I saw this tweet the other day and it spoke to me on a profound level.
But once January 2nd hits, I'm ready for spring. I'm ready for sunshine, I'm ready to stop being cold, and I'm ready for some energy and motivation.
This doesn't jive well with the discipline needed to improve in a craft that requires regular work and attention. If we spend all winter hibernating—as delightful as that sometimes sounds—we risk stagnating and falling behind.
I try to remind myself during this time of year that motivation thrives on momentum. Small steps in the right direction can "snowball" into major accomplishments. It's like those days when you tell yourself you're going to get up early and go to the gym. Then the alarm goes off and you consider just staying in bed. But then you think, OK, I'll get up but I'll only work out for 20 minutes instead of for an hour. So you drag your butt out of bed, get to the gym, and start your workout. And then a few minutes into your workout you don't feel as awful as you did when the alarm went off. Twenty minutes go by and you think, OK, I'll get to a half hour. Then a half hour passes and you are in the zone and end up going for the full hour.
That is one of the main reasons I encourage you to set up your vocal practice time in short increments. There will always be days when you don't feel motivated to practice, especially if you're staring at a 60-minute session ahead of you. But if you can get yourself to do just 10 or 15 minutes, you may build enough momentum to carry you up to a half hour or more. And even if you quit after 15 minutes, that's still a lot better than zero minutes.
Winter can be grey, bleak, and blah. We all feel it. But one step can lead to another and another and another. Just put yourself in motion and remember the words of Polish poet Czeslaw Milosz:
day draws near
another one
do what you can
How do you stay motivated during the winter doldrums? How has your practicing been?
Now go practice.
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| The sun'll come out...tomorrow. |
Winter is definitely my least favorite season. I hate the cold, and like Brian said, I always feel so much more motivated and energized in the summer compared to the winter. When December starts to roll in, I don't want to do anything because of the weather! But then, I remind myself that the weather should not be in charge of whether or not I complete my goals in life, and so I must push onward! For me, having a schedule put in place for practicing has been so helpful. Without it, I know that I wouldn't be practicing everyday, because I would be putting it aside. Not because I would want, but because, I would prioritize other things over it (which I shouldn't). Having a section of time blocked out for vocal practicing and having it put down in my calendar helps me ensure that I keep practicing and keep getting better everyday.
ReplyDeleteI don't know why, but this post reminded me of my old ballroom team in high school. Our coach would make us do these INSANE workouts sometimes, and part of those workouts included doing planks for who knows how long. If anyone dropped from the plank, lifted their hips, or bent their back, EVERYONE would have to start doing planks all over again. At first, this seemed really unfair to everyone, because we were suffering if one person fell. But over time, we began to understand that this exercise was meant for us to push each other as a team to break over our limits. And so I think a great way to keep practicing and have others in the MTP practicing is making sure that we have each others' backs, always pushing one another to be better, and going through it together.
This week, my practicing could have been better. I didn't really learn my songs as much as I wanted to. But, after reading this post, it has encouraged me to keep driving along with my goal of improving. And I also know that I always have a support system that will keep my going as well.
I definitely relate! I thought January was 4 years too long, honestly I thought the month would never end. It gets hard as an artist trying to be creative and open when all I want to do is go home and curl up with my heated blanket and a good netflix show. I've found once I get to school though, I start to open up again. I guess the nice thing about being locked indoors for school from 9-5 means you don't miss the terrible weather outside. Also, a lot of it is mindset, and keeping a positive attitude. Even if you don't believe it at first you can almost trick your mind into thinking positively.
ReplyDeleteThis week I have actually been extremely productive. I got everything done that I wanted to get done and then i'd even have an hour or two to spare to just do nothing, and its been great! I think it's the looming idea that rehearsals start next week and I know it will become even harder to get anything done so I'm doing all I can now to make my life a little easier. With that, practice has been going well and I even had time to throw in a bonus practice time! (thank you cancelled classes). Now I just need to keep the motivation to commit to my new practice schedule when rehearsals begin and keep moving forward!
Also- thanks for getting that Elton John song stuck in my head the entire time reading this blog post.
It's definitely hard to keep yourself so focussed and disciplined during the winter season because it really does just really slow and lazy all the time. So I try to always keep myself occupied with something, whether it is practicing my music, or rehearsing monologues for upcoming auditions, to just going to the gym to work out. It's definitely hard to just keep tabs on yourself so often, but it does teach a good sense of self-discipline.
