7 Music Educator Life Hacks That Will Rock Your World
Just when you think your life can’t get any more full, your principal asks you to come on full time next year and take over the band program.
Add that to this awesome blog, the fantastic podcast, private students, consulting clients, volunteering with my community band, and the totally-bitchen professional development conference I’m directing in June and you’ve got the prescription for massive overload!
[Keep in mind I still have a husband, three kids, and consulting clients who all want me at some point, too!]
Two weeks ago I was staring at an ever-growing to-do list, and no matter how hard and fast I worked at it I couldn’t seem to whittle it down. On top of that, I was staring at a bank account with $4.34 in it.
How could I be working so hard with nothing to show for it?!?!
I hit the wall. I realized two things:
I had no excuse at all. I have the skills, I have the knowledge, I have the talent, and I have the income streams. I just needed to apply myself to them.
And…
It was time to pull out one of my favorite skills- partially learned from the homemaking on nothing days of my younger years, and fully supported by my Master of Business Administration training…
Efficiency.
In recent years this valuable skill has taken on a new name: Life Hacks.
Music educators working smarter, not harder.
Tricks you can use to make your life more efficient.
I’ve always been kind of a freak about efficiency. From how I organize my kitchen drawers to how to drive to work, I’m always looking for the better, more cost-effective way to do it.
Sometimes that cost is money, and sometimes that cost is time.
I needed to whip out my efficiency skills and put them to work in my life. I’m not talking one or two ‘life hacks’, but several of them. All of them.
I figured if you’re as nuts as me, you might want to give one or two a try. I can’t blame you if you look at these and go, “That’s…NUTS!” Because I just said I was nuts. I know it. But maybe, just maybe, you’d like to try one of these and reap the rewards that I have seen in my life.
Keep in mind, a lot of these are about minimizing the thing that has plagued me in recent years:
Decision Fatigue
Kid you not, making decisions can ruin you. It sucks your energy out.
For me, there were some decisions that were simply paralyzing. I couldn’t decide and I would break down, freeze, and sometimes just start crying.
I don’t have time for that!
So I’ve taken out the need to make decisions. That in its self is a ‘Life Hack’ and you’ll see it in effect with these Music Educator Life Hacks, from me to you:
Music Educator Life Hack #1: Triage Your To-Do List
Take that to-do list and expand it. Write down every single thing you have to do, especially those that are weighing on your mind.
Now cross off all of those that don’t actually HAVE to get done. These are things that would be nice, but aren’t necessary.
For me these were things like “Make videos for all the program songs for the kids to sing along to…” and “Put new curtains in the front hall…” and “Get a massage…”
Once you’ve crossed these off, go through the list again.
If it can wait, let it. If it doesn’t have to be done yesterday, or today, or in the next couple of weeks, cross it off.
Now you’re looking at a list of only the most urgent, important, and pressing tasks. Now you can go about scheduling when they’ll get done.
TIP: Be realistic about your time tables. If it takes an hour, plan on it taking 2.
Music Educator Life Hack #2: Pre-Plan Everything
I discovered that one of the things preventing me from staying on task, being highly productive, and having time for the things that I need to keep myself going- like yoga, meditation, and time with my kids.
I have tried to have a ‘daily routine’ where I do the same thing the same time every day, but the truth is no two days of mine are the same! I can’t keep a regular schedule because I don’t have a regular schedule.
So I plan my day out the night before, down to which instruments I need to take to school, what I need to do for myself, and what I need to do for everyone else. Once it’s planned, I don’t have to decide anymore. I know what’s going to happen and when. I make myself some tea to sip and I make this 15 minutes in the evening an enjoyable time.
Having trouble sleeping because you’re thinking of all the stuff you gotta do? Plan it out like this and you’ll be sleeping like a baby.
Music Educator Life Hack #3: Minimize Your Menu
I eat the same thing for breakfast and lunch every day, and I have a list of 12 dinners that I rotate through. My shopping list is small and easy, I just keep the same things on hand all the time. I don’t need to plan menus and I choose which meals to make for dinner based on the time I have in the evenings. I also prep all my meals in the morning. On Sundays I prep all my lunches for the week.
No planning needed, no decisions have to be made: it’s the same thing every day.
Not only that, but because I’ve chosen super-healthful meals I’m ensuring I get all the nutrition I need to keep my energy up, my weight down, and my heart happy.
Want to know my menu? I’m a big fan of the Whole 30 nutrition guidelines, so I try to stick to those. You can steal this by snagging the download below.
Without a healthy diet, there’s no way I could do #
#4: Look For Time Wasters Everywhere…
…and rid yourself of them.
I went through an entire day and paid attention to what I was spending time on- not just the bulk of my time, but the little things too. I used to spend 4 minutes drying my hair. I thought that could be improved upon, so I cut it. Now it takes 2 minutes and I don’t have to curl it.
I noticed it was taking me too long to sort through my makeup back to find the things I wanted when I wanted them. So I bought a divided basket, everything is laid out and ready to go for me. It was taking me 5 minutes to do my makeup. Now it takes me a mere 2.
