Eight Everyday Wellness Tips for Artists and Music Industry Professionals

For this week’s Wellness Wednesday, we are tackling physical and mental wellness within the music industry. Our guide for this journey is Marni Wandner, a former music executive turned health and performance coach. For the majority of her career, she was a sought-after music marketing leader and business owner. Her successful music agency, Sneak Attack Media, was ultimately acquired by The Syndicate, a global digital entertainment company. Like most driven individuals with relentless personalities, no ceiling was too high. She kept pushing until it simply wasn’t sustainable for both her mental and physical health.

“At the time of my burnout, I had more clients and staff than I’d ever had before and I was traveling a lot, speaking all over the U.S., and in other countries,” she said in an interview with Okayplayer. "It was very exciting and awesome, but I didn’t have any way of dealing with the stress that came with all of it. I didn’t know how to say no to anything, and I didn’t want to let anyone down so I thought the only thing to do was to 'push through.' When it all caught up to me, I was wrecked. I couldn’t sleep and was exhausted all the time. I'd lost a bunch of weight, I was irritable and anxious, couldn’t focus or concentrate and felt totally depleted.”

She’d always had an interest in health and wellness, so she began studying stress management and worked with various integrative practitioners to heal and learn how to prevent her burnout from ever happening again. Once she got better, she decided to help others — especially people in the music and creative industries — feel their best while pursuing their respective passions.

She enrolled in a year-long certification program to become an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach. She continued studying the causes and remedies for burnout and attained additional certifications along the way. Overall, the transition from music executive to wellness and performance coach was a gradual one that took about 8 years. “Once I understood how to properly nourish myself, both physically and mentally, and how to build resilience and actually manage stress as it comes, everything changed,” she said.

We asked Wandner to give us eight straightforward, no-frills tips that music and creative industry professionals can implement to avoid burnout. Check them out below:

Develop a growth mindset

Marni Wandner: This is the most important tip because it spans every aspect of our lives. If you're in a growth mindset — rather than a fixed mindset — you’re able to cultivate resilience and the ability to weather any storm; uncertainty, instability, rejection, constant change, irregular schedules, dynamic personalities, comparisons, touring — to name just a few of the challenges musicians are up against on a daily basis. Mindset is at the core of nearly all the work I do with my clients.

Community

The music business can seem deceptively social, but for a lot of artists it can feel lonely even when you’re surrounded by people. It’s essential to surround yourself with friends and family with whom you can be your authentic self, to have a safe space where you can reflect and recharge.

Drink Water

I know... so obvious, right? We know we “should” do it, but so many of us don’t drink enough water, especially when we’re busy or in the zone (ie: in a flow state of working/writing/recording), traveling, or we have a schedule that’s always changing. When we don’t drink enough water, we can feel irritable, over-reactive and anxious, have trouble focusing, feel tired, and have headaches and digestive issues as well. Get yourself a water bottle you love (maybe with a filter in it for traveling), and aim to drink half your body weight (in pounds) in ounces per day.

Move Your Body

Another no-brainer, but movement is so important for keeping our brains and bodies healthy, managing stress, staying creative etc. It can also be the first thing that gets tossed to the side when your schedule gets busy or you can’t find the motivation to do it. Here’s a trick: find your why - what do you actually gain from moving your body (in whatever way works for you)? And why is that important to your life and career? On really hard days, start small - commit to moving for literally 1 minute and see how you can add on from there.

Get Enough Sleep

The music industry can give off a very “I’ll sleep when I’m dead” vibe, but the truth is, without enough quality sleep, our brains and bodies are unable to do what we need them to do. I’m not going to tell you to get to bed early when you have to be in the studio at 2 a.m. or when your set time is 11 p.m., but if you can prioritize sleep when you have the time, it will make a massive difference in your life and work. I have a bunch of tips for how to wind down when sleep feels like a dream, but one of my favorites is 4-7-8 breathing.

Prioritize protein and whole(ish) foods

It’s not always easy (or possible) to get access to non-processed foods when you’re on the go or traveling or it’s late. But what we eat has a massive impact on our mental and emotional health. By consciously cutting back on sugar and ultra-processed foods and putting things like protein, fruits and veggies, fiber and “good” fats front and center when you do have the access, your brain will work better, and your body will feel better and be able to do more and you’ll have more energy, be more creative and make better decisions. All super important for anyone, but even more so for artists.

Build in flexible routines

Ever-changing schedules and days that are either nonstop or completely without structure can be challenging in terms of creating routines. The key is to develop flexible routines that can expand or contract depending on how much time you have, and be modified for different environments and situations.

Set boundaries and take breaks

This is a big one. The hustle and grind mentality of the industry is real — but it’s also a recipe for burnout and when that happens, you’re out of the game for a while. So, while it sounds counterproductive — and it can be scary to occasionally say no to things — it’s hugely important to find time for intentional rest so you can pace yourself.

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To continue your wellness journey, you can follow Marni Wandner on IG.