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Author Topic: How do you stay motivated all the time?  (Read 24950 times)

Orno

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Re: How do you stay motivated all the time?
« Reply #15 on: January 08, 2016, 04:05:34 am »
As a lot of people already mentioned, I too get my motivation in waves. It's a sucky feeling but keeping in the back of your mind that some "eureka" moment may come through could help you pull through.

Recently, I have been making little todo lists in my phone based on what types of production stuff I wanna do each day even if it is as small as tweaking a sound. Keeps me on top of things and good things come out of it, so it doesn't feel like you cannot do anything.
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MifzanHerawan

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Re: How do you stay motivated all the time?
« Reply #16 on: January 08, 2016, 04:46:42 am »
have a deadline ! i like to think as starting a project as working a school paper or something that's totally strict. + i have a certain goal i want to achieve (this is the genre, tempo, scale blabla). it makes things a lot clearer when you have a deadline. def not going to make me creative but at least it got me doing something instead of watching movies/listening to songs/reading books~
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Shew

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Re: How do you stay motivated all the time?
« Reply #17 on: January 08, 2016, 04:52:51 am »
I think having concrete goals can help you stay motivated over long periods of time as well.  Goals can always be the driving force to you not closing that Ableton project too soon
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Austin K

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Re: How do you stay motivated all the time?
« Reply #18 on: January 08, 2016, 05:39:26 am »
I used to have issues with motivation/focus, but eventually I reached a point where it was rewarding enough for me to hardly want to ever stop producing. I stopped producing for 2 weeks and it felt like I was missing something and it felt like the longest wait in my life.
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MifzanHerawan

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Re: How do you stay motivated all the time?
« Reply #19 on: January 08, 2016, 01:11:52 pm »
Quote from: Austin K on January 08, 2016, 05:39:26 am
I used to have issues with motivation/focus, but eventually I reached a point where it was rewarding enough for me to hardly want to ever stop producing. I stopped producing for 2 weeks and it felt like I was missing something and it felt like the longest wait in my life.

ahaha i know that feel. the image that appeared in my head everytime i slack off would be my daw's mixer :P
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FarleyCZ

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Re: How do you stay motivated all the time?
« Reply #20 on: January 08, 2016, 04:58:24 pm »
I have massive problems with this. There are those cool whiles when I'm motivated. ...but they are not long enough to finish a track in them. So I hit the wall too and try and try, which eventually ends up in not screwing up just the project I work on, but also the other projects I try to run away to for a change. ...that ends up in depression that lasts exactly until I experience somethimg motivating again. ...and again it goes. I wish I knew a way out of it. There are some cool advices here, guys. Will try some, thanks.
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Mussar

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Re: How do you stay motivated all the time?
« Reply #21 on: January 08, 2016, 05:25:11 pm »
I follow the Steven Pressfield model: The Muse of Routine. Mornings are always for analysis - I am always listening to mixdowns, deciding on arrangements, listening to interviews, and reading manuals. The day is for work and life - school during the semester, errands, learning a synthesizer or effect plugin or something, checking social media, etc. Nights are all about creation - composition, sound design, and all that good stuff that.

Obviously these routines can change, and different things can go in different places for different reasons or bleed over into different times, but it forms muscle memory and good habits, and I feel like after some time your brain gets used to the tasks it's performing so it's more ready TO do the tasks it's performing.
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Kareem

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Re: How do you stay motivated all the time?
« Reply #22 on: January 08, 2016, 05:36:55 pm »
Quote from: Danny Chen
It's not easy, and I don't think its really possible to stay motivated 24/7..

I second that it's hard to stay motivated at all time, but you can try to stay motivated as long as possible. Here a view things that help me, and perhaps will help you:

  • Why: It's very important to find out why you produce and to keep that in mind whenever you start producing. It helps you to keep determined.
  • Workflow: It's very important to have your own workflow. It helps you work fast, achieve more and thereby enjoy more. I've replied to another topic addressing this subject, feel free to check it out.
  • Goals: Not the New year, new me goals but the What am I going to do today goals. Before you start working behind your DAW, think about what you want to do. Are you going to make a melody, a chord progression or a beat? Whatever it may be, set up a goal each session. Make them small and you'll be more satisfied completing them.
  • Breaks: Don't work too long. Set up a time and really work within that time, take a break, and work again further. If you're really not feeling it, don't mind stepping out of the project. Sometimes we need a full break, it may be a few days or a week. A fresh ear can do wonderful things.

