3 Habits of Successful Producers
When we sit down in front of our computer or music station, there are tons of reasons why we don’t immediately get to work. Even if we have the best intention to get started right away, the moment we sit down it’s as if an endless amount of “to-do’s” pop up in our heads and what you thought was your best laid plans, immediately becomes a million other things besides making music. Hooking up this cable to this, cleaning out this folder, writing this email, setting this up to do this…literally, the preparation is endless and what ends up happening is we pull our attention away from why we sat down in the first place, to the “I’ll get to it later” instead of taking care of the one thing that would bring us the most satisfaction…reaching the desired result of actually finishing tracks and releasing them.
The question I have for you is, what separates those who have dialed in this process vs. those of us who are constantly struggling to even find time to get there? Does it have anything to do with anything other than mindset? Are they simply better organized than we are? Are there less distractions in their life and is that lack of distraction translating into pure focused work and progress? Well, yes and no. Just because someone has more time doesn’t necessarily mean they’re going to make more progress and just because they might have less going outside of their musical world doesn’t mean they’re going to be better at it than we are. What separates us is the habits we make for ourselves, the stories we tell, and the internal fire to break through those “distractions” and discipline ourselves enough to forge ahead on the path. Nothing more, nothing less. That said, nothing is set in stone and with the right determination to make better choices, you CAN improve and make faster progress.
Habit #1.) Set goals for yourself and monitor them. Imagine you are your own music production coach. What would you say to yourself if you had to motivate yourself to reach those goals every week? Would you allow yourself to slack and spend time doing other things on the computer and not producing music? If you had a one or two hour block of time, would you let it go to waste? Absolutely not. Setting goals for yourself might be exactly what you need to hold yourself accountable for the time that you have. It’s good to start small but eventually you can and will get better. Once you start achieving those goals, you will begin to crave results in the same way that our brains are wired for rewards after we do something we deem rewarding. The key is to rewire your own brain to think about this in a musical context and give yourself a damn good reason to reach towards something greater. Like I said, it doesn’t have to be major, and it’s good to start small (for example: one track per week) but eventually you’ll be able to write half an album in the same amount of time. It may seem like a lot now, but trust me…you can and will get better at this.
Habit #2.) Find a workflow that works for you and stick to it to streamline your process. Having a rhythm in your method of producing is crucial to keeping your creative juices flowing and allowing whatever is coming through to make it into your track. Whether your work with software instruments or you have hardware synthesizers, getting into flow with your tools is essential. Don’t let those tools be the obstacle for your own creativity. If you have to, spend a week learning them inside and out. Don’t stop until you feel a bit more comfortable, and then begin to practice using them the same way you’d practice an instrument. Once you feel like you’ve got a better understanding, begin to practice laying down tracks inside of your song and try and see the process come together. By doing this, you’re developing your own workflow that is unique to how you work, and the more you practice it, the easier it’s going to become. Successful producers know how to get results because they’ve developed tried and true methods for producing good results. You can do this too, but it’s going to take hundreds of hours and hundreds of tracks to figure out what works best.
Habit #3.) Have a mindfulness practice outside of producing music. Music production is one of those activities in life where it helps to have not only a positive attitude when we approach it, but it helps to train our mind and body’s response so we can think clearly. Mindfulness can be any activity that allows you to expand your mind in ways that open us up to our connection to the universe and the flow within. Meditation is one way to achieve this, but also regular exercise, walking in nature, reading, or even other forms of art like drawing or writing. By practicing mindfulness outside of your production life, the next time you approach your work you will have an easier time reaching that “flow state” where decision making becomes easier and creativity is easily accessible. You don’t need to spend hours a day on this, but 15 minutes of meditation or intense exercise per day is enough to change your life in ways you may not be able to imagine right now. If you can do this, and start to incorporate the other habits I’ve mentioned here, you will be well on your way to seeing that success in every track.
Want to talk about your goals as a producer? Check out my website and book a FREE 15 minute consultation for Ambient Coaching. Click here: https://bit.ly/478mIwJ
Cheers,
-S1gns
