Several years ago I was approached by one of Tim Topham's assistants asking me to contribute an article to their newly started Inner Circle.
I immediately agreed to it. I loved the idea and was grateful for the opportunity to contribute. I had learned so much from Tim through his blog and podcast. I knew I had a lot to share with other teachers & entrepreneurs and thought it would be a great way to give back. Here's the thing though, I never wrote the article. I kept putting it off saying, "I need to do this for my business first, then I'll get to writing". At the time, I was in the middle of starting up my brick and mortar music school and I was so bad at time management. I mean really bad. And being that bad left me overwhelmed, over-worked, and unproductive. So, no article. Now I'm kicking myself so hard for not finishing. Tim has grown his small blog into a full-blown music teacher's aid empire and I wasn't able to contribute. So here are 3 lessons I've learned about procrastination: Procrastination isn't worth the potential regret Yup, I seriously regret not getting an article to them. Who knows who could have been inspired, who's business could've been changed or what doors it could've opened? None of us will ever know. It's a truly terrible feeling to be selected for something special and to let those people down because you procrastinated. I don't wish it on anyone. Procrastination is a time sucking monster "I'll do that after I start/finish this" sounds innocent enough, right? WRONG! If you're procrastinating on something, you're going to be thinking about it while you're doing absolutely everything else. That will slow down your progress on your current project and eventually everything will either come to a halt or you'll completely give up on whatever it was you were procrastinating and Procrastination is an anxiety producer This is the biggest lesson I learned. When I procrastinate anything, I feel anxious. That little voice in my head starts whining - yeah, she whines, it's worse than yelling - and she won't stop until I do the thing I've been putting off. Once I do it she's happy again - like a little kid finally getting that ice cream they so desperately wanted - but I don't feel better. I feel drained and guilty for letting it get that far. Have I learned my lesson about procrastinating? Sure. Have I mastered it and completely stopped procrastinating? Nope. Will I continue to work on it? You bet!
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Hi there, remember me? It's been a little while since we last spoke. Over a month in fact. My last post was about our 1 year anniversary and I was super stoked to release that one...along with the myriad of other ideas I had to share. I had grand visions of what this year would bring for the blog. Then reality hit me hard at work and in my personal life, and it's taken me a while to get back up and recover from the beating. If I'm being completely honest, I'm still a bit bruised. See, I'm not what one would call a natural writer. I have plenty of thoughts and ideas to share, but the process of putting them into coherent sentences and paragraphs that anyone would understand takes quite a lot of effort and time. The latter of which I'm sorely lacking. From concept to release, a single post takes me 4 to 6 weeks to complete and while putting the effort in isn't the issue, keeping up with a 1 to 2 post per week schedule is a challenge. A huge challenge. Far bigger than I ever anticipated. I began planning and writing for this blog 4 months before actually starting it. I had the first month of posts completed before hitting publish on the first one and another 2 weeks worth in process. I honestly thought I could keep up with the schedule. Sadly, that hasn't happened. I don't know whether it's because of pandemic fatigue or because it really is too much to run an online shop, a brick & mortar multi-teacher studio, 2 separate social media accounts over 3 platforms, and have a church job. Whatever the reason, I've come to the decision that I need to pivot. Knowing when to pivot isn't as obvious as one may think. It's also not always the easiest decision to make. Being the teacher I am, I thought I'd share some things I've discovered. Here are signs that it may be time for you to consider pivoting in your business. It may be time to pivot if/when:
So here we are at my pivot point. I will continue to post here, just not as frequently and with no set schedule. I will continue to bring you awesome, quality resources for you and your students. I do hope you understand that this wasn't an easy decision for me and that you'll be willing to stick it out with me while I figure out what this business will become. I don't know when my next post will be, but I will continue to add resources and music to my store so be sure to follow me there. You can also follow me on Instagram, I'll be sharing about new resources and life stuff over there more regularly. Until next time my dear friends, stay awesome! In late November, I began my yearly reflection on what did and didn't worked for me in the last year and started considering adjustments for the new year.
