Do you ever notice how a single day goes by SO quickly?
For me, a whole week can drift away without me doing the one big thing I wanted to do.
Maybe that’s why I love reading about morning routines and time-management hacks. From The Miracle Morning to the The 5 AM Club, I’ve read just about everything I can about optimizing my performance and productivity.
Learning how to optimize your time can take time! So I’m sharing my top tips with you.
These are the methods that help me get my important tasks done faster, so that at the end of the day I feel satisfied and complete.
A quick note: All of these methods can still apply to your music career work, even if you have a day job or other commitments.
My Favorite Productivity Tips for Musicians
My team will tell you that I’m always bugging them to share their favorite techniques for getting their most important tasks done.
Inbox zero? I want it! A checked-off to-do list? Sign me up!
It’s not always easy for me to make it happen but I do have some productivity tips I return to again and again. Here they are.
Set weekly goals
The first thing I do is set aside time on Monday mornings to write down my goals for the week. It takes about an hour and I use this template.
Choose your top tasks
Schedule your big projects and major tasks onto your calendar as if they were meetings. It doesn’t matter if you use a virtual calendar or your favorite paper version — just as long as you schedule your tasks.
Move with your energy
Our willpower tends to decline over the course of the day, so put your hardest or most important tasks earlier in the day. This will help you avoid any tendency to procrastinate.
Eat breakfast
When I was in grad school, I stopped eating breakfast because I got too lazy to prepare it before my 8am classes (ugh!).
I held onto that habit for way too long. Recently I found that eating breakfast has been a game-changer for me. As obvious as it may seem, I feel more energized earlier in the day which gets me off to a productive start.
Do something fun
Rewarding yourself with something fun helps keep you motivated. For me I set aside time to read or play the piano, even if it’s just for a few minutes. It sends a message to my brain that it’s not all about plowing through and that, even when I’m busy, I deserve fun time.
Why This Works So Well
When you set aside time for big-picture planning and task-setting, it influences what I call your “micro-decisions.”
Those are the moments throughout your day when you have to quickly decide what to focus on next. Maybe you have a few minutes to spare in between phone calls. Or maybe a meeting got cancelled and you suddenly have an extra hour on your hands.
It’s these small moments that add up to the big outcomes in your life. When you have your weekly goals and tasks planned out, it’s easier to know what you can jump on in your spare time (so that you’re not mindlessly scrolling through your Instagram feed).
I’d Love to Hear From You
I’d love to know how you stay productive and manage your time.
What are your favorite time-management techniques?
What tools or apps help you get the most out of your time?
Are you as productive as you want to be? If not, what do you struggle with the most? If you are, share what works for you!
Leave a comment below.
