Life is best when lived by the timer

Sometimes I get completely overwhelmed by my to-do list. It gets so full at times that I can't get started on anything without worrying that I'm neglecting an item that's more important. So, here's my latest solution to tackling the big list days: use a timer! Today, there seem to be a million little things tugging at me and making me feel swamped with stuff to do. Each of these things can be categorized under a major heading:

• Laundry
• Updating Website for Local Music Teachers Group
• Paper Stack
• Lesson Notes
• Exercise
• Cleaning the Master Bed/Bath

Here's what I'm in the midst of doing as we speak. Setting a timer for 10 minutes, and working on one category at a time until the bell rings. Obviously, I don't complete everything I want to complete in just 10 minutes, but stopping and moving to the next category when the timer goes off provides a sense of balance, and so far I'm feeling like things are getting under control (big improvement over they way I felt an hour ago). When I've spent 10 minutes on each category, I start the cycle all over again. Each time I revisit a category, the pressure level is lower, and I know that I'm eventually going to finish much of what is gnawing at me. I'm beginning to feel like life is best when lived by the timer!


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The White Glove Test

One of the things I love about working from home is that there is no commute to and from an office. Another perk is that I can have office hours in my pajamas. One of the drawbacks of the arrangement, though, is that it's not good enough for me to have a clean teaching studio...I also have to have a clean kitchen, bathroom, and dining room. "Why, pray tell?" you ask. Because I never know when a student will need to use the restroom, a parent will want to sit in on a lesson, or someone will wander about for some reason. And if any wandering at all is done, the dining room, kitchen, and powder room are sure to be seen.

Which brings me to tonight. It's Friday, we've just finished a delicious family dinner along with a Netflix viewing, and I'd like to tidy up the kitchen, well, tomorrow morning...or afternoon... Tomorrow's Saturday, after all! But, there's one little problem. I teach piano on Saturday mornings. As much as I'd like to leave the dishes piled up temporarily, I mustn't. My wonderful husband does all of the cooking at our house, so the dishes are my domestic responsibility. Our sons occasionally help out with kitchen duty as well, so I'm not complaining.

This brings to mind a few cleanliness horror stories. Shall I share them with you? Yes I shall.

• Once, a student's mother came into the house to use the restroom during her child's lesson. Shortly after she closed the bathroom door, I heard a little shriek. Then I remembered. Just before piano started, I found that red melted candle wax had spilled into the toilet. I only had time to do a quick clean-up job before lessons started, so the mother probably saw whatever I missed in my haste, and assumed it was an organic blob of some sort.
  
• Several years ago, when we had a miniature dachshund, I happened to glance around the piano room during lessons and see an odd shape under the coffee table. Luckily the student I was teaching was looking at his music, and didn't notice when I retrieved the object. Let's just say I was mortified to find that it was an unmentionable my darling little pup had retrieved from the bathroom wastebasket.
• Similar story from a colleague with a golden retriever: Her dog had (and has) a habit of bringing dirty laundry into the piano room - usually socks and underwear, which she deposits at the feet of students.
• When I was in college full-time, and had much less time for domestic chores than I do now (which is not much), I had a student who had an unusually uptight attitude about dust. She could not keep herself from giving my pianos the white glove test at each and every lesson. Since her lesson was in the middle of the week (which was roughly three days after I did my weekly dusting . . . that is, if I had found any time to do weekly dusting), she could always swipe up a nice bit of dust. Eventually I learned to keep a Swiffer hidden inside the piano bench to whip out and use for touch-ups just before said student arrived. Things were great until she started examining tables and window sills.

You get the idea. If there is a truism in my home work environment, it's that a student (probably an adult student) will desperately need to use the bathroom if the toilet has gone without a scrub, and a parent's cell phone will automatically go dead and send him directly into my kitchen to use the land line if there are dishes piled in the sink. If these rooms are sparkling clean, no such needs will occur. It's just plain science. Dirt is a magnet to those whom you would like least to see it.

So, I'm off to store leftovers, run the dishwasher, clean the counters, and sweep the floor. That'll keep 'em in the piano room!

Princess nails are very professional

A friend and I recently hosted a charity event at my house. It was called 'Manicures for the Cure,' and the goal was to raise money for the Susan G. Komen Foundation which is devoted to finding a cure for breast cancer. Inspired by the unconventional nail color choices made by some of the attendees, I decided to indulge in a princess manicure today. What is a princess manicure? Well, it involves sparkles, for sure, and princess shades of blue, purple, pink, yellow, etc. I couldn't decide between blue and purple, so I alternated colors and finished with a coat of glittery clear polish. The result? C'est magnifique! My nails look like something I might want to show off at a New Year's Eve party, but I took them into the piano studio for lessons this afternoon instead. My students were dazzled, no doubt, by the glimmering, shimmering princessy effect. They may have even wished they had the same manicure. But, hey! It's not just about glamour. These nails are very professional for a piano teacher. Just think, I can demonstrate the proper fingering for a root-position triad simply by saying, 'Watch my blue nails' - blue is the color on fingers 1, 3, and 5, you see. I'm not sure what other educational tricks I can do with these nails, but I'll bet I come up with something before it's time to change the manicure!