In 2020, I used a single planner for the following categories: Finances, Business (work)/Blog/Store, and Fitness/Health, This year I'm keeping some things the same and completely overhauling others in my quest for organization and planner peace. I plan to follow up quarterly, so I'm writing this post as much for my own accountability as I am sharing my reflections and ideas with you. :) Let's start with usual the elephant in the room. Finances. Financial Planner In December 2019 I decided that 2020 was going to be a "no spend" year. I wrote out a sheet in my planner of the rules and guidelines for my spending. I budgeted and tracked my business expenses digitally using My Music Staff for general bookkeeping and a P&L for my studio. For my personal budget I used a Numbers spreadsheet. So I set my goals and then just tried to not spend money. You can probably guess how well that worked out. Some of it had to do with it being 2020 (hello Amazon!), but most of it had to do with my system. I wasn't able able to clearly see what I was and wasn't spending my (and my studio's) money on, so I get to the end of a quarter and be WAY over budget in some areas and WAY under in others. Then I made two discoveries. The first was Dave Ramsey's EveryDollar app. This app does everything my spreadsheet did and more. It's clearer, does the math better, it's easier to use...overall it's really a much better system. I've been using it for the past couple of months and I LOVE IT! My favorite feature is the "fund". A fund is a way for you to budget for big expenses over the course of the year. Here's how they explain it: "Imagine you have a $300 insurance bill due in three months. Set $100 as the "Planned" amount. In three months, you'll have $300 when you need it." Nifty, right? Side note: did I really just say "nifty"? Ooph, I'm getting old. The second thing I discovered was Mike Michalowicz's book Profit First. I won't be going through all the details of the book in this post, but I highly recommend reading the book. I will be implementing the Profit First system - in addition to using the EveryDollar app - in my business beginning this month and will update you after the first quarter. #accountability Work/Blog Planner I love the flexibility and creativity that The Happy Planner products offer, but trying to plan 2 businesses and a personal life in a single planner just wasn't working for me. I've been using a Happy Planner for almost 2 years and I've seen a lot of people purchase 3-5 planners for a single year. I seriously thought the were crazy. Honestly, who needs more than 1 planner? Turns out, I do! It's not that I have a lot to plan every week, it's more that keeping everything separate makes more sense to me. When things make more sense, I don't overthink as much and am more productive. I've decided to take the year one quarter at a time. For the first quarter of this year I will be using a combination of my own 2-page monthly calendar and Elizabeth Caldwell's Teacher Entrepreneur Planner for my blog/store planning. For my music school planning, I'm sticking with a vertical Happy Planner and a new daily page that I created a few days ago. (I'll update you on that as well) Near the end of the quarter I will evaluate my systems and decide what needs tweaking and what works as is, then adjust accordingly. Let me know if you're interested in seeing more about my planner set up. I've been considering a flip-through video. Fitness/Health Planner This is where I failed the most. I had it in my head that if I wrote down my weight every day and if I planned what my workouts would be for the week that I'd have success. I used the long range planning pages of my Happy Planner for my workouts and created my own version of it for my weight. In theory it all sounds great, but practically speaking it just didn't work for me. I got discouraged when the scale when up - even though I know there are so many factors that are out of my control - and on days when I physically didn't feel up to to the workout I planned, I either did it anyway and ended up feeling like garbage for the rest of the week or I beat myself up for not "sticking to the plan". Neither of which was healthy. This year, my fitness goals are different than they've ever been. This year, I simply want to be active. I'm not a naturally athletic person, but I used to be active. Teaching elementary and middle school kept moving, but now that I spend so much time sitting for work, driving and my other hobbies, I'm not so active anymore and it's time to change that. I'll be using my own 2021 At a Glance Calendar planning pages, but instead of tracking weight and workouts I'll be journaling what I did and any new skills learned that week. I'm also looking for new active hobbies, so if you have something that you love please share it in the comments! :) ----------------------------- What are your favorite organizational systems? How are you going to plan your awesome year? Today I'm sharing one of my favorite slow cooker soup recipes. It was given to me by the mom of some former students who, very kindly, fed me one October evening when she heard my stomach growl over her daughter's piano playing. (that's not embarrassing at all!) This recipe is my spin on the original based on our personal tastes. I've included the things I personally leave out at the end in case you do like mushrooms and cheese. :) Enjoy! Slow Cooker Italian Sausage Soup Ingredients 1 lb hot or mild Italian sausage, casings removed** 1 large onion, chopped 2 large carrots, peeled and chopped 4 cups low sodium chicken stock or broth 1/2 tsp dried Italian herb seasoning 1/4 - 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper 8oz homemade tomato sauce (or 1 can) 1 can (19 oz) diced tomatoes, drained - reserve juices 1 medium zucchini, quartered lengthwise and sliced 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped Grated Parmesan cheese (optional) Directions Cook sausage in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, 8-10 minutes or until browned, stirring to break up the meat Transfer to slow cooker with a slotted spoon Add onion, carrots, broth, seasoning, salt, pepper, tomato sauce, tomatoes, and zucchini to slow