Maintaining Energy

There's no other way to put it: it's "That Time" of year.  The holiday season is a hectic time for nearly everyone (perhaps with the exception of the very young, who are a cause of a good deal of the hecticness).  Between upcoming vacations and holidays and trips, the end of one year and the start of the next, parties to attend, events and concerts to watch, gifts to buy and wrap and deliver and receive ... it's enough to make anyone crazy.

For musicians especially, it's worse.  Far worse.  We have the same demands on our time as everyone else ... but for some reason at this time of year, people expect us to become trained monkeys, performing on command and as frequently as possible to help add to The Holiday Cheer.  I am down now to just five musical events for which I am either performing, waving my arms, organizing, or all three.  Just a week ago, that number was eleven. 

So, how do we musicians keep our energy up -- physically, mentally, emotionally -- at this time of year? 

Physically

Sleep -- It is so easy in all the insanity to forgo our proper amount of sleep.  If you don't get enough sleep, you open yourself up to a host of problems, from mistakes and emotional trauma caused by fatigue, to a decreased immune system and illness.

Eat, and eat healthy -- Many are the day where I have so much going back-to-back-to-back that just skipping a meal is all to easy (or, I'm so busy that I simply forget that I need to eat).  Then all too often when we do eat, we hit the nearest fast foot joint for whatever greasy concoction is both cheap and possible to eat while piloting a moving vehicle.  Introduce some fruit and veggies into your day, eat regular meals at regular intervals, and your energy will stay high.

Drink -- And I don't mean the sort you have to be over twenty-one to have (that's for after the season's over).  Not getting enough fluid -- and especially water -- in your system is a recipe for exhaustion and that run-down, I-can't-make-my-brain-work feeling.  Stay hydrated.

Mentally

Do all of the above -- Everything you can do physically for your body will also help you emotionally: eating regular meals, staying hydrated, and getting adequate sleep.  If your body's physical needs aren't met, your mental needs won't be met, either.

Take a little bit of down time every day -- Even on my most hectic days, I find a half hour of an evening to sit and watch an episode of some sitcom or other, something that I'll enjoy and have a couple of good laughs over ... and that will allow me to relax.  Much of what goes on for us this holiday season is stress-inducing.  If we don't give our brains a little chance to relax, the stress will eat us alive.  Face it -- at the end of a long day, your brain is already nearly shut down already, so what else can you really accomplish?  Take that little bit of time for some brain-care, and everything will go smoother the next day.

Keep your materials with you at all times -- This one is a pain, but right now, I have every piece of music I'll need to play in the next two weeks in a burgundy tote bag that I am carrying around with me everywhere I go.  I never know when I'll have an unexpected fifteen or twenty minutes where I can practice a piece, look over and plan my conducting, or even work on the program for a concert.  If I don't have it with me, I'll be kicking myself for "wasting" this unexpected gift of time.

Post-it notes are your friends -- Even if you buy generic, keep a handy supply of sticky notes on hand.  Right now, I've got three stuck to the keyboard in front of me, each reminding me in very visual fashion of one activity that I need to accomplish in the near future.  It may be something I can't do right now, or it may be something more involved that I need to be working toward little by little.  Regardless, using these little notes helps keep me on track and make sure that when I remember at 1:00am that I need to call someone to organize something, I'll also remember it when the call's recipient will be a little more receptive ... and awake.

Emotionally

Do all of the above -- Just like your mental needs can't be met if your physical aren't, your emotional needs won't be under your control unless you have yourself sorted around physically and mentally.  Anything that helps keep your mind fresh and able to do all the things it needs to do will help keep your emotions on track.

Learn that not everything is under your control -- There are going to be so many things that are beyond your control, despite your best efforts.  You can bring your ensembles together, rehearse them, badger them, complain to them ... but you can't control how much they work on the music on their own, or how prepared they are.  You need to learn that you can only do so much ... and then leave the rest up to luck.  Or fate.  Or faith.  Whatever you leave it up to, just realize that you can't control everything.

Find some compliments and treasure them -- I've received a lot of compliments this season: compliments about music I've performed, music I've written, and music where I've done nothing more than wave my arms at some other musicians.  These compliments mean so much to me, because they let me know that, even when I start to wonder why I'm doing all this or wonder who cares that I'm doing it, that there IS a good reason for me to do this, and that people DO care.

I also have enjoyed seeing comments and compliments people have made about other people's music.  I'm on a mailing list with a bunch of handbell "people," and the number of compliments about concerts and pieces flying back and forth has just been incredible.  Even though I have nothing to do with these pieces or performances, it does help to remind me why WE all do this, all of us musicians.  They say that when words fail, music speaks ... and all these compliments remind me of just how true that really is.


For those of you fellow musicians out there, I hope you're all surviving your last couple of weeks before Christmas.  Hopefully you found something here to help keep the energy up, the mind focused, and the emotions from getting the best of you.  Until next time, good luck, keep the faith, and (when you find the time) keep on creating!