Do You Structure Time For Resting And Creativity?
Welcome back! Let’s dive in with episode 2 of the journal entries series by @skylumusic.
Do you structure time for resting and creativity?
It's Monday morning, a new day, a new week and a new season. The autumn equinox has just passed and is the turning point towards winter, a prospect that is not always welcomed or celebrated, and yet -- whilst I'll miss the sun soaking into my skin and the feeling of wellbeing and liberation that the summer can bring -- I feel the autumn and winter somehow gives permission for time to focus more inwardly.
In the quiet, when the leaves are changing colours and the trees are preparing to shed, I feel nature's permission to be quiet and slow and to reflect - and so to create. I feel this permission in my core and the writing of it in my journal is imprinting it so that it cannot be easily forgotten.
The challenge I am faced with is to create (and maintain) a structure to my week which balances heading out into the world, with time to regularly be slow and deliberate and leave room for the unknown. If I wait for time and space to materialise, it may never, I am so used to filling every gap with doing, reacting, busying myself.
When the whole world seems to be applauding busier, noisier, more content, more outgoing, I must listen instead to nature’s wisdom and my own cycles and seasons. The organised doer in me cries, “but there is so much to attend to and react to…finish this and this and this first,” and I must somehow firmly set that urgent voice aside on certain days and at certain times.
Do you structure time for resting and creativity or do you wait and see what happens and when you have time for it?
What small promise could you make and commit to for the next few weeks as an experiment?
Permission to create and permission to rest are deeply connected in my view. Whilst making and developing, practice and mastery, is work - artistic expression is a form of resting in oneself, allowing something to come through rather than using force. And so, this feels to me to be the key, to rest in my own company and be with myself, as the foundation for creativity to emerge and flow.
Without any to-dos, deadlines or accountability, what if all I do is daydream and nap? I have some faith that if I come from a softer, more yielding place, if I let myself turn in and turn up, then my creativity will start to surface and unravel. I’ve written this down now, so I feel more motivated to experiment these next two weeks with structuring time to pause and drop into a different way of being.
If you are comfortable sharing your experiences in regard to creativity, you can do so by commenting under this post (you can do so in the browser version). Otherwise, send us a DM at @mesmerized.io, and we might share your thoughts on next week’s newsletter!
Touring and Mental Health
Recently, I have encountered numerous articles and podcasts shedding a light on how hectic touring schedules often lead to a sudden burn-out for all artists involved. Low key, it was nothing new, touring has always come with its own set of challenges, the main one being the ability to manage your wellbeing around poor sleeping, random meals and a lot of travelling hours. And not just during a tour: once home, artists frequently deal with the so-called ‘blues’, a period of re-adjusting to normal life (the musical equivalent of post-vacation depression).
Recently, The Guardian explained how a non-insignificant number of acts were cancelling dates due to low mood and poor mental health: “This week, Arlo Parks became the latest, cancelling a run of US shows and explaining how the relentless grind of the past 18 months had left her “exhausted and dangerously low”. Her decision followed Sam Fender’s announcement that he was cancelling his US tour support slots with Florence + the Machine due to burnout: “It seems completely hypocritical of me to advocate for discussion on mental health and write songs about it if I don’t take time off to look after my own mental health.”
While this matter has always been on the cards for touring musicians, the post-pandemic entertainment rage has exacerbated the situation, with schedules filled to the brink and minimal rest days.
Laura Barton for The Guardian continues: “There are two factors at play here: a growing willingness among musicians to talk about mental health struggles and the demands of their profession, and an industry desperate to spring back to life after a devastating pandemic, with turbo-charged touring and promotional schedules to make up for perceived lost time. Couple this with pitiful income from streaming, and the mounting cost of living, and the pressure to work more and chase success increases further. “Those opportunities are rare,” says Smith, of the endless touring momentum. “No one owes you those slots, and you can say no to them, but if you lose traction, and then those opportunities don’t come along again, that’s on you.”
Talking about the problem is crucial. It gives everyone a chance to build a better industry for everyone, artists and music fans.
Check out this podcast with former Marron 5 drummer Ryan Dusick. While he’s the original drummer, he had to leave the group after developing chronic nerve damage. Falling into a spiral of depression and lack of purpose, he then went on to reinvent - and discover - himself.
Industry News
🌳 Still Convinced That Tiktok Isn’t Turning Into A Record Company?
“TikTok’s parent company is currently hiring for new A&R Manager positions in four major North American cities: Los Angeles, New York, Miami and Toronto.”
📀 Apple Music has 100m songs, says ‘human curation is more important than ever’
“Apple Music has announced a new milestone. No, not how many subscribers it has, but the number of tracks available on its service. It’s 100m”.