Time management is one of those easy-to-say-but-hard-to-do phrases. If it’s as easy as a pie to juggle work, family time, social life, and personal hobbies together, we’d all be living in Utopia. Each day we get 24 hours to get things done. That means 1,440 minutes or 86,400 seconds. You see, twenty-four hours donât seem like a lot of time but if you break it down in seconds, it is a hell lot of time. That is why, it is indeed true that every second counts.
You might be wondering what time management has to do with creating more time to produce more music. Well, a lot!
Music-making can either be a hobby or a career, and to some lucky few, it can be both. Some people swear to live by music. They claim to eat and breathe music and give it all of their time. But the truth is, not everyone has the privilege of spending more than a few hours producing music when they have all these other obligations they need to tend to like day jobs, school, and family time.
This is especially true if you are still starting a career in music. You have to keep a day job to make ends meet, so how do you efficiently manage your schedule and create more time to produce more music?
Here are a few tips that you could follow:
Whether itâs a scratch paper or an organizer, it doesnât matter. Start doing a timetable and do your best to stick with it. Donât try to reason out with yourself. If you really want to make more time to produce more music, you have to be obedient. Even just an hour or two of music-making per day can go a long way. And remember to jot down everything so you could track your progress. This is also a good way to see how much time youâve used positively in making music and at the same time how many precious seconds went down the drain due to needless interruptions.
With the rise of social media comes the downfall of concentration. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, etcetera. These websites can greatly help you with advertising so you could jumpstart your career as a musician but will definitely distract you from music-making. In order to create more time to produce more music, you have to do away with these sites. Leave your status on hiatus. If you are using your laptop, make sure youâre on it strictly for music-making.
Aside from social media, disregard irrelevant messages and e-mails. Hide your cellular phone. Donât give your concern right away except when it is critical that you give an actual human response.
Not in your life, but during your music-making session. If you live at home with other people, make sure youâve informed them that youâre about to work on your music and you donât want to be interrupted. You could also hang a “Do Not Disturb” sign on your door.
However, if you are working with friends or music buddies, make sure not to chit chat about last nightâs party or work and do not fool around. Instead, share creative ideas and healthy criticisms. Youâll never know what youâll learn from your fellow artists.
In order to do more, you have to do less. Working on many projects at the same time will only lead to a pile of incomplete songs. I know how it feels when you’re working on something and a new idea comes in and it’s totally different from the one you’re doing and you get the urge to start a different task. The best thing to do is, write it down on a small notebook or type it in on your mobile notes. Never let an idea get away. Jot them down and make sure they find a way into your timetable. Itâs a good habit to form and a great way in organizing your creative juices. The key is to finish what youâve started before starting something you canât finish. Look at it this way, if you cook plenty of dishes all at the same time, one of them will end up burnt. Besides, working on tons of stuff mean slower progress while focusing on one task at a time means creating more music in a shorter span of time.
Do not get bored. If you feel like boredom is creeping in, go to your studio and work on some music. Use your free time to learn new things about music-making. Did you know that one of the qualities of a good DJ is being able to constantly educate himself? Get inspired and never stop learning. Free time means more time to produce more music.
Always give yourself a pat in the back. After you finish a project and if you followed your timetable, go buy yourself a treat. Even a beer can do! Remember that a little motivation goes a long way. Always thank yourself for a job well done!
Keep in mind that time is relevant. It can fly or crawl, it all depends on how you spend it. Treat music-making more than just a hobby. Treat it like work but have fun. They say find a job that you love and you won’t have to work a single day of your life and that couldn’t be more true. When you love what you’re doing, you can always find time for it. If you don’t, any form of excuse is easy to come up with.
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