You know, it’s so funny. We live in an age where technology makes it so that things that used to take weeks or even months to do can now be done in a day. Think about it. And if you don’t remember the old days of writing and recording music, don’t worry…I’m going to take you back there in this article. No, it isn’t technology that’s the problem. It’s our own procrastination that is going to kill the modern musician.
But let’s go back in time for now.
Do you remember the days before computers when you wanted to write a song? When I say write, I’m not talking about jotting down a few chords on a piece of paper, banging them out on the piano and singing some obscure melody over them. I’m talking about actually writing out the sheet music. I think I still have some manuscript downstairs in the basement. Anyway, do you remember how tedious that was?
Today, we have computers and programs like Sibelius and Finale and can whip out symphonies in record time. I wrote an entire four movement symphony in less than a month and that was with having a full time home business to run. Finale 2012 is a great little tool.
What about recording the music? Back in the stone ages, you had to rent studio time. And who knows where that studio was even located. The drive there alone could take hours. And then of course there was lugging all your gear. Yeah, that was always so much fun. Setting up was a pain and getting takes just right when you had nothing but analog tape to work with was not fun if you tended to make lots of mistakes.
Today, we have Digital Audio Workstations in our own homes with VST sound modules that sound better than anything that existed 40 years ago. We can lay down 10 tracks of music in the time it takes to roast a turkey. Editing is a breeze. No equipment to lug around. Our setup is as compact as can be. We really do have the good life these days.
We also have something else…procrastination.
I see it all around me. Guys who, a year or two ago, told me that they’re working on their new CD and here it is, two years later, and it’s still not done. Oh yeah, they all have the usual excuses like not enough time, money problems, business getting in the way and so on. But what it really comes down to is procrastination.
And I am convinced beyond the shadow of any doubt that this procrastination is due to fear of failure. What if that CD we want to make is a bust? What if that symphony we want to write turns out to be really bad? What if I put up that royalty free music site and nobody downloads any of my tracks?
Fear is a killer. I can only imagine how many amazing careers we would have never seen in our lifetimes had some of these artists let fear govern their actions.
Do you really think that no successful artist was ever afraid or had doubts? Human beings are, after all, human.
Okay, so what do you do if you’re one of those human beings who keeps putting things off? You know who you are. Well, if you suffer from procrastination syndrome, these few tips just might get you over your fear and past the procrastination.
For starters, I want you to imagine what life would be like if you had the kind of success that you want. What does it look like? Isn’t it wonderful? Isn’t it so much better than what you’ve got now? Aren’t you even the least bit angry that you don’t have it? That’s right. I want you to get angry. I want you to look at the other artists and musicians who have the lives that they want and envy them. There is nothing wrong with a little envy and anger if it motivates you to get up off your ass and get to work.
If that isn’t enough to motivate you then find something that does. What I usually do when I have a chore to do that I don’t want to do is reward myself with something after I’ve completed the task. It doesn’t have to be anything big. In fact, the reward should be proportional to the work being done.
For example, if I’ve just done something small like, well, like say writing this article, I’ll reward myself with something small like maybe a half hour of video game time later in the day. If I’ve done something really big, like completing a major 3 CD music project, I’ll reward myself with a new piece of software or maybe a new video game. The reward system works great if you use it honestly. If not, you’ll just end up procrastinating and rewarding yourself for nothing. If you do that, the system doesn’t work.
You can also try turning your workday into a game. Make a list of things that you have to do that day and then randomly pick one of the items from the list and work on that item until it’s complete. If it’s something that is going to take more than a day, devote a certain amount of time to that task before you move onto the next one. Not everything you do has to be finished in a day. That 3 CD set I’m working on, 30 songs for each CD, is going to take me about a month to complete. That’s fine as long as it eventually gets done.
In short, find something that motivates you. If the prize at the end of the rainbow doesn’t do it alone then I don’t know what to tell you. Me? I want financial security like I used to have. I don’t like being a broke, starving musician anymore. That alone is enough to motivate me to work on my business everyday.
Find what works for you and get to work.
Because procrastination will kill the modern musician.
For The Love Of Music,
Steven “Wags” Wagenheim