Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Not going to puzzle (scare) you with day three of my dream diary.
Just another heaping helping of random oddities. All of you that personally know me are well aware of my mental state.



Thought this was some good advice from Gary Ewer.

If you find that the basic structure of your life makes it difficult to find any time at all to be creative, here are some bits of advice that I hope will help you:


  • Never let your songwriting schedule be a "whenever I can get to it" event in your day. You don't need much time -- perhaps only 30 - 45 minutes in a day. If you're constantly caring for a loved one, see what you can do to allow others in your family to take your important duties for a short period. And if transferring responsibilities isn't possible, think of songwriting as an important personal activity that you'll schedule in to start or end your day, perhaps at a time when your responsibilities are less intense. It won't be easy, but it's almost always possible. 
  • Don't feel guilty about needing daily time to be creative. When you are caring for others, it can seem wrong to think of yourself. But staying psychologically healthy is going to be an important part of being able to care for others, and so allow songwriting to be a vital part of your day without feeling guilty about it. 
  • Start a songwriting session with a mental break, no matter how little time you've got. Even if you've only got 20 minutes to write, use the first 5 to lie back, close your eyes, and let your mind slow down. It will make the few minutes you have all the more creative. 
  • During busy times, make your daily songwriting goals less ambitious. It's completely fine to use a songwriting session to simply work on 1 line of lyric, or to get a hook working for you, or to come up with a creative chord progression. Don't feel that every day needs to see you creating a full song. That's just not realistic for most people's lives. 
  • Use music and songwriting as a way of managing stress. If a major crisis is flooding your thoughts, you may find that music is a great way to manage that stress. Use your words, melodies and singing to help you express your feelings. It's amazing what that can do for your own mental health. Don't pressure yourself, but simply use creativity as a way of keeping your stress levels low. It really does work.

Check out Gary's site for more great stuff.



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