Capture creative ideas when they occur
Creativity can not be scheduled. Usually it strikes at inopportune moments. When we do have time, it abandons us. To be productive, you must learn to capture the creative impulse when it occurs and release it when you can exploit it effectively. For myself, this involves taking notes. When composers think about capturing the moment, it involves jotting notes down on a pad of staff paper. I find this is not very practical, so I turn to a device that I have with me at all times, my PDA.

There are several hand held software applications that allow you to jot down musical notation. This is a very powerful tool to have on hand, but you should not limit yourself to such a rigid interpretation of managing musical inspiration. Sometimes it is enough to use a more abstract representation of your inspiration. Sometimes simply knowing the source of your inspiration is enough. For example, you may be listening to your MP3 player, and enjoy the modal interchange of a piece of music you’re listening to. Flip open your PDA to write down the name of the piece with a note to analyze and explore its harmonic structure. Or, you may be at work and you read an interesting message on a mail list regarding time delayed feedback loops. Make a note in your PDA to explore this technique.

Make effective use of small slices of time
Standing in line, waiting in a doctor’s office, riding on public transportation are all good examples of a time when you can organize your PDA’s inspiration file. Look for small projects like “sample percussion sounds from microwave” or “make ReCycle loop from session” and organize them in a “short project” file. The next time you find yourself with an odd 30-minute block of time in your studio, dip into your cashe of small projects. Every moment in your studio can be productive.

If you know in advance that you’ll have some quiet time in your house, don’t squander it. Queue up a list recording sessions that require an open microphone. If you feel like you need to record a percussion part on a piece of music, but your baby is sleeping, write it in your PDA. In addition to shifting your project to a time when it can actually happen, this technique can save additional time by consolidation. Now you only have to set up and break down one session instead of four disjoint ones.

Paralyzed by too many options
Sometimes you may have some time available, go to your studio and then feel overwhelmed. There are two major sources for this feeling. Technical paralysis comes from too many technical possibilities in your studio and project paralysis comes from too many projects to work on. Let’s start with technical paralysis.

We build our studios a piece at a time. Each individual component, although complex, can be easily understood in isolation. Gradually, we accumulate individual pieces for various specific purposes. Under normal circumstances, we use a sub collection of gear for any given project. Software, sequencers and virtual instruments are more powerful than ever and can multiply the possibilities in your studio. Then one day you walk into your studio with a clean plate, you look at all your gear and have absolutely no idea where to begin.

Fortunately, the solution is simple. Focus on a single piece of gear in your studio and explore it in ways you never have before. In addition to learning something new, you’ll be inspired and productive. Try composing a piece of music with a single sound module. Try writing five new patches on an old synthesizer.

Often the feeling of being overwhelmed can come from too many projects to work on. Sometimes too many possibilities can be detrimental to your productivity. Again, the solution is simple. Prioritize your projects. Focus your work on the top one or two projects on your list until they are complete and file all additional ideas under ‘later’ Only look in your ‘later’ file when you have completed what is currently on your plate.

Set realistic goals. Perhaps the project is too big to be considered in its entirety. Then you need to break up the project in more easily attained goals.

Set a deadline. Even if the deadline is abstract, it can help a project towards completion. I know people who have worked on the same project for five years: writing, re-writing, recording, re-recording. Sometimes it never ends. If this sounds familiar, you need to set a deadline and stick to it. Make a dedicated project calendar and mark goals along the way so you can see if you’re slipping behind schedule.

Keep a diary. Jot down your accomplishments. This is a feedback loop for your subconscious. If you’re not being productive, you need to let yourself know. It is possible to make excuses for to yourself for your own non-productivity. This is an unhealthy habit. A diary can help keep this in check. Soon, you’ll get a feel for your own natural rhythm.

On going projects
Most recorded musical projects have a definite completion point, such as producing a CD. Other projects are on-going. Education and reading books on your craft is a life long project. So are practicing an instrument, or sound design, and others…

Set projects in motion
A project can have a life of its own. When this happens, you’ll find a project is much easier to complete, particularly when you get others involved. Bringing other musicians aboard can accelerate the rate of progress and provide additional incentive to finish.

Visualize the project
If you’re away from your studio, you can still work on your project by visualizing how you’ll work. A mental walk though the process, can help efficiency when you actually begin the work. You can also uncover road blocks or problems ahead of time. Visualization can help organize movement, consolidate action and simplify gestures. For example, in the course of visualization, you may accumulate a mental list of objects that must be retrieved from a single location. Without visualization, you may have made three trips to the mic cabinet when one would do.

Curtail time in front of the TV
If you find yourself with little time to work on music, honestly assess how much time you spend in front of the television. Then ask yourself what is more important. Television can be seductive. If you’re wasted from work, the passive experience of television is comforting. Plus, it’s addictive. It is a network’s job to keep you on their channel the entire evening so they make it easy as possible to segue from show to show.

I found a piece of technology that reduces the amount of time I spend watching television. Hard disk recorders for network broadcast, known as TiVo or Reply TV record television shows with little or no active management. The pressure to watch a show NOW because it is on NOW is completely removed. Plus, an hour long program compresses into 45 minutes or less when the commercials are skipped over. I now watch less television and the quality of what I watch is greatly improved. The principle is the same as managing creative moments – you just need the tools to shift the time to your schedule.