’d rather be writing music, and being able to find those neat inspirational articles and pictures when you need them to help you composing that tune. Just like a few dollars in a savings account, each small mess that isn’t allowed to become a large one, each bit of organization you bother to implement, more than pays for itself in the long run in time you gain to do the things that are the most important.

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