How many times have you looked like this in rehearsal?
Would it be better for my students if I worked 70 hour weeks, and fought tooth and nail for a better program, resulting in a better more cohesive program but with an angry, unhappy man at the helm? OR…Take my time, spend time with my family and be a happier person, striving for the same goals as before, but taking much longer?
I have struggled with this question for some time now, and have come to the conclusion that if I was the former, I would be more unhappy, thus making the students more unhappy…then what’s the point. In any workaholic’s wake, there are those that are neglected. I do not want to risk making my family feel that I am a non-entity in their lives. I just don’t know what to do, or how to be happy with the balance I find.
Think, think, think…
Stengel99 said,
June 12, 2010 at 2:19 pm
Hi Bandguys,
Not sure if the question is rhetorical or not. I hope it is. There’s no doubt that your family needs to be a higher priority than work.
Most of the powerhouse music programs I’m aware of fit into one of the following categories:
- They’re run by a team of paid staff and parent volunteers. The Director serve as sort of an Executive Producer who oversees the operation.
- They’re run by a single or divorced person.
- They’re run by a husband/wife team who love work well together.
Or they’re run by someone who will eventually burn out. I often think of Jaime Escalante.
Just curious, but when you say you work 70 hour weeks, what are you doing during the extra 30 hours? I’m not trying to prove a point. I’m genuinely curious.