cooker Cover and cook on HIGH 3-4 hours or on LOW 6-10 hours, or until vegetables are tender Add parsley to slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 15-20 minutes Ladle into bowls and serve immediately Optional, top with Parmesan and more fresh parsley Notes: When most people hear the word diva they think of a strong, big-voiced female singer who is always demanding of those around her. But, have you ever heard of a Piano Diva? The first time I saw this phrase was in Erica Sipes' blog Beyond the Notes. She posted a great reflection on why one might need to be a piano diva now and again. In this post, she offers the following definition: pia.no di.va "A pianist who demands that attention be paid to his or her needs, especially without regard to anyone else's needs or feelings." I have to admit, she really got me thinking about my own inner diva as a pianist, an organist, a congregational leader, and a choir director. Because most of my performances are as an accompanist or congregation leader, I try to be a low maintenance performer. For the most part my flexibility has worked out well for me, but sometimes I feel like I'm viewed as a machine instead of a musician. The piano for your wedding hasn't been tuned in 3 years? - No problem. One of the black keys is broken off? - No worries, I'll work around it. (eep, all my pieces have 3 or more accidentals!) You need me to sight transpose because last night you went to a concert, screamed your brains out, and can't reach the high F today? - Umm, okay. (*eyeroll* crap) You want me to play this one piece on the piano at the alter, go to the organ upstairs at the back of the sanctuary during the prayer to play the next hymn then come right back to the piano for your candle lighting ceremony? - Sure, I could use a good workout. Yes, these are all true stories...and that last question is exactly how I worded it to a bride, though my response to her excited "yes!" wasn't quite as cheeky. (I don't think she realized how unreasonable her request was.) Fortunately, I haven't reached my breaking point, but who knows where that line is... Do you have any stories of unreasonable requests on your talents? Have you ever had your inner piano diva emerge? Where's your line? When Life Throws You a Curve-ball, You Make Lemonade: Creating a Morning Routine During a Pandemic5/1/2020 Do you remember when I promised a series on my morning routine and how I was experimenting with different routines and would fill you in along the way?
No? It's okay, I almost didn't remember too. This series began about a month after I started this blog. It was going to be my first big series here and I was excited to dive into different morning routines with you. Then…well you know what happened. Our world was turned upside-down by the coronavirus. I know, I'm tired of hearing and talking about it, but this virus is a major game-changer in our lives and our routines. This blog series is a perfect example of how life got upended. I had planned to post a different routine that I tried every couple of weeks with a final summary that should've come out last week. Instead, I went into survival mode and if I'm totally honest with myself (and you) I still feel like I'm there. I've been trying to write this post for the last several weeks. I spent hours over spring break thinking and staring at the blank screen in front of me. When it came down to writing, I just couldn't find words appropriate to the situation. Here we are on May 1st and I still don't have the words. So rather than of giving an in-depth review of the routines I tried, I'm going to share my takeaways to help you build the best morning routine for you! WHAT KIND OF MORNING ROUTINE DO I NEED? That my friend, is a question that only you can answer. Morning routines vary widely from person to person and what works for me will not necessarily work for the mother or father of 3 or for the senior in college or for the nurse coming off of a 12-hour shift. To find the right morning routine, you have to know what your priorities are for the day and what will serve you best. ASKING THE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS Every morning routine I researched fell into one of three categories: productivity, self-care, or mindfulness with the allowance for overlap. Remember, a good morning routine always serves you. When you know what type of routine you need, make sure you choose activities that answer the following questions for that category. Questions for Self-Care Routines:
Questions for Productivity Routines:
Questions for Mindfulness Routines:
MY BIGGEST TAKEAWAYS Start the day well rested. You won’t enjoy your morning routine if you’re trudging through it groggily and half-asleep. Get yourself a good 7-8 hours of sleep. I know, it’s not always easy for us to get the right amount of sleep, but you’ll be amazed at how good you feel when you’re well rested! Make sure that your morning routine serves you in every capacity. If you need quiet and contemplative, focus on activities that calm and center you. If you have a lot of energy and need something vigorous, throw in some exercise. If you need a boost in creativity or productivity, find ways to spark your imagination. Just because going for a run then doing 20 minutes of yoga before having your coffee and breakfast worked yesterday, doesn’t mean it will work today. Find what you need and adjust your routine to meet you where you are this morning. Give yourself more time than you think you’ll need for your morning routine. I tried several 30 minute or 1 hour morning routines and they ALWAYS took longer! It started making these routines feel like a to-do list instead of the enjoyable way to get my day started. Give yourself at least 10-15 minutes more than you think you’ll need and future you will thank you. Plan your morning routine before you start. I know what you're thinking. "Christie, I'm not going to know how I'll feel in the morning, and what kind of routine I'm going to need, how can I plan it?" Hear me out. If you start trying to change your morning routine flying by the seat of your pants (like I did), you'll get overwhelmed, frustrated and you'll stop before having a routine becomes a