Readiness Cues

From the
Following a procedure can help keep distractions at bay, and ensure that a prayerful attitude is maintained in your music space. Here's how I manage the flow of my workspace during Mass:

I keep my music on separate pages, so that I can have only what I need, whether I am cantor, directing the choir, or playing the organ. If I do use a book, I have it open to the page I need. I try to keep the top of the organ clear of clutter, so that I (or the other organists) may use it as a sort of staging area for music books.

Before Mass: Set out everything I will need during the Mass. 

If I'm the organist, I place the book (or pages) of the postlude, open to the correct page, on top of the organ console to the left of the music desk. Then I place the sheet music in this order, from back to front:

Recessional hymn
Post-Communion meditation (if any)
Communion hymn
Sanctus and Agnus Dei, side-by-side if possible
Offertory hymn

Then I place the psalm book, open to the right page, on top of those. The Kyrie and Gloria are placed in front of the open psalm book and secured with clips (I keep a cup of pencils, tape flags, paper clips, binder clips, and hair-sectioning clips in the organ console). Opening hymn goes up last.

If I'm in a choir, I have my opening hymn, Kyrie and Gloria in my hand before the start of Mass.

Psalm book (tape-flagged ahead of time) comes out and sits on my lap as soon as I sit down for the first reading, and gets put away when I sit down for the homily.

I take out the Offertory hymn, Sanctus and Agnus Dei during the Prayers of the Faithful. There is usually time to take out all of my music for Communion (antiphon, hymn, meditation, etc) right before it is time to sing it, however the procedure goes for the choir to receive Communion. (If there isn't, maybe you should mention something to your choir director...)

Even if there are no announcements at the end of Mass, the Final Blessing is plenty of time to get the Recessional hymn out.

When everything is prepared, you know you have nothing to worry about. You may give your full attention to the Mass, and never have to shuffle papers or whisper to your neighbour!

(If I am coming across as some kind of hyper-organized procedure nut, please know that I am NOT! In fact, this is a coping mechanism to prevent my ADHD from causing chaos and confusion at all times. The worse you are at organizing and streamlining, the more important it is to make an effort to formalize it, since it will not happen naturally! And if all of this seems ridiculously structured to you, then you probably don't struggle with organization and/or distraction like I do - lucky you!)

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