These are few things which help me to stay motivated. I hope it can help you, and feel free to ask more questions!
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Re: How do you stay motivated all the time?
« Reply #23 on: January 08, 2016, 05:46:59 pm »
Quote from: Austin K on January 08, 2016, 05:39:26 am
I used to have issues with motivation/focus, but eventually I reached a point where it was rewarding enough for me to hardly want to ever stop producing. I stopped producing for 2 weeks and it felt like I was missing something and it felt like the longest wait in my life.

I get this. I remember a couple years ago I thought I might give up producing, for some stupid reason. Then I opened up Ableton on a whim, and immediately thought to myself "I'm such an idiot. This is awesome." Quitting has never seemed like an option since, although I do take breaks to pursue other interests.
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Harwood

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Re: How do you stay motivated all the time?
« Reply #24 on: January 08, 2016, 05:58:00 pm »
For me, 95% of my motivation I take from things going on around me in my life. This can be literally anything.

When I'm struggling for money, I make music in the hope one day it will solve my financial problems.
When I'm stressed about exams, I make music hoping that I won't need those exams as I'll achieve my real aspirations.
When people are hating on my music, I make more because what could be more satisfying than popping up ten years down the road with record labels, big shows & lots of fans like "Hey remember me?"
But also very personal events in my life motivate me hugely, I find music can be an escape from reality. When I create a huge uplifting euphoric drop it just sends some sort of feeling through me that makes me feel like nothing can possibly be wrong in the world when I can create something like this. For example today is the day that marks 10 weeks since my father passed away, and right now I am buried away on my computer, I've put finishing touches on some songs, started new ideas for others and just in general lost myself in my laptop. Nothing motivates me more than knowing there is nothing I would rather be doing than trying to create something beautiful and knowing he would want the exact same!

The real answer is everybody gets motivated by completely different things. But find out what motivates you and feed off it as much as you can. If you don't find anything than make something, set a goal (even if its hugely unrealistic) and just strive for it EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

Hope this helps

Harwood
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Ruuth

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Re: How do you stay motivated all the time?
« Reply #25 on: January 08, 2016, 06:57:35 pm »
This is a somewhat different answer, but I usually just go and work out. I find myself singing stuff, and I put that in my music.

I also get fit as a biproduct.
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cat

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Re: How do you stay motivated all the time?
« Reply #26 on: January 08, 2016, 08:25:11 pm »
i rarely go forward with ideas im unsure of, so I try to remind myself why I continued this specific project. kinda sheds some light on why I should continue it.
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flashsapphire

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Re: How do you stay motivated all the time?
« Reply #27 on: January 09, 2016, 02:07:18 am »
I stay motivated by listening to my old stuff and comparing it with my new music. The more I listen, the more I realize I've matured as a producer, song writer. As a college student, I don't have much time to produce, so its essential to make the most out of every bit of time I allocate to producing. Another thing that helps is listening to the artists that got me into the scene. Zedd, deadmau5, telepopmusik...it gives me the inspiration I need to keep going until one day I have my own original sound that is who I am.
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manducator

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Re: How do you stay motivated all the time?
« Reply #28 on: January 13, 2016, 08:18:24 pm »
Well, my motivation is tha fact that creating music should be about fun. I don't make a living out of it. So if I don't have inspiration or don't have fun, I close my daw.

Simple as that. Next day, the fun may be back and I probably will enjoy what I wasn't enjoying the day before.

When a song doens't turn out as great as I wanted it too? There's always a next time.

With every new song I start, I feel the same excitement of the first song I started working on, over 11 years ago.
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Arzenn

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Re: How do you stay motivated all the time?
« Reply #29 on: January 13, 2016, 11:37:24 pm »
There are a couple of ways I keep myself motivated.

a) Creating deadlines. This can be highly effective IF you are able to take the deadlines seriously. My main problem with this is how there is no consequence of not finishing things before the deadline. This leads to my second option.

b) Set a goal. I use this the most whenever I want to finish a track. For example, Finish this track and upload it on New Years, which i ended up doing. I find this to be the most efficient way and I got a decent track done in 2 days for the new year release. If you get the deadline to affect something vital, you may end up getting things done faster and stay motivated to finish the track.

c) Listen to different music. If I end up being braindead and staring at my DAW for hours, I get away from the screen, lie on my bed and listen to music that is far from the genre I aim to make. Sometimes I take notes on what I like about those tracks and what I could port over in my production.

d) If you stop having fun, take a break. If music stops being fun for you like when you're frustrated on a track or can't get anything good started, stop and take a break. Go watch cat videos, eat food, sleep do something else you enjoy that does not relate to music production. The reason why many of us produce music even though we don't gain much from it, is because we enjoy the feeling of artistically expressing ourselves in this medium. Enjoy what you do, and keep doing it. Best of luck.
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