Hi everyone,
Just when I was starting to get comfortable with a hybrid setup of teaching my piano students both online and distanced in-person throughout the day, the rise of variants in Ontario has precipitated a return to lockdown conditions starting this weekend. When I teach in person, I like to pace the room, sit, stand, and move around. When I teach online, I have to sit all the time so I can remain in the frame. Teaching a combination of in-person and online students usually keeps me fairly active throughout the teaching day.
The problem is that when I teach piano online for the entire day, I'm in a seated position for 5-8 hours a day. A few months ago, I discovered that my left foot was starting to feel numb, so I booked an appointment with my foot doctor. She revealed that it was an issue with my sciatic nerve, which doesn't react well to people sitting all day. This is a common issue with truck drivers, who have to sit all day to do their work - many truck drivers in middle age lose all their feeling in their feet because of this. Many of us now work entirely online, and are encountering a similar thing - my foot doctor is now treating professionals in their 30s and 40s complaining of the same symptoms that truck drivers traditionally encounter.
So my advice to everyone who is chained to their devices and in the frame for their entire working day is this - get moving! Walk, run, do stretches, or any kind of exercise that gets your step count back up there. We don't want our bodies to lose feeling while we wait for the end of the pandemic.
This week I've been involved with a variety of writing projects and only managed only one blog article, but it was one that I wrestled with for many weeks. My Best Productivity Advice Is Different Than I Thought It Would Be is the result of a question from one of my adult students that resulted in a lot of reflection about what it actually means to be productive, what it costs, and what's really important in life.
Here are some links to ponder this week:
- The need to undo systemic racism is one of the most important issues in our society today. In case you're not yet convinced, Damon Young's Whiteness is a Pandemic makes a devastating argument about how white supremacy affects the lives of people of all other races.
- The Price of Freedom is Control of Your Attention is a wakeup call from Thomas Waschenfelder, with strategies to help us from being drowned in noise by the world's biggest distraction machine - the internet.
- Susan Eichhorn's Get Ready, Stay Ready offers words of advice for all those who need a call to action for their artistic work: "We need art more than ever. You are part of that. We need the stories, the inspiration, the tears, the laughter, the community of sharing and experiencing together, and of healing together."
- Are you a bundle of nerves when practicing your instrument? This Twitter thread from J. M. Gerraughty has some hilarious and telling responses.
- More and more news is emerging about confirmed UFO sightings. Robin Hanson and Tyler Cowen have written some interesting responses as to why aliens might be interested in only limited engagement with second-rate remote vehicles. A local stable wormhole, perhaps?
- Nick O'Brien on why The Curator Economy is a vastly overlooked ecosystem and a vital part of our ability to cut through the noise of the internet.
Thanks for subscribing and Happy Easter! You're always welcome to send me links to cool stuff you're either working on or reading.
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This week's painting is Wendy's Forest Fantasy, acrylic on canvas, 30x24 and is available for purchase on the Foley Music and Arts website.