Four Questions Worth Answering

I’m writing to you this morning a little bit in a hurry because there will be no electricity from 9 am and I still need to play the organ and have breakfast before that. So this will be quick.

Whenever you don’t have any ideas what to write about today, I have a suggestion for you. These 4 questions will put you on the creative path in no time:

1. What did I learn about myself today?
2. What do I need to improve?
3. Did I meet somebody today?
4. Did I create something today?

So for me, because I’m writing these words in the morning, I can think about what happened yesterday.

1. What did I learn about myself yesterday?

I learned that I can create even with my sleepy head, even when I went to bed too late the night before. In the evening I read a few chapters of my favorite spy thriller about John Wells after which my eyes already were heavy. So it was no coincidence that they felt heavy in the morning too. But this wasn’t an excuse for me to skip a day without creating.

I also learned that I have a hard time sticking to the eating plan that is healthy for me. I wanted to skip dinner but couldn’t resist. These stuffed zucchinis that Ausra’s mom made tasted and looked too good.

2. What do I need to improve? 

Obviously I need to improve my sleeping habits. I need to be in bed before 10 PM. Not reading but ready to sleep. I did this yesterday. That’s why I’m feeling much better this morning in comparison with yesterday morning.

I’m also challenging myself to skip dinner tonight and letting you guys know in advance. This is good for accountability. Tomorrow I will report back if I succeeded or not.

3. Did I meet somebody yesterday?

Yesterday was a big day in terms of meeting someone interesting. I met my friend and composer from the Netherlands Ad Wammes who came to the Baltics with his wife Inge. I played a few of his organ compositions before and liked them very much. Ad was also my guest on Secrets of Organ Playing podcast a few years ago. 

So yesterday we met at the Cathedral and we climbed the bell tower of Vilnius University St John’s church, the highest point in Vilnius old town. We had coffee and cheesecake and visited many churches all the while talking about his music. It was inspiring to meet a living composer who can make a living from his compositions.

4. Did I create something today?

Yesterday in the morning I wrote the post about creativity and distractions and in the evening created a comic strip about Pinky and Spiky the punk rockers. I also arranged for our organ duet double choir motet by Hans Leo Hassler Tibi laus, tibi gloria which will be part of our program for the upcoming early music festival Banchetto Musicale in Vilnius. When we played it together, Ausra seemed pleased. This meant a lot.

So you see, you too can find some interesting things to talk about your day and yourself and I hope this was helpful to you.

Now let’s see if I can still have quick breakfast and play the organ until 9 am when the electricity disappears.