Wednesday - No Real Topic or Theme - Just Thoughts

My sweet girl in '17
Today starts my three-day professional development focus for this calendar year. I have not had much time off for professional development, so I am looking forward to an opportunity to pursue some music therapy topics and ideas that have been percolating. I am planning on spending most of the time between now and Sunday morning involved in vision development, product development, composition, and time away from everything. 

One of the things that I am trying to focus on in the next several days is what I want to do with my intellectual endeavors for the next five years. I plan on retiring from my current job once I qualify for my full pension, so I have to start to think about what is next for me as a professional. I do not think I will be ready to walk away from music therapy completely after this job is over, but I am thinking that I will want to have more time for creating and consultation. To get to that point, I have to start some planning and routines now. 

I am GREAT at making plans and setting goals and am LOUSY at actually doing the work to get myself to those goals and plans. I have always said that I am a better employee than entrepreneur, and I stand by that statement. I can envision so much for myself and for other music therapists, and I know the steps that I "should" take to get there, but I do not often have the motivation to do what needs to be done. Cue guilt at this point right now...

This week's goal is to start the process. I want to have a five year plan in place and take several small steps toward that plan in the next three days. I want to knuckle down so I have a place to go and things to do in the music therapy profession in five years when my full-time interactions with my clients change into working with other clients in another place in the world.

In the meantime, I am going to watch the progress of Artemis one as it heads back to the moon - something I've waited my entire life to experience. (The last time this happened, I was a toddler, so I was not really all that interested...you know how self-involved toddlers can be...) I am going to think and cook and dream and research and read and nap and worry and stress and do all the things that I usually do. I am going to fill my books with plans and thoughts and dreams and visions. I am going to take some scary next steps, but I am going to do them because it is what I need and want to be doing. I am going to make things during the next three days - things that I want for music therapy and things that I want just for me.

There are so many things that grab my attention, but my energy levels do not seem to catch up to the ever-growing list of things. So, one of my quests is to find small, simple, and energy-neutral tasks to do to progress on my quests every day. 

Recently, at work, I have been working on making tasks for classrooms for some of our learners. I have no requirements other than just getting things made, so I have full rein and complete creative control. I have been using my task box book on a regular basis, and I have been able to complete several projects each month. This is a system that is working for me. It is time to transfer it to my other large quest.

My task box system includes several different elements and tasks. First, I use different colored stickers to indicate specific types of things that I do. I place the sticker on the side of the page so I can quickly flip to all of my brainstorming pages - all the yellow dots, for example. I also have an index in the back of the book that allows me to note specific project sheets and pages. I keep an inventory of materials as well as finished projects with project details such as goals, type of task, and who received it on what date. I have a Pinterest board dedicated to task box ideas from others. I avoid looking at Pinterest when I am in production mode as it tends to occupy too much time! These elements help me keep on track and identify my next steps in any project.

This system will work well for my current focus and endeavor. I will set up a color-code (one of my greatest thrills when organizing!! I love me some color-coding!) and my index in the back of one of my current journals. I know just the one. I will bring back my project timelines and make copies of those to use - I print them on sticker paper so I can easily attach them to appropriate pages. I will dedicate a part of the back of the journal for my complete vision, and then I will work from the front to the back with ideas, training, notes, and everything that I think about.

It is time to move from thinking about this to actively doing this task. Time to start dreaming again. Thanks for being here. I appreciate it!! 

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