I keep a pretty busy schedule -- always have. Part of this is practical, and part of it is personal choice. Practically, I've come to realize that, unlike our parents' jobs of thirty or fifty or seventy years ago, having multiple smaller income streams is a bigger safeguard against financial problems than having everything thrown in with one employer whose slightest whim can cut off all income. On a personal level, my mind enjoys the challenges with balancing several different activities on a regular basis.
The peril of this is that there tend to be a couple of times each year where the stars align and all of my activities and jobs demand more time of me, all at the same time. In short, it's very easy to get overwhelmed.
I've been overwhelmed before -- every Christmas season for as long as I can remember comes to mind -- but right now, my life is building toward a super-overwhelming critical mass.
Here, in no particular order, are many of the activities and events I'm dealing with, or will be dealing with in the next six weeks: regular school teaching duties, regular church music duties, extra time at school to coach the Math Bowl team, extra time at church for an extra Ash Wednesday service, extra Good Friday service, extra service Easter morning, accompanying my wife's students at school for not one but two performances within the next three weeks, piano lessons (scattered across three days each week), composing (both pieces I've promised editors and pieces I've been commissioned to write and for which I have deadlines looming), proofing scores, handbell festivals to conduct (one this Saturday, one the next), and, last but not least, general maintenance and upkeep around home (those dishes won't do themselves, and the cats tend to get cranky when their litter box isn't cleaned daily).
Oh, yeah, and then there's that whole thing with my son being born sometime in the next six weeks, which, since it's really his call, I have no idea when it's going to happen, and won't know until just hours before. Despite that, there's all manner of baby preparations -- buying things, assembling things, sorting and storing things, doctor visits, etc.
In short, I've got way too much to do, and not enough time to do it all. I generally spend my days going from one thing to the next to the next, with little or no down time in between. Despite that, it seems there's always more that I'm not getting to that I should. To top it all off, that endless running is fraying my proverbial nerves at both proverbial ends.
Is there a way to combat this? Fortunately for all of us, yes ... yes there is.
Learn the fine art of saying "no" -- This is one of the hardest words people like me ever utter, but it is such a powerful word. "No" clears the schedule and gives us some breathing room. For me, it came in the form of telling my piano students there would be no lessons for the next six weeks, or basically until Good Friday, which is the end of the first week in April. It's not much actual time teaching, but when I think about coordinating lessons, driving to teach lessons, and everything that goes along with them, it's a lot of mental room cleared up for this short stretch here.
I've also stopped doing weekly Wednesday posts on The Creative, and likely will try to stick to the every-other-week format for the foreseeable future. It may only take a half hour or so to write a post, but if I can cut that down by half for the next month or two, that's a good couple of hours I get back.
Prioritize -- Not everything is as important as everything else. Sure, when we're trying to be high-minded and "perfect," washing the dishes is as important as mentoring a small child. But let's face it -- in the cold, harsh light of reality, that's simply not the case.
For me, a lot of housework takes a back seat -- dishes can be washed every other day, or even every third day. Over the weekend, I'll stretch cleaning the cat's litter box to every day-and-a-half. It may not be perfect, but let's face it -- Good Housekeeping wasn't going to come knocking on my door anyway.
Prioritizing can also help you figure out what to say "no" to -- I love my piano students dearly, but odds were good that over the next six weeks, they'd all be taking off at least one week for Spring Break, and all of them would probably miss another week in there due to illness or other conflict. That left only four lessons I was actually canceling. Plus, though they see me for a half hour once a week, they spend six days, twenty-three hours, and thirty minutes not with me, and that's the time where they do their real work and growth on piano. While my lessons can help keep them on track, their actual work on the instrument can continue despite our break.
The perfect is the enemy of the good -- Stepping away from perfectionist attitudes can be a big help, as well. Is it important that I say things in this blog post with exactly the right turn-of-phrase, or is close enough? If I vacuum the house once every other week instead of every week, is it going to spell the end of Western Civilization as we know it? There are many places we can cut a small corner here or there without sacrificing much in the way of quality -- the trick is knowing which corners to cut. While I might skimp on the personal time I spend with my vacuum, I don't skimp on the effort I put into composing a new piece, or on preparing my musicians at church for a Sunday service.
Step away from the technology -- Constantly checking email, Facebook, and other websites is a huge drain on time with little upside. Being able to be away from that temptation can allow time to focus on other projects and activities and help bring them closer to completion. Now, of course, if one of your projects involves being on line, you'll have to exercise some self-control, but if not, can you actually detach from the Internet? Most laptops, netbooks, and tablets will let you actually shut off the wi-fi, and I'm betting something similar is possible on many smartphones. If you're not connected to the internet, it's that much harder to check your email, so you pass on it and get back to work.
Take some time to breathe -- It is so important to have a little bit of down time every day, even if all you do is stare at the wall and breathe. Even better -- curl up with a novel (not a book related to your work), play a game, play with your pet or child, pray, or talk with your Significant other. Sleep is great, but your mind and body also need some downtime. Even a half hour spread throughout the day can keep your mind from failing you and keep your temper from exploding at those who are only trying to help. Despite the fact you're not actually working, this time will make it so that, when you do get back to work, what you create will be that much better.
So, in the spirit of this post, I'm going to leave things here -- it may not be a complete list, but it's good enough for getting started. I'm also not going to write a post for next Wednesday, and, depending on time factors, may not have a Saturday Summary this weekend, either. I'm going to leave the litter box until much later today, and will spend some time with my wife just talking. Most of all, I'm going to realize that this time will pass, and on the other side will be a time when things have calmed down to a more manageable level. It may not be for another month or two or five, but that time is on the horizon, if only I can keep my wits about me until it gets here.
Until then, I wish you all the best, and, as always, happy creating!
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