Make Time for Joy

Set aside some daily time to do what makes your soul sing

What’s the thing you love to do the most that you are not doing because of <insert reason>? The thing that makes your soul sing?

Don’t tell me. Just ask yourself why you’re not carving out at least half an hour a day to do it. 

Please find a way. 

I’m here to tell you at 58 that one day you’ll deeply regret your reason or excuse for not doing it. Our time here is finite. 

Find time for yourself in this life of demands from others and from your own inner critic.

It doesn’t have to be a damn side hustle either. Put those thoughts to one side. Not everything needs to be monetised, and the idea that money will bring you joy is an illusion. More importantly, it's often the case that making money out of the thing that brings you joy soon strips away the joy as it becomes just another job. I don’t make money out of writing let alone music, but I write, and I practice bass every day. 

While Austin Kleon (bless him) might encourage you to share your work, I won't. Your joy doesn't need anyone's approval, or worse, their "constructive feedback". You do joy for _you_.

I even practice my bass during video meetings when I’m on mute. I don’t ask for permission, and  I don’t care how it looks. During the pandemic, when video meetings were the norm and I was coaching remotely, sometimes people would be embarrassed about their backgrounds or normal life happening in the background. I'd swiftly bring them to ease by telling them that the best thing about the pandemic was that it showed us all that we are humans with real lives, and given what we were all going through, that we shouldn't pretend our life outside work didn't exist, and to cut ourselves some slack. I apply the same standards to myself. 

You’ll be happier if you have a plan for your joy. If you like writing and music, then knowing how you want to get better is a start, but following a self-penned plan, a course, will mean that your joy isn't directionless. Just repeating the same old licks on your guitar, while comfortabl, won’t make you as happy as if you have a plan for learning all the notes on your instrument, all the scales, modes, arpeggios etc. Half an hour a day is over 180 hours a year. Thats a lot of progress. And how good will you feel once your expressive capability has improved as a result of your self-directed practice?

If you’re a writer, capture everything even remotely interesting that pops into your head. I always carry a pocket notebook, pen and digital dictaphone. I always have my mobile and a journal dedicated to random thoughts and another for lyrics. Why? Because I've learned to respect the muse.

In my experience, the muse is a guest in the house of my mind, that stops visiting if I ignore her. Sometimes she won’t visit for a year. If you honour her by immediately paying attention to her call and recording what she says, she stays. Why? She knows that you value her, and she gives you more. There's only so many times a friend will pass a football to you if you never pass back.

Maybe the muse stopped visiting you. She doesn't have to be gone forever. You can make amends. Prepaer for her visit. Start writing. Start practicing. Do it daily, even for a short time and the signal will reach her and she’ll come back. When she does, treat her like an honoured guest that thrives on respect and attention.

I've never had writer's block. I just keep writing and that signals the muse that I'm worth visiting from time to time. 

Find half an hour a day for the thing that used to bring you joy. Who knows, maybe others will notice and you can share this message with them.