TAXI.com

OK, I LOVE writing music. And I just recently got a deal that is ENCOURAGING me to write music. But I have this really pesky day job that is sucking up my time and energy! I consider myself an extremely organized person. I have found that my most productive writing times is between 7-9 in the morning so I drag myself out of bed (I work swing shift) and write for at least 2 hours (which has turned into at least 4 hours since the deal) in the mornings. Then when the weekend comes and my friends say "hey let's go have fun" I say "no thanks guys, I gotta write".So I've got my full time job and now this new full time (hopefully soon to be money making career) "job" and a social life that is barely in existence anymore. I'm exhausted. Granted it's a good exhausted but I just don't know how else to do this.I actually know that there is no answer to this question and I know that I am doing EVERYTHING I can to write as much as I can and until my day job can go away this is just what my life will be like. I guess I'm starting this thread to commiserate with others in my same situation. So who's with me?! Shout out to your music passion here!!

This has been a tricky thing for me, too. I teach Braille full time and I also work as a massage therapist when school gets out. The massage biz helps keep my studio running so I can't give that up. By the time i get home, it can be pretty late to start recording. Sometimes I'll push through it and just give up sleep for weeks at a time. The weekends I'm recording non-stop. Then I have to completely stop doing music for a week or so (catch up on sleep and have a more normal social life). My most realistic goal is to teach part time, continue massage therapy, and start the full time composing. Just thinking out loud...!

Ditto what Jeff says. I'm emplyed full time as a nurse and do this writing thing in the mornings (5AM till 6:30 and then on my days off and any time I can squeeze a few minutes in. My wife and family don't weem to understand the committment that is required. Anyway, my take on things is that you always have time for what is most important to you. You just have to decide what it is and set priorities. 24 hours is all any of us have. Just my 2 cents worth. Anyway, Good luck to you. If you figure it out, please share it withtthe rest of us.Dave

Hey Jeanna,I'm right there with you. I believe the deal that you're referring to is the same one that I signed recently as well. And like you, I too have a day job. It was about a year ago at this time that I started keeping a daily planner in order for me to be able to keep up with everything. It can be a bit tedious to schedule every moment of your day, but it's really the same principle as budgeting for your finances, except instead of dollars, your budgeting your time. And without trying to be too cheesy, your time is money.I've got a set schedule so it might be a bit easier for me but here's basically what I do. I've got a blank spreadsheet that has each day broken into 30 minute segments. For Monday through Friday, it goes from 5pm till Midnight. For Saturday and Sunday, it goes from 10:00am till Midnight.Basically, I just go through and schedule in things that I either have to do (eat), or things I consider high priority (spending time with my wife, Kentucky basketball games, etc...) and block those sections off. Once that's done, I'll go through my list of commitments/projects and find out what my deadlines are for that week, then make sure to schedule in time to finish those tasks in the time that I have left.With all that said, there has to be some give and take. Sometimes life just happens. Sometimes, your creativity is bottled up and no matter what you do, it just won't come out. In those cases, I try to swap things around so that I'm making the most of my time and still be as efficient as possible.While I'm for all hard work, I prefer to work smart. I know that the scheduling concept can sort of fly in the face of creativity. But this is also a business with deadlines. And music supervisors and library owners don't care if you're creativity is stuck in a bottle. What they care about is making sure they receive the music you promised you would do for them by the time you said you'd have it done.I can say with certainty that budgeting my time and trying to stay as close to possible to that schedule I started keeping last year, really laid the groundwork which I believe allowed me to be able to achieve some of the success that I've gotten so far this year.I'll confess and say that I've haven't been as stringent about it over the last few months. I think for me personally, the summer is a lot easier for me to slack off from it because my favorite sports and television shows aren't on. But once September hits, I have to tighten things back up. It just boils down to what your priorities are in your life, and only you can decide that for yourself.Hope this was helpful. Are you going to be at the Rally? if so, hope to meet you there!- Big Blue