Taking on new students when the schedule is already full

I'm at a point right now where my teaching schedule for the coming year is full, but there are a few time slots that might possibly be given to new students. Time slots I didn't really want to open. Like early morning time slots. In my world, 9:00 on a Saturday morning is just too early to teach. I know I might be alone on this, but I consider weekend mornings somewhat special. Somewhat lazy. Somewhat let-me-drink-my-coffee-and-don't-bother-me-until-latery.

So this morning, when I interviewed a potential new family of students over the telephone, I hesitated - really hesitated - before suggesting that 9:00 and 9:30 on Saturday might possibly be available time slots. What prompted me to do this was the distinct feeling I got over the phone that this was a family who meant business. All of the right questions were asked. The father wanted tips from me on how to purchase a good used piano. The children are already taking violin lessons from a highly respected member of the local symphony orchestra. The work ethic in the family, at first glance anyway, seems strong.

So, we've set up an face-to-face interview. The meeting is scheduled at the dreaded 9:00 hour on Saturday morning. (I want to test my weekend morning readiness before making a commitment, you see. Smart?) I can already foresee difficulties, though. Too many family members vying for the shower at exactly the same moment. Cars leaving the driveway for work at the same time that cars are entering for lessons. This might turn into a big mess.

But I'm going to give it a try . . .

Early Morning Inspiration

I'm up earlier than usual this morning, so while the sun has yet to peek over the horizon, my pajama office hours have officially commenced. The coffee is brewing, the family are sleeping, and I'm deciding how to spend these quiet hours alone productively. It occurs to me that this might be a good time to practice piano. Why not? I have a practice pedal on one of my instruments, I'm always lamenting my lack of practice time, and it may be nice to have worked through a new sonata exposition or memorized a section of an older piece by the time people start to stir.

In some Alfred edition of some composer's work, I once read a list of tips for effective practicing - by Maurice Hinson I believe. One of the tips (and this one cracked me up) was never to practice while anything stressful is on your mind. I asked myself, "When is that?" Well, maybe it's right now. It's Sunday morning, there are no students on the schedule, and this is likely to be a relaxing day. If there ever was a time when I am free of stress (except for the slight annoyance that I'm not still sleeping), it's probably now.

So, here's the plan: I'm going to pour myself a nice cup of coffee, lock the middle pedal down, and have at it. What's on the practice menu? Something old (a Mozart sonata), something new (a bit of Dohnanyi technique), something borrowed (a student's Grieg), and something . . . blue?

The Perfect Teaching Day

In my world, the perfect teaching day includes the following 20 elements:

1. Good hair (if you knew my hair, you'd understand)
2. A clean teaching studio
3. Lesson notes from the previous week
4. Sharp pencils
5. A tuned Steinway and Yamaha
6. No distractions (phones ringing, random noises, etc...)
7. A lovely manicure (you'd be surprised how mesmerized little girls can be with my hand gestures when the nails are neatly polished with a princess color. It's a guaranteed trick for getting them to observe carefully. And of course my nails are always trimmed short.)
8. Students who arrive and depart on time
9. Students who remember to bring all of their books
10. Teachable moments that happen by surprise
11. Some Brahms
12. Laughter
13. Breaks for teacher so she doesn't feel exhausted by student number 8
14. Something wonderful from Starbucks
15. The discovery of a delightful new teaching piece
16. Overdue items returned to my library
17. Students who show evidence of having practiced throughout the week (why didn't I think of this one back at number 1...or 2?)
18. Any parents who sit in have their cell phones turned off and observe without interjecting
19. I meet each student at his or her level
20. My students leave my studio knowing something they didn't know before.

Who is the Pajama Pedagogue?

I am a piano teacher. I have pajama office hours in the morning with my freshly brewed coffee. This configuration suits me perfectly. I love helping students discover how to make beautiful piano music, and I continually add to my teaching toolbox by reading journals, going to workshops, and experimenting with new ideas.

I have over 40 private students, and each has a completely unique skill set and learning style. I try to adapt my teaching style to accommodate this diversity, and often remind myself that I must meet each student where he or she is . . . at each lesson.

I'm not one of those teachers who likes to (or must) get the day's teaching over as quickly as possible by scheduling students back to back with no breaks. I much prefer spreading the schedule out so that I can regroup, stretch, write lesson notes, check e-mail, and recharge for the next set of lessons. I'm a better teacher that way.

Why a blog? I'm not exactly sure. My prediction is that I will brainstorm new ideas here and discuss teaching and business issues that are on my mind. Piano teaching can be a solitary occupation, and there may be other pedagogues out there who will be interesting in reading some of what I have to write. We shall see...