I recently completed The Creative’s Workshop and have hung around a bit after the 100 days to follow up with some of the other people in the course and check in on their projects and insights. The other day, one of the other participants wrote about having a “should-less” day. She got that term from the Oscar-winning actress, Ellen Burstyn, who said, in an interview with WNYC host Anna Sale on her podcast, Death, Sex, & Money:
I have what I call should-less days. Today is a day where there’s nothing I should do. So I only do what I want to do. And if it’s nap in the afternoon or watch TV and eat ice cream, I get to do it. I had that kind of day yesterday.
Should-less days, I recommend them. Because what I figured out, is we have wiring, I have wiring in my brain that calls me lazy if I’m not doing something. God, you’re so lazy. … And that wiring is there. I haven’t been able to get rid of it.
But what I can do is I can put in another wiring. I can put in should-less days. So when that voice goes off and says, You’re being lazy, I turn to the other wiring in my brain that says, No, this is a should-less day, and I’m doing what I want.
Death, Sex, & Money – October 4 2017
I don’t have a lot of should-less days. Especially at this time of year. There are always a ton of things I should do:
- Practice
- Write a blogpost (which I realized at 8pm on Saturday…. I should’ve done it earlier)
- Studio marketing
- Studio communications
- Did I mention practice?
- Social media updates
- Prepare for some class or workshop that I’m planning
- Walk the dog
- Work out
- Oh, yeah, practice
There’s one week of lessons left before the end of the calendar year. And I have a lot of “shoulds” planned for my two weeks off. But there will be at least one day – or at least a morning – that I intend to be totally should-less. I don’t know if I ought to schedule it because then it’d become a should.
How do you feel about should-less days? Is the idea of one appealing or is it like eating an extra-value meal – great going down but you feel awful later?
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If you’d like to explore voice lessons in the New Year, contact MVS to set up a Vocal Discovery Session. But only if you want to, not because you feel like you should. 🙂