Is your time spent in the studio productive or are you simply 'busy'? Get to know the difference.
Do you ever feel as though you spend all of your waking hours in the studio or on your laptop working on new music? Yet you don’t seem to actually release much new music?
You’re not alone.
I’ve heard this from a lot of music producer clients over the years. They’re spending sometimes as much as 20 hours a week in the studio but it’s been months since they last completed a dance music track, and actually released it for all the world to hear.
The typical solution that music producers believe will allow them to complete new songs, and release new music regularly, is more time. Here are some common phrases that I hear DJ/producers say when they feel exhausted from spending hours in the studio, and are starting to feel the frustration of not being able to see any results.
“I work 9-5, Monday to Friday, that’s why it takes me so long to finish producing tracks.”
“I spend every evening and weekend in the studio, I literally give all of my time to producing music.”
The simple fact is that it’s most likely not because of the lack of time you have. It’s how you are using the time that you do have.
“More time does not equal more productivity in music production.”
How many times do you rock up to the studio ready to put the final touches on a new dance music anthem, but only once you’ve made a coffee…
Oh! And you can’t start when your cables are in a messy pile. They need to be organised before you can begin.
That’s done, now time for a quick 5 minute scroll on Instagram. Oh, shit...that turned into 20 minutes.
Need to focus on music. Your Recordbox library could do with being organised, that’s productive. Right?
Busy versus productive. Is there a difference?
You bet! When you are busy, rather than productive, this is a form of, you guessed it! Procrastination.
By carrying out smaller tasks that are slightly related to your music career, your subconscious tricks you into believing that you’re being productive when in actual fact you’re stalling the work that really needs to be done.
You ticked off 10 things on your to-do list today? Cool, but how many of those tasks actually served you in progressing your dance music career?
Tidying up your cables isn’t going to sign you a new release with an exciting record label you’ve always dreamt of collaborating with. But finishing that track that you’ve been working on for months is going to help drive you closer to that goal by giving you something to approach the label team with.
Being productive isn’t about how many things that you can do in a day. It’s being able to prioritise and focus on the tasks that contribute to your success in dance music and take you closer to your own goals as a DJ/producer.
How can I become more productive when I’m making music and stop procrastinating?
Procrastination can come down to a few things. Your mindset, limiting beliefs and even your fears. It’s something that I go into in a lot more depth in my Procrastination Workshop for DJ/producers so that you can master your avoiding habits in the long run.
However, when we’re talking specifically about being busy versus productive in the studio, here are a few quick mindstyle tools that you can try out.
When planning out your day or preparing to start a new task, ask yourself ‘how does this serve me?’ Is this task an action step to take you closer to one of your goals in electronic music? If not, identify if it serves you in another way or admit that it’s not a useful task.
If you’re a to-do list-lover, but you fall into the trap of focussing on how many tasks you can complete rather than their purpose, then try breaking up your list into 2 categories. Each day set up to 3 priority tasks and choose them in alignment with your goals. You can still add more tasks to your to-do list, but before you start them you’ve got to complete your priority tasks.
Block time to work on your music without distractions. It’s amazing what you can do when you commit to a ‘power hour.’ Give yourself 1 hour per day, per week or at the start of your studio session where you solely focus on that task. Switch off your phone, close down excess tabs and concentrate on your music only. If you can do this a few times a week or everyday around your working life you’ll be amazed at what the difference is.
💬 New Text Message from The Captain: Hey earthling! Did all this talk of procrastination make you think about all of the music you could finish, and the releases that you could celebrate if you could just overcome your procrastination habits once and for all? If so, then you’ll want to get your hands on the juicy mindset secrets inside my Procrastination workshop ASAP.
Click here for more information and to sign up today! When you sign up, you’ll get lifetime access to the workshop so that you can be able to return to lessons when you feel you need a refresh.
