Write my music? When do I get time to write my music?
—Mr. Holland

If you’ve never watched Mr. Holland’s Opus (it’s practically required watching for former band geeks like myself), Mr. Holland is a composer. Or, rather, a composer who takes a music teacher job so he can actually support his family. And only teachers understand the whirlwind of being a teacher—grading papers; working after hours; aiding students who need the extra help. And in this whirlwind, Mr. Holland’s opus lies abandoned on his piano. He stares at it mournfully, plunking out some notes before crashing for the night.

When do we have time to write our opuses?

I started reading Jennifer Egan’s The Keep and our main character, Danny, is caught up in his whirlwind: life is New York. His cousin, Howie, invites him to the middle-of-nowhere Europe to work at an abandoned castle (I’m not far enough into the book to understand this), and Danny brings a satellite dish to stay connected. Meanwhile, Howie is going on a rampage about how media has corrupted us and people don’t create anymore because we don’t have to; other people create and we blindly follow.

Writing is hard, whether it’s words or music or whatever you’ve been planning to compose. And it’s only made more difficult by this whirlwind, by life. We go to work. We take work home, we updates our blogs, we catch up with friends. We stay up at night playing games, or watching movies, or being wrapped up other forms of entertainment that other people have created for us. Next thing you know it’s one o’clock in the morning and that Word document for your novel is still blank.

Howie, even though he’s probably scaring Danny in his triage, has the right idea. Not that I suggest we ditch our homelands and buy medieval castles, but we need to slow down. Do you have to spend two hours at night playing facebook games? Or watching The Princess Diaries for the third time that week? (Guilty as charged.)

But as composers, research is important. We have to keep up with what’s new, read the latest books, check up on some blogs. But we spend so much time on other people’s work that we ignore our own. Maybe we do need a cabin in the woods with no WiFi.

Occasionally when I’m be away from home, and don’t bother checking my blogs, I return and don’t see the point in going back into the social sphere. Because my mind is finally clear, and it feels like I have no obligations. We must clear our minds, and only then will we find the motivation and the time to create. Take a day, or a week, or even a month and disconnect. Yes, you have to work and take care of your basic necessities. But do you need to read your favorite blog the moment it’s updated? Or answer a text message the second it’s received? It will still be there when you come back.

Creation is a part of our identity. I feel empty when I’m not writing. Even this long-winded blog entry has sparked something in my brain, and I want to get back to outlining my long-overdue novel. Entertainment is great, but don’t forget about your own work. Don’t neglect your opus.