PRODUCTIVITY TIPS FOR MUSIC PRODUCERS
When you thought of what music producer was like, you probably don’t think about it being cumbersome. All the busyness and boring activities of facing your computer and series of tools alone on a daily basis are enough to get things wee bit slow but dancing to the tune of this feeling can totally disorganize you.
Being organized is one of the major keys to productivity, that is; having all the things you need ready before you need them, getting to work on time, being prepared for things to do, taking control of the things you and so on. However, knowing what it means to be organized is not enough as they are not easily achievable most time but they are essential for productivity as a music producer. Forming a good organizational and productivity habit as well as adding little extra effort to improve your daily routine will make you completely different from other producers.
Here are few ways to improve your productivity as a music producer.
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF YOUR CALENDAR
There series of calendars, Google calendar, Apple iCal, Microsoft Outlook calendar and many more. It doesn’t matter the type you are used to but what matter is how you utilize the calendar to enhance your daily productivity.
Organize your time based on your average performance. You know yourself than anybody, you know your best functioning time which is completely peculiar to just you. Mine is 12:00am – 7:00am, I know I am more productive during these hours that people consider to be sleeping hours so I block out my night to focus on things to do and sleep during time most people consider working hour. Block out your productive time of the day and dedicate those hours to just work. Don’t fix appointments within those hours, organize a “to do list” and set time for all. For instance, if you schedule 1:00pm – 1:10pm for lunch, try as much as possible to stick to the time without exceeding it and always set reminder to remind you at least 5 minutes to the time. Give your brain time to relax at least 10 minutes at the completion of every task.
LIMIT DISTRACTION
As music producer, you always have access to the internet and if there is any home for distraction I think that is the internet. If you get yourself addicted to email checking and social media, then, you are on the right track to reduce your productivity. Five minutes interruption to check emails and reply messages on social media will definitely reflect on your productivity. Prioritize your productivity time to focus on things that matter and stay away of distraction. Adopt the use of internet blocking tool to limit my web access during working hour.
ADD A SECOND MONITOR
Work on your working convenience, part of things you can do to achieve that is by increasing your visuality. The more you can see at a glance, the faster and easier your work will become. Large flat screen are not too expensive, get yourself one instead of straining your eyes to locate layers while working.
UPGRADE OR UPDATE YOUR SOFTWARE
There are series of software that you can use, many will notify you to update to a newer version as the producer include new features while some will just notify you to upgrade in order to draw money from your wallet. A farmer knows a tractor will do better than a cutlass, it’s your job and your duty is to source for improved software that will enhance your productivity.
LEARN YOUR EQUIPMENT
Regardless of when you start working as a music producer, you cannot be so sure that you know all functions on your DAW and controllers. Obviously, there are a few functions and work modes that you’ve never try, this might be based on the fact that they are different from what you know or what you always need. Whether you’re using a complex reverb plugin, an FM synthesizer, or even an auto-tune plugin, there are tweaks you’ve not try that can make a huge difference.
Look into the manual and learn something new, watch video of other producers using the same tools, search more information about your tools and learn something different from what you used to know about them.
WALK AWAY
Learn how to call it a day when needed. Sometimes, it’s the best thing to do. When you feel that you are experiencing a producer’s block, don’t force yourself, just quit for that moment as all your effort might not be productive.
Signs to walk away
• When you mix for almost an hour and at the end, you play it and discover all you’ve done is not in any way fit with your chord progression.
• What you produce is not compatible with the lyrics you are producing sound for
When you notice the signs above, taking a break to relax your brain is the best thing to do.
There are many more actions you can take to improve your productivity but I will limit it to these six, I will publish more tips in the future. If you have your way to increase productivity you can share it with us by Contacting us.