As with most things in life, it comes to down to finding the right balance. Yes, most of us have to work day jobs to survive, and getting the chance to write music is that carrot that keeps us going - and keeps us sane!You (and I and Barry and Jeff and others) are struggling to find this balance because we are working towards this amazing opportunity to write a lot of music and [eventually] make money at it! I've completed 23 tracks in the past five weeks. I'm really tired. I don't sleep much. But I know it's important RIGHT NOW. I've had to give up a lot of other things to do this. I'm blessed to have a girlfriend who gives me total support and encouragement because she knows all that I've been through as I've chased this dream for the past twenty years. If you're not getting that love and support you're going to face an uphill battle.One thing I've noticed is that the more I work on music, the better and faster I get. Not only at composing and orchestrating, but at recording, and being organized. Consistency is the key. Having a schedule forces me to keep working at it. Deadlines force me to stay on schedule. And that carrot - MUSIC - keeps me wanting to continue no matter how frustrated I may get when it's not going so well.When I'm not writing music I'm listening to it: for inspiration, for study, for the pure joy of listening to music. I'll continue to go back and listen to the work I've done and critique it - but only after being away from it for a period of time. You need that distance to have a fresh perspective on it. So even when I'm not working on music I AM working on music.I hope you can find the balance you need to write music and can keep up the motivation. It will be worth it in the end!Steve

how about quitting your day job? Then you'd have plenty of time to write.

I am a guitar player who wants to play keyboards.My wife and I have a special needs child to take care of.I leave for work at 6:30am and get home about 4:30pmI usually eat, play with the dogs, do stuff around the place, spend time with my son, bathe him and feed him a treat; this usually takes until about 8:00pm.Then I spend about an hour working on compositions. Go to bed about 9-10.This is where it gets crazy. We get up at 4:00am. This is when I spend some quality time with my wife over coffee. Buy during the last several months I've been taking this time to practice on my keyboard chops. Learning to play my guitar pieces on the keyboard.This early morning quiet time has been great. I am awake and refreshed and the creative energy is strong. I now look forward to these early morning sessions. I'm getting better at the keyboard and the ideas just keep coming.Where there's a will; There's a way.Now my wife wants to know, "What about me?"

This is really encouraging. I recognize a little bit of me in everyone that has posted to this so far! I knew/know I'm not alone but it's nice to hear it "out loud":) Even simonparker's comment about just quitting the day job. Dude, I wish I could!! But annoying things like paying for my apartment and food tend to make me think otherwise right now:(bigblueberry wow! I thought I was meticulous. You're even more insanely organized than me!!! I'm gonna try that spreadsheet thing for sure;)I have found that the more frequently I write the faster I get so that's a relief. I worked on a 48 Hour Film Project in July and wrote 6 songs in about 6 hours! My personal best:) So things do seem to be smoothing out a bit structure wise at least.You guys seem to have some great support from your significant others going on. That's awesome! Those people are keepers for sure cause I know how crazy focused us writers can get;)Keep the comments coming!

Without quitting your day job, it's a challenge to write, sign, and place enough music to quit your day job.Just like when my kids were born, it's an opportunity for streamlining! Like BBB said, you've got to work smart. Eliminating sleep works for a day or two, but the trick is to find a system that works for years. Like many on this thread, I compose efficiently in the morning. If I compose late at night, I try to stop when I catch myself working inefficiently. The more writing I do, the faster I get, which is very encouraging.Good luck!Chris

I struggle with this too and keeping a balance is important. Having a consistent schedule and composing consistently is key to getting good at this work. Composing every day is just like practicing your instrument every day, it keeps your chops up. And chops will save your ass when creativity isn't flowing. IMO creativity is overrated. It's skill and craft that create the channels for creativity to flow in to. If your skill and craft are at a high level, you'll actually be more creative.Hang in there. It's a long haul to the end of the day gig but the road is built one piece, forward and placement at a time. Three years ago I had never seen a royalty check and now I get them regularly. It's still not enough to quit the day gig but the pump is primed and consistent effort applied consistently will win the day.Mazz