Tadas Mikuckis @tadasmikuckis
Music is sweeter after a rest! No matter how much you enjoy something, you can’t do it forever. Most composers know this and allow piano players and other musicians places in the music to rest. It may be resting the hands or simply resting the ears, but rest is an inevitable and essential part of every piece of music. A musical rest is simply a defined period of time in the flow of music when you don’t play or hold a note – it is a command to do nothing.
Life can be seen the same way. We all need rest to rejuvenate and replenish our mind and body so that we can continue to function at optimum levels. I’m not talking about sleeping at night or going on vacation each year. It is important that we pencil in some daily time of rest. You may think that you are doing a good job by staying at a task or multitasking for hours, but studies show that it’s better to take a short break after three hours, and then return. There is also some debate as to whether or not multitasking is a good idea. Some feel that it puts more pressure on the brain to perform by switching between tasks rather than doing one thing well. I’m starting to agree with that. I find that I do better when I focus on one task and move to another after finishing. But I still tend to multitask more than I wish. When your brain tells you something else needs to be done it’s hard to overlook it unless you write it down. Most of the time I feel that it’s quicker to do it and have it behind me, especially if it’s something that takes only a few minutes. I tell myself that the time I spend writing it down is the time I could have had it done. That’s one less thing on my “to do” list. Of course the more I do that the more I realize that I have overlooked something else that had a higher priority on that list. So, whenever possible take a rest and when you return, try returning to the task at hand only, rather than jumping around from one thing to another. Some things really can wait until tomorrow, even some small things!