Last summer, I was working myself way too hard. I had so many things on my plate. Not only practicing, but also reed making, creating this podcast and so much more. The result? I got migraines every weekend. That was my body telling me to stop, and for a while I didn’t listen to it.
Flash forward, and I have found some crucial skills to make sure that I take care of my mental self as a musician, as well as be able to work at my, at the projects that I’m doing and be passionate about them and excited about them. We’re going to spill the tea about that today.
You know the feeling of practicing without any structure and pushing through when your body is clearly telling you to stop? I was there. I get that feeling and, let’s be honest, it’s not the best feeling. As musicians, we are told to keep going, to keep working, and to do our very best. So we work and we work and we work, but because we’re overworking ourselves, we aren’t going to perform our best. Rest is productive. So let’s talk about some ways to incorporate rest in our just daily lives.
When your body tells you to rest, then REST
This is your sign to rest! If you don’t rest, then your body will eventually make you rest. (Like me and the migraines). So listen to your body when it needs to take a break.
Remember: if you are resting but you are still thinking about practice, then that is not proper rest. We need to have both our mind and our body resting. It takes practice to get your mind to calm down sometimes, but that should be part of what you are focusing on as well in your rest. Remember, your body is a guide. You got to listen to it. If your body is saying stop, then stop.
When I finally stopped forcing myself to work harder, I set a rest time every day. It was exactly at 8 pm, and I would sit and crochet and watch a show. It was really fulfilling and it made my work time more efficient. Not only was it relaxing, but it also made it so that I looked forward to my work.
What does that look like for you? Are you going to set a time to rest? Maybe it’s around lunchtime, maybe it’s in the evening? Whatever it is, make sure you cut out time for you and remember, your mind has to rest as well.
Set practice times to avoid feeling guilty later
It’s easier said than done. I get that, but setting times for yourself can really help you feel less guilty when you’re not practicing. Remember that your practice time is really sacred. It really is. So treat it like that. Plan what you will do, use a timer, and focus during the session. Do it like you mean it.
I recently had a conversation with Maestro Jacob Joyce, the associate conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and we talked about a lot of things, but we talked about how Maestro has never consistently practiced four hours a day. Instead, he focuses on specific things and has a plan to achieve them in the practice room, so that he can spend more time doing other things as well. When you’re in the practice room, it is focus time, you have goals, you are ready to go. So when you’re not in the practice room, you can rest or do other things that you need to do. This conversation is episode 21. It is called Practice Efficiency Finding Opportunities and Leading Youth Orchestras with Maestro Jacob Joyce.
Now, in terms of goals for me personally, I create practice goals with two things in mind: the time and the goal.
For example:
- I will make these runs smoother in the next 15 minutes.
- I will deepen my vibrato in this section in the next 15 minutes.
I set a timer and I focus on that, specifically those two elements the time and then what you’re doing is really really, really helpful for setting practice goals.
Re-framing negative self-talk
This is so important because you know how we talked about how our practice time is sacred. Well, negative self-talk hurts this practice time and this is your opportunity to grow. This practice time is your opportunity to grow. We’re focusing on goals. We’re focusing on how we’re going to get better in the practice session.
So beating yourself up is really not going to help with that. Instead, speaking to yourself in an affirming and encouraging way is so important.
For instance, if you say something like, “oh my gosh, I can’t believe I’ve gotten this yet. I’ve tried so many times and it’s just not coming, like what the actual heck?” Then maybe re-framing that to say something like: “this is taking longer than expected, but I’m still working on it and I’m working on it consistently and it’s going to get better.”
See how I completely shifted that from something that was degrading and honestly rude to something that was encouraging and uplifting? This is the energy we need in the practice session, so make sure to do that.
We dive right into all about this and how you can talk positively to yourself in the practice room, along with some other mindset shifts. In episode three it is called Turning Practice into Power: Three Essential Mindset Shifts to Transform Your Session.
Remember your value as a musician does not equate to how much you practice or what you can play. You are a human first and a musician second. Remember that and take care of yourself.
All my best,
Eleanor
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