habit. Creating a plan for each one of the routines listed above will set you up for future success. So, what makes up your morning routine? Is it serving you or will you be making a shift? Let me know! The year was 19hmhr. I was a toddler in a cart singing songs with my grandma as we were grocery shopping. Not just singing softly and gently to each other. Singing so the whole store could hear us whether they wanted to or not. That, in a nutshell, was my childhood. Fast forward to today and I don't see that anymore. Anywhere. What has happened to us? When did we get so uptight that singing in our cars is considered absurd? Or something only kids do? It seems the only place most people feel "safe" enough to sing is in the shower and even then, someone with roommates might be hesitant to share their song. Think about movies. Just 50-60 years ago, the majority of movies were musicals. Now, animated kids' movies are often the only ones with featured songs throughout the film—and even that is slowly dwindling. Neither my grandma nor my mother had any qualms about singing with my brother and me. When the urge struck, we sang! It didn't matter where we were or what we were doing. We Sang! Maybe we're the exception, but I think that needs to change. There is a lot to be said about the bond between families who sing together and the developmental benefits to children of parents and grandparents who sing to and with them. The importance of singing to your children is something that I feel can't be stressed enough to parents with newborns and young children. It's widely known that music is a fabulous teaching tool. Singing with your children builds:
A perfect example of this is my cousin's now 5 year old. Every day since the day she was born my cousin has sung to her daughter. The result: She was able to sing "You are my Sunshine" when she was 14 months old and her vocabulary & clarity of speech at 2 was better than some 4 and 5 year olds I know. It dIt doesn't matter how "good" you think your voice is or isn't. No, really. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if your pitch is spot on or if your voice cracks or if you warble a little—or even a lot. The melodic tones of your singing voice are enough. So please, sing with your child! Sing with your neighbor's child. Sing with the child in the cart in front of you in the checkout line. They will all benefit from it! Not sure what songs to sing? Start here with some nursery rhymes. Need a little vocal help? Here's a list of YouTube channels to help you get started: Big Block Singsong - this one is my personal favorite Sesame Street The Learning Station Super Simple Songs for Kids The Kiboomer - Kids Music Channel I, like most people, thrive on routine. Whether we want to admit it or not, we all are more productive, healthy, and happy (in general) when we follow a regular routine.
I've recently discovered that I'm one of those weirdos who loves having a routine while simultaneously feeling stifled by it. Especially if it's very detailed. But before we get into that, allow me to flashback for a moment. When I taught in public schools, I was on top of things. Productive, efficient, effective, energetic. All things administrators and parents want in a music teacher. That was me. At least while I was at school. Here's a quick breakdown of my day: In the morning, I had enough time to get ready and that's about it, so I'd get up, shower, and get dressed. While my coffee was brewing, I'd put together my breakfast & lunch. I'd have my coffee in the car and I was ready for the day. At school, I'd have breakfast (oatmeal while on hall duty w/orchestra teacher), prep for classes for the day. Then I'd teach, prep/plan, teach, lunch, teach, meetings, and after school ensembles. Workday accomplished. When I got home, things...well they fell apart. I didn't belong to a gym or have anything regularly scheduled, so my health and fitness were lacking. I lived alone so my cleaning habits were lacking (I'd sporadically deep clean everything then do nothing for a month...not the best of times.) I was in a miserable relationship, so my mental health was lacking. And I didn't have an instrument in my apartment, so my practice was lacking. At school I seemed to have it all together. At home, I was lost. Why couldn't I keep my life together? Because at school, my schedule was set for me. I had no choice but to teach classes at their appointed times, eat lunch at 1pm, go to the bathroom on my break even when my bladder was ready to burst 90 minutes ago (I feel you teachers!). It was easy to keep the routine because the schedule was already determined for me. When I got home, I was able to do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted...or not. I was a young adult and up until that point the schedule I followed my ENTIRE life was one that someone else had set for me. Think about that for a moment, especially if you have children. How much of their time is scheduled FOR them as opposed to being scheduled BY them? How much responsibility to they have over the use of their time? How much choice do they have over the use of their time? I did not feel prepared for adult life. At least not for the time I wasn't working. Fast forward 10+ years and my daily schedule is totally different. I have the entire morning to do whatever I need/want. I technically don't have to be at work until 1pm. Most days (like today) I'm working several hours before that, but I don't have an actual routine. So who needs a routine? Well, I certainly do! Over the next several months I will be trying different morning routines to find what helps me be most productive while not making me feel over-worked or overwhelmed. Okay, confession: I started this experiment earlier this month and I think I've found a general outline that works for me, but I'm still going to try out other routines. I'm excited to see how this changes my productivity, my mental health, my physical health and my overall outlook on life and work. I'd love to hear about your routines. Morning, work, evening, workout, meal planning....whatever you've got, let me hear about it. Drop me a note and let me know! |
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