Momentum is one of the most important parts of a music producer’s career as this can be the catalyst of something that is ongoing, or it can be the thing that will get you on track to achieving your goals.
In 6 months, I went from zero momentum to a place where I’m loving my current state, and here are a few things I did that I would recommend you try…
4 THOUGHTS FROM ME
1. Turn your setbacks into learning opportunities.
Commonly, we get demotivated after a setback. Bad feedback, label rejection, frustration for not being able to do what you want, all of these can knock your motivation away and essentially kill any momentum you might have. Instead of looking at a setback as a failure, change how you look at it, and here are a few ways to change your perspective on them:
- Crush all your limiting beliefs. If you’re having any limiting beliefs like ‘I’m just not good enough’, or ‘I’m stuck in writer’s block’, it’s time to crush them. If any of these is true, the first step is to change your mind, which you can do by understanding where these thoughts are coming from, and reframing them with affirmations, meditation, and sometimes even a therapist, but also with a lot of practice.
Make it a challenge to prove to yourself that these beliefs are false and that you can do this; - Discover all the learning lessons from this experience. What can you improve now based on this setback so it doesn’t happen again? Was there any feedback? Write all the lessons you took from it down and make it your priority to fix them one by one.
- If you don’t know how to fix them, seek professional help to move past the issue as getting stuck on something can easily drain your motivation and kill your momentum. If that’s something you’d be interested, send me a message and I’ll see how I can help you;
- Don’t let a setback knock your motivation away. Get back to work, even if it feels a bit painful, but otherwise this can take you out of your course. Dust it off, and, for a moment, focus on doing what you know to get you back to feeling you can achieve things and feeling good about music.
Later, start fixing what you’ve now discovered that you need to fix as this is what will take you closer to your goals
2. Focus on consistency, not intensity.
A big problem with momentum is that, when we have it, we feel that ‘working more intensely’ will keep your momentum high, but it can also be the thing that burns you out and, essentially, kills your momentum. In addition, when your initial burst of motivation wears out, it’s your consistency and your habits that will keep your momentum going. Therefore:
- Focus on improving one pain point per week. If you have issues that you need to fix, trying to fix them all at once can be overwhelming and kill your momentum as well. Therefore, focus on just fixing one issue per week, or one issue per song as this can be more manageable for you;
- Focus on experimenting with one new thing every week. In addition to fixing what is not working, trying something new every week, or with every song, is also really important as this is what could make music production fun and inspiring.
It can be a technique you saw on Youtube, or something you’ve heard in a track, but commit to this habit and, over time, this can make your music more unique, which is what can make you stand out; - Plan your week and block it with tasks. Commit to producing a little bit every day, even if just 30 min, and make it into a habit before you do long stretches of work. This not only will help you make it a habit, but also will prevent you from burning out from longer sessions. As things progress, then you can start ‘increasing your sessions’ time and also working fewer days per week as production will be already part of your routine.
3. Just do it.
A lot of the time, especially when we don’t have any momentum going, it can be painful to even think about producing. Just the thought of opening your DAW can be daunting, and I went through exactly that in June/24, after going 6 months without working on my own songs due to moving houses and other things.
In this situation:
- Start as small as you need to. The win is not to make something good, but to just make something. That’s your goal now… the act of producing, more than what you produce. Instead of thinking ‘I need to create a song’, create a nice melody with one piano, one bass, and one kick, period, as this is a lot less daunting and, therefore, easier to do;
- Celebrate your wins every day. For every day you go back to producing, celebrate it. You don’t need to produce for 3 hours right away to celebrate it. Start by splitting this into 1h30 of production and 1h30 of a game you like, or fun times with family. Essentially, reward yourself for producing as this will create a positive link in your brain between production and good times, which always help to regain momentum;
- Create a “starting routine”. All NBA players have a ritual for when they go to the free-throw line, which is done to elevate their confidence, reduce anxiety and pressure and activate their muscle memory. Well, create a ritual for starting to produce as this can put you in a confident/creative mindset for producing, and also get you back in focusing on music. For example:
- Watch a tutorial that got you inspired in the past;
- Listen to your favorite songs, especially the artists that made you want to start producing;
- Watch a show that gets you inspired and pumped, etc.
4. Take your time to rebuild your momentum and don’t rush into things.
Building momentum takes time and consistent work, and especially when your momentum is still developing, it’s important to not rush into things and refrain from certain activities to make sure you don’t kill it again.
- Refrain yourself from sending songs for feedback that can be harsh. For now, you need to regain the joy and the ‘feel good’ moments that production can give you, so go back to just producing what you like, without any attachments or requirements, and just having fun. This ‘Fun’ is what will make your momentum strong enough for you to elevate your efforts;
- Gradually increase your efforts as you make progress. As you start to feel confident about your music and sitting to produce has become a habit again, start to gradually reintroduce some ‘hard work’ into your workflow. This could be working longer hours or even trying harder tasks since this is what will take you to the next level as a producer. Now, once you’re feeling good enough to start releasing again, STOP!
- Build a portfolio before you start sending out songs to labels. As artists, you need to consistently release songs rather than releasing one song every now and then. Therefore, give yourself time to build 3-5 songs before you start sending them to labels or self-releasing. This will give you leverage to avoid putting yourself back in a place that will make you rush and will help you develop a consistent release schedule, something highly desired for any artist.
3 QUICK TIPS FOR YOU
What else can you do to sustain or regain your momentum?
1. Use your ‘unproductive’ time to do ‘unproductive’ production stuff.
Sometimes you’re just so tired that you can’t even think about creating songs, so why not use this time to learn something else or prepare yourself for when you’re motivated?
Organize your preset or sample library, go look for vocalists on YouTube, or do a sound design tutorial to develop your sound… All these activities require less from us but will make us better prepared for when you do feel ready to produce.
2. Minimize your momentum killers.
Especially when you’re struggling to maintain or develop momentum, it’s important to look at your environment and make changes to help you maintain your momentum. Think about changes that you can make in your routine and environment that are draining your will to produce and eliminate (or minimize them).
For example, if your house is busy at night and you can’t produce because of the distractions, go to bed earlier and produce in the morning, or go to bed later and produce when everyone is already sleeping.
3. Get Your health in check.
Our health impacts us deeply in our ability to focus, maintain momentum, and be creative, but we often neglect it. Make sure you’re getting enough sleep, eating healthy, and exercising regularly, and this can deeply impact your work.
If you’re not getting any of these tasks I’ve just mentioned, pick one of them and make a 30-day challenge to improve it and see how it impacts your music
