At the time I planned this episode initially, it was mid-July. Now it is almost mid-August. I generally perform a mid-month review to allow myself to look back and think ahead. I ask myself specific questions that I designed or gathered to keep me focused neutrally on what I've done or am doing. I offer no judgments or stories, just the facts. A mid-month review is one of the helpful tools I use in journaling. I have journaling prompt questions printed on a half-page, and I affix this page to my planner on the 15th of the month. The questions keep me focused on achievement and moving the needle forward. I do not berate myself if I do not achieve something. I refrain from looking ahead and measuring how far I have to go to "close the gap." I am more interested in the factual information I have gathered by moving from the starting line to my current place.
Here are my five questions:
1. What have I accomplished?
2. What projects do I need to adjust or drop?
3. What are my priorities for the rest of the month?
4. What bills do I need to pay? Do I have the necessary funds in place to pay these bills?
5. What projects or tasks have fallen off the radar?
I include a space for additional notes or thoughts. Although I originally intended to use this form as a stand-alone document that I could fill out as needed, I have used it as a bookmark in my planner and morning pages journal, and I answer the questions within my journal. I then place the questions as a bookmark for the next month to remind me when to do a mid-month review in the following month.
I hope you find as much value from this exercise as I do. You can adjust the questions to fit any time frame, whether a quarter, a season or semester, a half year, a year, or even a week. Let's use these questions to think about our summer expectations and intentions.
Do you remember what your summer expectations were? I laugh at how delighted I was at the beginning of the Summer, around the 1st or 2nd week of June when school let out and students began taking vacations. I thought ahead to the long time that stretched before me. Months of Summer, I thought. Weeks to accomplish a great deal. I felt so expansive.
And then, at the end of June, when I set a few goals and intentions for July, I realized that a great deal of time had slipped past me, and I had so little time left to accomplish those lofty goals I had constructed at the beginning of June. Yikes!
I have always had an issue with trying to accomplish more than is possible or even healthy in one sitting. I am determined, but I have realized how much I need to s-l-o-w d-o-w-n and appreciate everything. I will not go into the details of that sort of thing yet; we have plenty of time to talk about that sort of discovery in future episodes. Let us focus on the remaining half of the Summer right now.
Question #1: What have I accomplished? This question is my favorite because it helps me celebrate that I have done something. I have not been sitting on my rear end and gazing into space. I have checked off many things on my list. When I forget to answer this question, I am too judgmental of myself. I forget how much I've done, and I forget to pat myself on the back for making that stuff happen. It was a hectic six weeks with music festivals and symphony commitments. I am amazed that I did as much as I had. And May was not any easier.
Question #2: What projects do I need to adjust or drop? This question is a great way to reframe things that are not working. Again, no judgments or guilty feelings are allowed. Sometimes other projects emerge on the horizon, and these new projects take higher priority than my previous expectations. That is OK. Roll with the punches. Accidents happen, weather happens, surprises happen. That is life. Rather than being rigid and causing me more stress than is necessary, why not just adjust the scope of the original project's intention, postpone it, or drop it if the timing no longer works?
While I am at it, I will also note anything I need to learn from this experience. Did I set my expectations too high? Did I overschedule or overcommit myself? For example, I serve on a board of directors for a music festival and did not factor in the amount of driving I had to do during the festival -- 141 miles daily to the performance venue. I had a completely unrealistic idea of the distance. I will not make that mistake again! I made a note of that lesson for the future.
Question #3: What are my priorities for the rest of the month? This question helps me reframe or reorganize my time and activities to accomplish what I want or need to achieve this month. While I am thinking about the answer to that question as it concerns July, I am also thinking ahead to August and the short amount of time left to finish my projects before school begins again with the fall semester in mid-August.
Question #4: What bills do I need to pay? Do I have the necessary funds in place to pay these bills? I added this question because I usually pay my bills around the 20th of the month. It's on my calendar to do this task on that date. I also have several accounts, so the question about the necessary funds refers to whether the funds are in the appropriate account that will send the checks to pay the bills. Sometimes I have to move some funds around for this purpose. I got in the habit of asking that question to remind me to arrange the bill payments. I don't have a lot of bills. Some bills are quarterly or yearly, and I like to keep that all in mind with this monthly question.
