Musician Coping Strategies
Uh-oh: the high-stress season is upon us—time for musician coping strategies to reduce anxiety! I'm all about the gratitude (Happy Thanksgiving in advance). But in the midst of a pandemic and the environmental melt-down, with social justice outrages happening every...
Urgent vs. Important
How well are you dealing with the artist's struggle of the urgent vs. important? In his terrific book Making Your Life as an Artist, Andrew Simonet writes, “Most artists spend the vast majority of their time dealing with immediate problems. The PR package that was...
What’s wrong with “throwing your hat in”?
This is a pet peeve of mine. I can’t stand it when I hear musicians say, when referring to applying for jobs as ‘throwing their hat into the ring.’” It’s a common enough phrase, a harmless cliché, but it connotes a certain casual attitude—a kind of devil-may-care,...
My Worst Procrastination Story
Welcome to my worst procrastination story: If you’re anything like me, you’ve had stretches when a task on your to-do list refuses to get done. It’s on the list day after day but not getting crossed off. This happened a few years ago: one seemingly simple item on my...
