Editor's Message - William McDevitt

Maintaining sanity during a pandemic is difficult. As I started writing this column, I was listening to NPR. There was a university professor discussing his book on mental illness (unrelated to the pandemic). The discussion turned to the changes that have happened in the last year and how it truly does have a negative effect on mental state.

As music educators, we are trained to constantly think of the next activity, the next lesson, the next rehearsal, the next performance. When all of that is taken away what do we do with ourselves? We're not really used to having free time. You can only binge watch TV for so long without going a little stir crazy.

While I am in no way an expert on usage of time, retirement has helped me come up with some activities that not only pass the time, but also help to keep the brain working and healthy. Here are some ideas:

Create Music. Open the case, warm up the voice, or tickle the ivories. We all started in this profession because of our love of music. Many of us have stopped creating because we were too busy. I had a cooperating teacher once tell me that, once I started teaching, I would never play the clarinet again. For a while he was right. Then I started playing again and realized what I had been missing. It doesn't matter if you're in a group or just playing for yourself, there's a certain joy that we receive from creating music. There are so many websites (I love IMSLP) that have music readily available and sometimes with an accompaniment track (and sometimes free!).

Exercise. You don't have to join a gym to exercise. You can walk. I have a route that I walk around my town that almost gives me the 10K steps that I need to get $20 back from my health insurance each month. All that I have to do is walk that route 12 times a month. Walking is great for mental health and physical health. It gives you time to clear your mind. I can usually solve all of the world's problems in my head in one single session!

Read. I was not a big reader when I was in school so it never really captured me after school. When my time was short I almost came to loathe reading. Now that I have some time on my hands, I've started to read and I actually enjoy it. Since this "stay at home" time started, I have read 16 books in the Alex Cross series and I'm looking to keep going. The only bad thing is that I start to confuse myself and wonder why people are gathering together in groups. Then I realize that it's just a story and it's not happening today and I'm fine.

Start a hobby. I remember people telling me that I needed to take more time away from my job. "Start a hobby". I remember how rediculous I though that was. Once again, other people were smarter than me. Whatever you choose, a hobby can really take your mind away from wherever your stress happens to come.

Take a car trip. A nice drive gets you out of the house. You don't have to have contact with anyone else. If you're going to be out for a while, you can take a lunch with you. I like to drive down to the shore. Walking the boardwalk (weather permitting) clears my mind and opens my sinuses.

Listen to music. Rediscover old favorites; find new styles, artists, composers; expand your listening library; ask others for suggestions. There are so many free or inexpensive options out there that don't require a subscription to listen.

Find Online PD. View monthly NJMEA PD opportunities, sign up for the Eastern Division Conference, look for NAfME opportunities. There's so much out there - you can get suggestions or tutorials on anything you can think of.

It is so important to mentally decompress before we return to something more normal. Try something. You might find yourself readjusting your priorities.