Every day we're alive,
we're one day closer to our death. I don't meant to alarm you or cause
you to panic, but as I'm sure you're already aware, we all have a finite amount
of time to do what we need to do with our lives. It's all too easy to let
days, months, even years fly by without ever really getting a handle on how to
"manage time".
Of course, we can't really manage time. We can't slow it down. We can't
change it. All we can really manage is ourselves and how we move through
time. If you're content passing through life being a passive observer of
the the things and events that happen in your life, you probably don't need to
worry about "managing time". But if you have goals above and
beyond just getting a job, paying bills and surviving, learning to manage your
time and yourself more effectively can make a really big difference in how
effective you are in your pursuits.
If you're pursuing something like a career in music, it's critical that you
learn to manage your time more effectively, because chances are a large part of
your time, at least in the beginning of your career, is going to be spent doing
something not directly related to your career goals (ie. day job,
relationships, etc). So it's that much more important that you use
whatever free time you have effectively. The better use you make of your
time and how you spend it, the quicker you'll move in the direction of your
desired goals.
Here are a few methods I've implemented over the last few years that have
helped me move forward in business, music and life in general:
1) Define Your Goals - If you're going to get to where you want to
be, you need to know where you want to go. This step is critical.
The better you can define your long term goals, the easier it will be to
break down your goals into more manageable, bite size action steps. Most
big goals have a subset of smaller goals and steps that you need to take in
order to accomplish your ultimate goal.
It's important to define
as precisely as possible what you're trying to accomplish and then break that
goal down into smaller steps you can act on, every day. What can you do
today and this week that will move you towards your goals? There is
almost always something you can do to move in the direction of your goals, but
you have to know what your goals are in order to get started.
2) Formulate A Plan - One of the areas I've focused more and more on
over the last couple years is developing a really precise game plan on how I'm
going to move forward. The music
business is a very easy business to stagnate in, simply because there isn't
really one specific formula that leads to success. It's that much more important that you really
understand what it is you're trying to do and how you're going to do it. What are your long terms goals and how can
you reach them? Don't be vague and open
ended. It's great to have the long term
goal of "making it" in the music business.
But without a clear path that leads to "making it," it's very easy to
get lost along the way and end up falling back on whatever your day job is.
This is counter to some
of the self help advice out there that says things like "just take the first
step and the universe will show you the rest of the way". Or, "if you can dream it, you can do it" and
so on. Although I agree with the
positive sentiment of these ideas, the reality is that for most people they
need some sort of framework or blueprint to follow. For me what works much better is setting
smaller, more attainable goals and then simply scaling up. You want to sell a million CDs one day?
Cool. Start with selling 1,000, then 10,000
and so on. It's hard to go from 0 to 100
mph overnight.
3) Organize And Track Your Time - Something I've started doing
recently that has helped me become much more productive and efficient, is
tracking how I spend my time on a daily basis. It's so easy to get
sidetracked and de-railed in life and end up spending way too much time on things
that aren't really a priority. Sometimes this is just a result of habit.
Sometimes it's a lack of awareness. Either way, If you track how you
spend your time you'll gain a much clearer picture into why you're getting the
results (or lack of results) in your life.
To a large extent, the
life you lead is a result of how you choose to spend your time. Make sure
that you're spending your time wisely and investing an adequate amount of time
on things that you truly prioritize. Don't do this by default. Do
this consciously and with intention and you'll get much better results.
4) Keep Tweaking! - Time management is an ongoing process.
You will not master yourself and how you spend your time overnight.
The things you want and the things you prioritize will change over time.
The more aware you are of what you want and truly desire, the more you
can modify how you're spending your time in a way that's aligned with your
goals. In my experience, you'll never truly master this process, but with
practice you'll gain a greater and greater sense of alignment and clarity and
you'll know intuitively when you're on the right track.
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http://www.howtolicenseyourmusic.com/blog/time-management-for-musicians-nov-15-2014-4-13-07-pm-7
Resources To Check Out
Here are a few courses and resources I've put together that will help you on your journey.
The Art Of Sound Design
The Art Of Sound Design is a two and a half hour
audio and video course taught by professional sound designer Greg Savage and
facilitated by Aaron Davison. The course is instantly accessible online
and features a two hour audio, four video tutorials and supplemental PDFs.
The course features the most in depth information related specifically to
making money as a sound designer available.
More
Info: - http://www.howtolicenseyourmusic.com/sound-design-course.php
How To Make Money With Stock Music Libraries -
This is
a brand new course led by Canadian based musician Aaron Saloman and facilitated
by Aaron Davison. Learn specific techniques for making money with stock
and production music libraries. 100 minute audio course and bonus
material.
More
Info: http://www.stockmusiclicensing.com/
The Complete Musician's Guide To Creating An
Online Empire
"The Complete Musician's Guide To Creating
An Online Empire" is an audio and pdf course taught by How To License
Your Music.com founder Aaron Davison. The course is instantly accessible
online and features a 70 minute long audio course, a supplemental PDF ebook,
and a free 45 minute long bonus interview With Aaron Davison about working
online. The course features the most in depth information related
specifically to launching an internet business for musicians available.
More Info: http://www.howtolicenseyourmusic.com/online-empire.php
The A To Z Of Creating A Music Library
"The A To Z Of Creating A Music Library"
is a 110 minute audio course taught by one of the founders of the music library
Fliktrax, Pat Finnegan, and facilitated by Aaron Davison. The course
covers, in step by step detail how to launch and market your own music library.
You'll learn all the steps involved, from the legal aspects involved in
starting your own business, the contracts involved, how to recruit artists, how
to market your catalog and much more. Learn how to create a music library
directly from someone who has created a successful music library from the ground
up.
More
Info: http://www.howtolicenseyourmusic.com/music-library-course.php
An Indie Musician's Guide To
Film Scoring
"An Indie Musician's Guide To Film Scoring" is a two hour long
course taught by the Houston based musician Dave Merson Hess and facilitated by
Aaron Davison. The course is instantly accessible online and features a
two hour hour plus audio, multiple samples of Dave's music, PDF files,
screenshots and more. The course covers everything you need to know to
get started in the business of film scoring, including how to find work, how to
score to film, how contracts work, how you get paid and more.
More
Info: http://www.howtolicenseyourmusic.com/film-scoring-course.php
How To Produce Music That
Will Get Licensed And Make You Money -
"How To Produce Music That Will Get Licensed
And Make You Money" is a 90 minute audio course with an accompanying
six part, 60 minute video series, taught by the California based music producer
Gary Gray and facilitated by Aaron Davison. The course is instantly
accessible online and and in addition to the audio and video portion of the
course includes multiple samples of tracks Gary has produced, multiple screen
shots of the recording techniques discussed, PDF files related to the concepts
discussed in the course and more. The course features the most in depth
information related specifically to music production and how to produce music
that will get licensed available.
More
Info: http://www.howtolicenseyourmusic.com/film-scoring-course.php
The A To Z Of Music Licensing
The original program on
music licensing that includes The 2014 TV and Film Music Business Directory, A
Songwriter's Guide To Music Licensing Ebook, How To
Audio Program,Three Audio Interviews with music licensing professionals,
sample contracts and much more! The entire program is accessible online upon
checkout.
More
Info: http://www.howtolicenseyourmusic.com/the-a-to-z-of-music-licensing.php
For A Complete list
of my products and services, visit http://www.howtolicenseyourmusic.com/online-store.php
