Let’s talk about stress (baby)
Workshop: Monday 21 July 2025
1-2pm on Zoom
These are stressful times, right? In the music sector, many of us feel more under pressure than we’ve ever done before. And in the world at large, there’s a lot for us to deal with right now. So how can we move from being stressed out to tuned in?
During a period of such seismic change for the music sector (still!), we’re looking for more certainty. AND WE WANT IT RIGHT NOW. We know we need our wits about us more than ever. Yet, many of us feel like we’re actually at our wits end. So what to do?
The lowdown
This friendly and practical session is all about exploding and exploring. We’ll explode some myths about stress, and explore what goes on physically and psychologically when we get stressed. We’ll also explore how we can get better at coping with it, and how getting to know ourselves a bit better can help with that. With lots of chances to share your experiences and insights, and hear from your peers, this is what we’ll cover:
What actually is stress? What’s the point of stress?
Stress points: getting to know your stressors
Mind, body and soul: what stress does to us
How we can cope better with stress
The good, the bad (and the ugly): positive vs negative pressure
Identifying your stress-busting superpowers (resourcefulness)
Julia Payne of the hub is leading the workshop.
Meet your host: Julia Payne
Julia has 25+years experience of working in and with the jazz sector. After initially earning her stripes working in venues, including London’s Barbican, she moved on to work for a jazz charity and Arts Council England. In 2002, she co-founded the hub, a social enterprise which uses profits from its music-focused consultancy work to subsidise ‘in house’ development projects for creative freelancers.
During the pandemic, Julia led the development of the hub’s Balance programme, which helped 1000+ creative freelancers balance their minds and their books. Balance included monthly mental health talks, business planning and wellbeing-focused training and the Balance toolkit which is (still!) packed with 100+ resources all available for free. In 2021, Julia won IPSE’s Wellbeing Award for Balance.
In a pro-bono capacity, Julia is Chair of Sound UK, a Trustee for mjf and mentor to a number of musicians and creative producers.