Watching TV/Netflix/Amazon? I save it for the weekends, and only if my husband wants to. Checking Facebook? Once a day is my limit and I set a timer: 10 minutes.
I do make time for the most important things: playing ukulele with my husband, reading to my kids, meditation. I have more time for these important things because I don’t waste my precious time on things that don’t matter.
Music Educator Life Hack #5: Whittle Down Your Wardrobe
Level 1- get rid of all the clothes you’re hanging onto that don’t fit.
Level 2- get rid of anything you haven’t worn in 6 months.
Level 3- limit the number of each item you’re allowed to have. 3 t-shirts, 2 jeans, 1 skirt…that kind of thing! I kept only things that I’d worn in the last month. I kept only one of any item I had duplicates of. For some reason, I had 3 pair of black tights. Why?!?! So I picked the one that fit the best and donated the others to Goodwill. I had 3 black dress jackets. Why!?!? I tried them on and picked my favorite.
Go through your shoes. Pants. Dresses. Everything.
Note: The only thing I didn’t get rid of were my wool socks. For some reason, I need an inordinate amount of comfy socks. I got rid of these with holes and kept the rest.
You won’t believe how much lighter you feel, and how much easier it is to decide what to wear, when those selections are limited.
Music Educator Life Hack #6: Sleep Less…
….adopt polyphasic sleep.
How much sleep do you really need? Anyone who has worked a night shift will tell you that it depends entirely on what your body thinks it needs. If you’re used to sleeping 10 hours per night, your body thinks you need 10 hours per night. If you sleep only 7, your body will do with only 7.
Our bodies are amazing and adaptable things.
For me it came down to the fact I needed more hours in the day, so I decided to steal them from the night. I’ve always been an early riser- when you’re a mother of 3 kids under the age of 5 the only time you have that isn’t already claimed by your children is before they wake up in the morning. This is how I was able to train for triathlons, and now it’s how I get things done.
Only 5 am is now sleeping in.
I fall to sleep promptly at 11 pm and my alarm goes off at 3:30 am. And that’s only because I’m working toward a 3 am wake up.
Don’t freak out: Mozart only slept 4 hours per night!
Seriously though, lots of entrepreneurs and high achievers sleep 4-6 hours per night quite successfully. See why I have to be so strict about nutrition, too? Plus quitting coffee? And alcohol? It would be impossible to keep up my energy on 4 hours of sleep per night if I was feeding my body crap.
I also keep my energy up by taking 3 additional naps for 20-25 minutes each. So my total daily sleep is somewhere around 5.5 hours. That’s earning me an extra 2.5 hours per day from the average 8 hours of sleep. That’s 17.5 hours PER WEEK!
And it’s been soooooo worth it.
Sure, the first week was pretty difficult. But I acknowledged my body was adapting. I stayed strict to my sleep schedule, nutrition, and focused a lot on self-care. I was patient with myself. Forgiving with foggy thoughts and a weak memory.
After a few days my body started to adapt and I found myself getting my best work done between 4 and 6 in the morning. I’m more energetic throughout the day and I finally am whittling down my to-do list to where it’s manageable. I’m generally taking better care of myself, because to get to this level, you really have to be thinking always in terms of “how will this affect my productivity?” If I have a beer now, will I be able to get up at 3:30? If I drink this cup of coffee will I be able to fall asleep promptly?
Moving to polyphasic sleep has absolutely rocked my world. Will I keep up with it? Probably. The rewards are great and the risk is small. If your body has a strong enough immune system and your willpower is powerful, I highly recommend it.
To learn more about adding hours in your day by stealing them from the night, CLICK HERE and watch this educational video.
Music Educator Life Hack #7: To Thine Own Self Be True
You could also call this one “Love Thyself”.
This is, in my mind, what it’s all about. As music educators we give so much to others. Oh, we say it’s for our program, our band, our students…but it’s really mostly for them.
If you really want to hack your life in the best way possible, start thinking of yourself. Not in a selfish way, like you want everything for you and nothing for anyone else, but more of this:
If I take care of myself, I will have more to give.
Love yourself enough to take care of yourself. Care for your body by making healthful eating decisions and doing a little exercise daily. Care for your mind by reading, practicing, and doing things you love. Care for your relationships by prioritizing time with those you love instead of with digital media. Care for your spirit by practicing mediation, and reading books that teach you more about how to live your best life. [I recommend this one, of course!]
Care for yourself enough to make yourself a priority. Care more for yourself than your wardrobe, your vanity, your sleep, and anything else that takes you away from your highest priorities.
Now it’s time for YOU to look over this list and choose.
Which ONE Music Educator Life Hack are you going to try?
And I do mean the word ‘Try’. Though I have adopted these things as a lifestyle change, intended to be permanent, you can take a week to experiment with any one of them. Though I recommend you take at least 2 weeks before you’ll actually see the rewards.
Instead of giving away your clothes, pack them away in the basement. Instead of eating the same thing every day, simply commit to planning your meals. Do these things in your own way that makes them work for you. Incremental, simple changes have never worked for me- it’s only the big, life-altering paradigm shifts that level me up. And I accept that. Accept where you are, but move forward
So choose and give it a try! You may just discover this change is the best one yet.