Running behind is never fun, and whilst it has been fun keeping tabs om my ambitious plan on making an album this will be my last post in this form. I think I have written all there is about my ups & downs learning to use my musical equipment and subsequently produce an album. Which was a bit too ambitious in hindsight. The project will go on and one day the album will be finished.
But as I have said before, aiming high will get you places you don’t get too otherwise. And this is true. The end result is not here yet, but the work ethic & proces is. And moreover its a sustainable rhythm. I keep having problems some weeks with my cognitive energy and imbalance. That’s something I have to deal with on a daily basis no matter what I do.
It has been annoying at times, but this project gave me another thing keeping me busy for the long term, hopefully a lifetime. However fun hobby’s are, molding those hobby’s into projects makes them way more valuable. In experience, in learning and in focus. Hard things are enjoyable. And you can have fun doing it.
So I have 2 modes at the moment, working on my projects, and leisure time. The first category consist of hobby’s molded into projects, whether it be in music, sports or other ventures. The second consists of walking about, reading books , casual listening, visiting people & places.
That distinction makes it easier to plan, and get ideas out. It takes the work out of work and the procrastination out of the hobby’s. It might not work for everyone, but I am sure that if you find a few things in life you love doing, doing it with a bit more focus and working towards goals it’s will be indefinitely more rewarding.
In other words, you will never work a day in the rest of your life. This whole process has given me the insight in what I can do, aspire to, and dream about. It has set the stage for continuous work on my own terms and on my own pace.
In a nutshell this is what I learned to do, and these steps will help anyone wanting to get a hobby or any other pasion project further. So here is a list.
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- Plan your time consistently.
- Plan 3 or more sessions a week , at a minimin 3.
- Don’t overdo it in hours , you can only work with a high focus for so long.
- Write down all ideas. Take 3 at a time for further development.
- Divide sessions into playtime, learning, and finishing work.
- Aim high , you might not make it to the perceived goals, but you get further with it then if you aim for easily achievable goals.
- Always focus on the next step, don’t make the steps too big (that creates frustration in case of the lack of succes).
- Trust the proces and more importantly yourself.
- Be strikt not hard on yourself.
- Yes, showing up (consistently) is half the work.
- Take breaks and celebrate the little victories.
- Have fun, and focus.
- Keep a diary, it will help put things into perspective.
- And last but not least, record everything.
Just some things I learned, lot’s of them are obvious, the most important thing is keep working at your craft, build knowledge, make it a habit. It will not seem like much progress at first. But it all adds up.
This was it for this series. I will continue writing music related blogs on a weekly basis and will go deeper into workflow, techniques, and time managent in future episodes. I am still figuring out the form factor but I will get started right away.
Thanks for reading so far and see you soon!