Friday Update and Saturday Hiatus

I am going to work today with a plan full of nothing to do and then will be engaging in some serious self-care and creativity.

Let me explain.

My Fridays are my planning and preparation day. It is the only day where I do not have any groups scheduled (that's a LONG story), and the individual sessions that I scheduled kept getting scheduled over (been there, done that, won't ever allow it anymore - but, in these cases, it meant that people who weren't doing ANYTHING actually started to do something, so I got out of the way). If I've done my job well during the week, I only have some documentation to do as part of my chores. If I haven't done my job, then the work piles up.

This week?

I did my job well. Even going in on time (not WAY TOO EARLY), I was able to do most of my documentation during the school days and not feel overwhelmed. I have 2 more group sets of notes to finish for the entire week. That's all! 

So, this means that I have some time to spend doing things that are related to music therapy but are not direct services. The problem? I don't know what I can do to keep myself working in a productive manner.

I am not in a very good composition mood right now. I've come up with some wonderful lyrics, but the melodies aren't coming to me yet. When I try to make myself compose, things come out that aren't interesting to me, so I stop. I'll attempt some songwriting (armed with my index cards and the computer), but that's not all I have on my agenda for the day. I will also read a bit about music therapy. I have Barbara Wheeler's new book in my office, and it is time to delve into it a bit more. I put an extra chair in my office and bought a lamp for different lighting, so I am ready to go. I'll get my super-sticky post-its and dive into the text. I also have some basic administrative chores to do - cleaning the instruments in the instrument hospital, session planning, and other tasks of that ilk.

After all that, I am heading to an spiritually-based art retreat focusing on worry and anxiety. I am leaving my computer here, under the careful watch of Bella-cat, so there will not be a post tomorrow (unless she gets the urge to type something for you...). My co-worker and friend, Tawnya, is designing these retreats as ways to express self and spirituality through the creation of a tool meant to remind us of various concepts during specific times. (Can you tell that she's an art therapist?) I have been looking forward to this since she first mentioned it, and now it is time to go! I've put the address into my phone (just learning how to do things like that), and I'll be leaving straight from work to go to the retreat center.

At the end of this overnight retreat, I will have a collection of art cards that include scripture verses centered around worry and anxiety. As you know (especially if you are a regular reader), in addition to being a music therapist, I am also a church music director, so spirituality is something that is a part of my life - just not as much of the music therapy aspect as in other aspects. This part of my life is very private, but is a strong foundation for me and how I go about my life in this world.

This retreat is an important opportunity for my self-care, especially right now. While it is yet another thing that I have to do this month, it comes at a good time. I have to slow down and pay attention to instructions. There will be meditation times and keynote times, music to sing and prayers to pray. There will be time to get messy and to create. There will be times to listen. There will be times to share things with people who will rarely see me again. I am ready and happy to be on my way.

I'll miss writing tomorrow (I know I'll be up early and would love to have something to do to fill my time, but this is also an electronics break - I'm only taking my books - no Kindle or laptop), but I'll be back on Sunday, possibly with some new insights into myself.

See you on the other side of the weekend.