arrange • compose • conduct
The gift of routine is time to think. The challenge of routine is that you can feel like you’re in a rut, just repeating the same actions, day after day. But that only happens if you don’t take advantage of the gift. Let the routine free your mind to think, […]
I make a to do list every morning. It’s scrawled on a 3×5 card or the back of an envelope, and awaits crossing off as the day goes by. But would I be better off making a two-day to do list? Along with today’s to do, things I need to […]
There are no hacks for the hard work. You can make easy work faster with a shortcut hack. You can make complex work less complex by streamlining it via a hack. None of those are the hard work of your job. The hard work is creative, or it’s interpersonal, or […]
Want to achieve something down the road? Don’t look forward to. Work backward from. Say you want to sing a solo at your spring concert. Looking forward to standing onstage and singing isn’t nearly enough to get you there. You need to work backwards: performance >>> auditions >>> lessons/coaching >>> […]
What you’re doing looks like magic. In 1962, Arthur C. Clarke published his Three Laws, and the third and most famous is that “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” As digital technology gets more advanced, that certainly feels true – computers and computer software take on a more […]
It’s a good idea to have different “gears” for reading. I slow down to my slowest speed when I’m reading poetry. Every word is so carefully selected, so I want to savor them, hear them. My next gear is for novels – brisk, but I’m not a speed reader by […]
How does urgency play a role in your workflow? Is there a solution? I have a harder time writing my daily post in the morning than the evening. The imminent deadline of bedtime and the clock hitting midnight is sufficient to put me in my seat and begin writing. The […]
Do your habits change when your location changes? After so many years of writing, it seems like the habit should be the habit, wherever you are. But it’s just not true – different places provoke different things and require different things. I read recently that heroin addiction has a strong […]
Every streak is right on the edge of breaking. I can’t even say how many times I’ve thought to myself, “Oh, I can’t write tomorrow and I haven’t pre-published anything!” A few hours later, and my streak would reset to 0. Writing daily here is the longest streak I’ve ever […]
If you think you’re only capable of one vocal style or technique, your minad is lying to you. Sure, you may have an affinity for one vocal tone, or even an aptitude for it. But our voices are infinitely flexible, and when I hear someone say, “I can only sing […]