Becoming a musician can be extremely fun and fulfilling. However, playing gigs and working as a musician requires a lot of time and effort. You must plan gigs weeks in advance, book venues, find people to work with, etc. You also need to spend time practising your instrument to keep getting better. Even some of the best custom song musicians from Songly require hours of practise daily.
But with all that time you spend, it can take a lot of work to stay on top of everything you need to do. That’s where managing your time as a musician comes in handy. Keeping track of everything you need to do can seem overwhelming at first, but getting the hang of it will make staying organised so much easier going forward.
Here are some tips on managing your time as a musician more effectively for both playing gigs and working on your craft.
The creation of a practice schedule
You can’t get better at anything you don’t practise. You need to put in the time and effort to get better and improve. With that being said, you need to create a practice schedule. You need to set aside time specifically for practising your instrument to get better and improve your musicianship consistently.
While practising your instrument itself is important, it’s also crucial to practise other factors that go into making music, such as using your ear or note ear training. It is essential to know how to use your ear when it comes to music, so learning to do so correctly can help you create better music and become a better musician.
Music and work in balance
When starting out as a musician, it’s imperative to work hard and put a lot of effort into your music. While this is important, you also need to take care of yourself. As a musician, you will have to find the time to study music theory, practise your instrument, and write songs. Each of these activities requires lots of time, and finding the time to do this is very important.
However, you want to ensure you do not burn yourself out. Proper time management in the music industry can be challenging, especially if you have another job on top of your musicianship. If you have a full-time job and a career as a musician, you may find that you do not have a balanced schedule and may feel overwhelmed. If you feel this way, it is important to take a step back and find a balance in your life, so you do not feel burnt out.
Music and music work must coexist
You must do more than write a good song and expect your music career to launch off the ground. If you want to become the greatest musician of all time, you will need to work to get there, including more than just creating the music itself. This is why music and music work must coexist.
In what ways must they coexist?
While practising your instrument is essential, it is also extremely important to network and get your name out there. You should try to get involved in the music industry more than just by making music yourself. By putting work into the other aspects surrounding the actual music-making itself, you will have an easier time launching your career and having more connections in the industry.
Decide what’s most important to you
As you start as a musician, you’ll find many things you need to balance and manage. It’s important to decide what you want to get from your time as a musician. As with all things in life, you need to balance the different aspects of your life and musicianship. If you want to figure out how to be a full time musician and feel fulfilled in your career, putting in the work on the important things is essential.
Put a plan for automation in place
As a musician, you may sometimes struggle with musician management and making time for other things in your life. You need to be taking care of your responsibilities as well. Automating a few things can help you out a lot. Some things people automate are things like emails, bills, expenses, and more. Automating mundane processes can save you more time in your daily life. This will give you more time to work on your music career.
Last words
Being a musician is extremely rewarding and can be an excellent career. However, it does require a lot of time, effort, and practice. So, ensure you’re keeping track of your time and are making the most of it.
How will you better manage your time as a musician?