COLUMNS 7 Ideas for Creativity & Resilience
By Kerilie McDowall
Do you feel stuck from not performing as often ? If you are a prolific musician who likes to constantly create , record , and perform , you may find that COVID-19 has thrown a curveball at you . Dwindling finances may be negatively affecting your desire to play your instrument and create . Lately , your self-care practices may have been getting second priority . You already know that creativity – and making time for it – is necessary for your best mental health as a performing artist . How can a creative artist stay resilient ? Here ’ s are some ideas to help give you a boost .
1 . Staying Stable It is important to have stability so that you can maintain the centeredness required to create . First things first ; if you are facing a COVID-19-related business slowdown or financial hardship in your town or city , contact a local non-profit debt counseling service to assist you with budgeting options and strategies so that you can once again focus on the serious business of creating and your music practice . Being flexible and receptive to finding new ways of generating income can support you through the challenging periods . Invest some “ me-time ” into self-nurturing and disconnecting from the hectic modern workday at home . Give yourself some quality time .
2 . A Creative Holiday For a musician , often the best therapy is being inventive . Creativity is the best form of exploring resilience for the musician . A temporary freeze on all media and phones and addictive social media is completely necessary for most musicians these days to get into “ creative mode .” You may choose to remain at home , turning off all devices . Creating at night is a time of no disturbances for most . Some composers and songwriters rent studios or seaside cabins and create with no distractions . Consider scheduling a songwriting / composing holiday away from your home office as a gift to yourself .
Play music for a happy experience for yourself often and not just for work purposes like teaching or performing . Find time to toy with new musical phrases , jotting down your ideas , recording yourself playing / singing into your device . Make the time to create or practice for the pure love of it .
3 . Remaining Present Charlie Parker already made this point in 1945 with “ Now ’ s the Time ,” but yes , the psychological technique of thinking about worries moving forward into the future and staying current in the moment will assist you in relaxing . Some people like to schedule only 20 minutes of disciplined and structured “ worry time ,” a day , while not permitting themselves to worry at any other times during the day . Find the best model that works for you .
4 . Connecting with Your Natural Environment If you have been feeling out of sorts due to strict lockdown measures and horrific news reports , take note ; spending time alone or with friends outdoors and close to nature at your local garden , park , forest , lake , ocean , or riverside can assist with rejuvenation . It has long-lasting effects and helps maintain a sense of creative well-being . Special outdoor moments can inspire you going forward to create and express yourself . A walk in the forest might be all it takes to get creative ideas and a sense of balance flowing again . A hummingbird feeder can attract wildlife right to your window . Spending time with a beloved pet is a wonderful way to create a connected harmonious vibe , as is outdoor time in the garden . Explore the options that best suit your lifestyle for connecting with the natural environment for health purposes , it can help in restoring calm to your inner world .
5 . Favourite Things Enjoying the things you love to do most like hobbies and other favourite creative and physical activities will help you to cope with stress , enabling resilience . During lockdown communicate often with family , favourite people , and friends for good mental health . Visit your friends and family and workplace as your local COVID-19 laws permit and connect often by video and phone .
6 . Brainstorming Whenever you may feel stuck about a decision , it ’ s a good time to grab a pen and paper and jot down ideas and lists of favourites , or a brief target outline .
Brainstorming creative ideas for music-making is always good and happy time well spent . If you have never thought about your most loved music-related ideas or techniques , make a list . Try to enjoy one or two of them off the list each day . If they are creative action ideas , incorporate your original and best ideas into experimenting with your songwriting .
7 . Journaling Journal writing can seem too overbearing during a pandemic , but it ’ s a method to release some of the nonsense in your life and focus on rebalancing and goal-setting . Some people like to focus on specific positive tasks , like gratitude-journaling exercises or goal strategizing . Journaling offers perfect moments for cathartic venting so that you don ’ t dump it on your friends or family .
Come back next issue for eight more ideas ! Until then , start with your bucket list and dream big .
Kerilie McDowall is a British Columbia-based music writer and publicist and also a former professional jazz guitarist , instructor , and composer . She also coaches artists , teaches guitar , and is a Polaris Music Prize juror . Contact Kerilie at keriliemcdowall @ gmail . com .
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