ReplyDeleteOverall, practicing has been good. Like I said, I use it more than usual as of late to keep myself busy and not waste any time in a day. It is a little awkward practicing in my dorm on my piano while my roommate is doing something else though, I will say. I don't want to be distracting him too much, but he said it's fine and he doesn't really mind.
I definitely relate to the wanting of spring by January 2nd. As much as I love winter, with Christmas, skiing, hot cocoa, the overall holiday feel, I do like the warm weather where I don't have to bundle up and get in my layers just to survive the day. It's also hard to find that "perfect" temperature during the Winter season because it's either too warm or too cold, never get that "just right" that the three bears is always talking about.
Who is this?
DeleteI relate to this on a spiritual level. I agree that the holidays and festivities are so fun and exciting, but come January, everything is bleak and very very sad. Practicing in winter has been more difficult because I have felt that want of hibernation and rest, but like you said, that encourages stagnancy and you won't grow from it. I also relate to the 'getting out of bed and realizing it isn't so bad' thing. For me, I have to physically get myself to a practice room and start. I can theorize about doing something for hours without leaving my apartment, but once I get up and going, it's a lot easier for me to do things and stay at em. But it's that first step that I really struggle with. Fighting my want to do nothing is really hard and I don't succeed a lot, but it's a struggle I'm learning to overcome, so fingers crossed that I get better at that with time.
ReplyDeleteMy practicing this week has been alright! I've been doing it and practicing, but I'm not loving any of the choices I'm making or anything and I'm really struggling with the classical piece this semester. I think I'm stuck in a bit of a creative 'funk'. It'll pass though!
I am exactly the same way with winter. I work as a Ski Instructor, so the more snow during the season, the better. But once we get to this point of the year, I am totally ready for sunshine and sandals and shorts. On days like the snow day that we had a bit ago, all I want to do is lay in bed under my covers and watch Netflix all day. The hardest part is getting started. I've found that, like in the blog post above, if I just get started on my vocal warmups, I'll many times be motivated to work on my songs and work out any kinks as well. I had a bit of trouble last week with my pronunciation on my Italian song, but I think that I've got it down pretty well now, and I'm loving working on my new song and discovering different things in working with my "head/chest" voice and the mix of the two.
ReplyDeleteI definitely have a seasonal thing that makes it so hard for me to get out of bed or find motivation or anything in the winter. I always tell myself get up but body just wants rest. Lately, i have been pretty exhausted but my show opens on Friday and so i will finally be able to have some time to rest in the evenings now! Especially because I will have more time to practice I think after this week is over it will be pretty smooth sailing.
ReplyDeleteThis year the seasonal blues has hit me hard, I am itching for some melanin. I think the snowball metaphor is so so true for me. I've been really good about practicing every day but some days I find myself done warming up and dreading having to practice all my rep. Most of the time I have to just sit down and force myself to practice my Italian and eventually i'll just get into a little groove. Sometimes I tell myself okay i'll try to multitask and do the dishes or something while I sing, and then I start doing the dishes and end up being distracted from the dishes to sing. (Singing is obviously more fun so it's good to help me practice but bad for my dishes because who knows when I'll get them done.) Hopefully summer comes soon, I need a tan.
ReplyDeleteOh, man did I need to hear this. Everything I'm working on toword is hitting me hard right now. Like I'm fighting up stream against a barrage of endless torrents of assignments, and deadlines, and expectations. It's always been hard for me to relax and breath and put things in perspective. But reminding myself, (or rather your reminder) that little habits can become the foundation for large changes is not only useful, but also comforting. I can stay the course, and make some key changes that will eventually let me chill. For now I'be just gotta work and incorporate small lines of productivity and habits to declutter my head. I'm making it a goal.
ReplyDeleteWinters get real rough. I agree, it’s hard to get up and be energized when it’s so bleak outside. Caffeine is a godsend, but I’ll try to cut back a bit on lesson days! Practice is going pretty well though, and I’m noticing a lot of technical improvements since the start of the year! They say practice makes perfect, and I can totally see why! Even if it’s hard to stay motivated for anything and everything, just making a start is enough to get the ball rolling sometimes.
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