They say the news cycle is going faster and faster – stories move in and out of the news in hours instead of days, and are replaced before we have a chance to process them or learn anything beyond a surface understanding.
And the same is true in day-to-day teaching and music-making. It’s so easy to make every single rehearsal like the modern news cycle: reacting to the immediate, to what’s in front of us. Weekends get filled with immediacy, too: catching up on the world out there, watching the newest Netflix series, and processing the paperwork for your next week of teaching.
So, every once in a while, we need a Step Back Day. Turn off anything that might distract you with the immediate, and take an intentional step back to think about longer scales. What about next month? What about next year?
After a particularly busy few weeks, I’m taking Sunday as a Step Back Day. I hope you’ll join me, if you can.