And finally . . . ,
Question #5: What projects or tasks have fallen off the radar? This question is another favorite. Sometimes I start the month all excited to complete some big project on my list. I have lots of exciting energy and motivation. And then things start happening. We used to call this phenomenon "cranking up the carousel." When we did the Suzuki institute at TX State University, we would get everything worked out, and then on the first day, we would "crank up the carousel" and start noting all the pieces that began flying off. We would spend the first and sometimes the 2nd day screwing or tightening all the loose pieces before everything started to sail smoothly.
This question helps me recall the expectations I began with that month. I can decide if I want to do anything more about it during the rest of the month -- whether to renew my enthusiasm, rewrite my plans, delegate or defer it, or eliminate it.
How did your July month go? How did you answer those questions?
Now would be an excellent time to set some goals for the rest of the Summer. The questions may have helped you to renew your commitment to achieving a goal you started at the beginning of the Summer, or perhaps the questions helped you to reframe what you wanted to accomplish now that half the Summer has passed. Let me throw out another question for you to answer:
How do you want the remainder of your Summer to look? What do you want to finish or start?
Your child's teacher may have some ideas that fit your child's situation. Many of my students traveled, and I suggested some travel ideas to keep their steady progress. Perhaps you could set a few challenges. A student could complete many possible 30-day challenges during a week. Summers are terrific times to work on review challenges, such as reviewing the entire previous book or, if a student is in book 1, all the songs that the student knows in book 1. I have suggested challenges for increasing tone, developing vibrato, playing staccato or spiccato, or learning duet parts. I had a student who learned one hymn each Summer to share with her grandmother. She memorized the violin notes and all the verses -- a terrific mental exercise.
Do not forget to include listening challenges as well. Perhaps your child is listening to a particular Suzuki repertoire book. Your child's teacher might also challenge your child to listen to a list of pieces that the child would enjoy.
Here is the link to an episode I published many years ago when I first started the podcast: 100 Things to do in the Summer. I wrote that episode as an exercise in creativity. Could I think of 100 things to do in the Summer? I researched the lists I had made in teacher training workshops or read online. I also came up with a lot of other activities myself. I will link that episode in the show notes.
Before I close today's episode, let me include something about journaling in general. I answered a journaling prompt at the start of my week, and the prompt asked me about my reasons for journaling. Here is what I wrote as an answer to this prompt:
I have learned so much about myself. Most of all, I journal or do the Morning Pages to gain a sense of peace. I slow my racing thoughts down to a manageable, observable speed. I can puzzle through my thoughts, emotions, and behaviors and figure out what is happening in my head. I can bring to my consciousness level the things I need to see to decide whether I want to keep these thoughts, treasure these thoughts, or learn better cognitive behavior around these thoughts.
I have worked myself through pain, anger, dissatisfaction, creativity, death or loss, and desire. Journaling gives me peace because I know that I have written things down. My words will not be lost. I may not go back and reread things. Maybe it is just the confidence that it is out of my head, down on the page, and therefore not lost. Also, writing things down helps me to remember things. I've completed many goal lists over the years after having written them and then forgotten about them. Writing enables me to remember. Is that why I gain peace from doing it?
It helps slow my thinking down so that I examine things; it gives me the "examined life."
I can heal myself through problem-solving, working through problems, or coming up with actions to provide better ways to handle things in the future.
I have come up with creative ideas for podcasting or blog articles.
I have worked through things that I needed to do and also goals lists.
I encourage you to journal as well and make your discoveries about yourself. Start today. Start small. Try answering one of the five questions of the mid-month review or write a list of some activities or projects you want to work on for the rest of the month or Summer. Are there any projects that you want to do with your children? Journaling is for everyone, whether you are a student, a teacher, or a parent. Everyone can benefit from the examined life and mental clarity that comes from writing a placeholder in our lives.
I would love to hear from you and share your journaling experience. Please email me at paula@teachsuzuki.com and let me know how the experience went for you. I would also enjoy hearing how everyone else's Summer has gone so far. We have a local institute and several teacher training workshops in the coming weeks. I would love to hear how Summer has been working for everyone else.
If you would like to comment or review the podcast, I have posted directions on how to do that on the podcast website at teachsuzuki.com. Also, if you are interested in finding more information about Eva Belvelin's book, Little Things for Little Strings, which would be a terrific and fun way to romp through the rest of the Summer, I have included book information on the website.
Until next time,
Happy Practicing!
----- Paula -----
© 2022 by Paula E. Bird
To listen to the Teach Suzuki Podcast episode 233, click here
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