Productivity is only for business… isn’t it? Does it matter when it comes to music? In this post, our Founder & Editor David Andrew Wiebe shows you how being more productive will transform your music career.

This post originally appeared on David Andrew Wiebe. There are no alterations except to enhance clarity, cite more resources, or offer more up-to-date information.

“Productivity” feels like such a technical term… Especially when we're talking about something as creative as music.

We could just as easily say “getting more done in less time” or “making the best use of our time.”

But that still feels a little aimless to me.

If the goal is to “get a lot done” then the above is more than adequate. And I can tell you from experience that if you’re determined to get a lot done, you will.

Getting the right things done is what matters, and the sooner you can admit that Facebook isn’t going to increase the quality of your life (nor are you going to regret not spending more time on social media on your deathbed), the better.

Why Productivity in Music?
Imagine being able to write, record, and release more music.

If you did that, could you create more opportunities, increase your fan base, and generate more revenue?

Imagine having a greater impact on your fans, lifting broken spirits, helping people out of depression, saving lives…

Do you feel like that would be a life well lived?

Imagine dying with the best song out of you.

If you could “die empty” as author Todd Henry so eloquently said, do you think greater joy and fulfillment would be available?

That’s what’s possible when we focus on the right things rather than doing a lot of things. There is a difference, and it does matter.
What Everybody Really Wants is Effectiveness
As a recovering productivity fiend, I can tell you honestly, productivity isn’t what you want.

I understand that you want to accomplish more.

Maybe you want to achieve the things I just talked about (releasing more music, changing your fans' lives, leaving this world having squeezed every bit of creativity out of yourself…).

Or maybe like me, you want to travel/tour the world, grow into the best version of yourself, inspire and serve people everywhere you go with everything you do.

Consider what your ultimate goal is – the thing you don’t want to leave this world without having achieved – and more importantly, what you would consider your “why”.

Can you see it in your mind's eye now?

Well, unless you prioritize, I guarantee you’re never going to get there.

It’s heartbreaking. It’s sad. It's frustrating. But it’s true.

So, productivity isn’t going to get you there. It’s only going to overload your system with adrenaline, leading to bouts with anxiety and depression, something we artistic types are already prone to.

What you want is effectiveness. And effectiveness is working smart, not just working hard.
Beyond Productivity
I recently published A Level Above Productivity & Time Management podcast episode.

You can listen to it here:

It’s a rant, but the point is that it’s not about the hustle and grind.

Sometimes you might need to sacrifice sleep, work long hours, or take a red-eye flight.

When I’m in “launch” mode, I always make some sacrifices.

But the way to get your best work done is…

- To be 100% clear on what you want to achieve before leaving this world (this is your why)
- Working only on those things (knocking over the big domino means knocking over all the small dominoes)
- Being mindful of your energy (admit it – you suck at what you do when you’re exhausted, tired, anxious, depressed, overwhelmed, etc.)
- Work at your peak hours (hint: it’s not all day long!)

Between 10 AM and 2 PM are my absolute best hours. I guard them with my life. I don’t allow anyone or anything to snatch my dreams out of my hands.
The Airplane List
You can read this story in detail if you wish. Here I’m only going to be touching on the key details…

You’ve probably heard of Warren Buffet. He’s one of the wealthiest investors alive.

Mike Flint was Buffet’s personal airplane pilot. He did this for 10 years, so as you can imagine, he got to know Buffet.

Flint wanted absolute clarity on how he could achieve more. Buffet gave him an exercise.

The first step was to write down his top 25 career goals.

The next step was to find and circle his top five goals.

The top five goals became the A list, while the remaining 20 goals became the B list.

As you can imagine, all 25 goals were incredibly important to Flint. He even told Buffet he would spend most of his time on his top five goals while working on the other 20 goals here and there when he had time.

But Buffet told Flint to focus all his time, energy, and resources on his top five goals and to ignore the other 20. Buffet added emphasis by saying the B list was to be avoided at all costs until he had achieved his top five!

Again, that process is:

- Identify your top 25 career goals
- Circle your top five goals
- Make your top five goals your A list and the other 20 goals your B list
- Work only on your A list goals, ignoring your B list goals until you achieve all your A list goals

What do You Want to Achieve?
I recently completed a personal development course.

On day one, I was asked a series of questions to help me gain clarity on my purpose.

This question, specifically, helped me identify my priorities with exacting precision:
What dreams would I have left unfulfilled if I died today?
These were my answers:

- Back on Solid Ground (it was supposed to be my second solo album and it still isn't done)
- Flashes of Elation (the book I’ve been promising for years)
- Getting married and having children
- Buying a car for my mom
- Seeing Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, and Singapore

Those are my top five goals. I didn’t even know until I went through this exercise!

All other goals might be important but aren’t as important as these. And I admit I’m still making that switch from the whole list to just the A list. But at least I know what my A list is.
Productivity is of No Use to You…
Especially if:

- You don’t know the difference between productivity and effectiveness.
- You don’t know what your purpose is (you will summon inner resources you never knew you had when you’re on the right path).
- You haven’t narrowed your 25 (or more) goals down to just the top five most important goals.
- You aren’t focusing on your top five goals.

But if you want to…

- Release more music
- Change the lives of your adoring fans
- Squeeze every drip of creativity out of yourself before you pass
- Travel the world
- Become the best version of yourself
- Inspire others to live to their fullest
- Or some combination thereof...

Then you also need a structure. I can't downplay the importance of tactics in getting things done.

The structure is what allows you to remain focused, stay on track, and get the right things done instead of wasting time you’ll never get back.

That’s why I wrote The Music Entrepreneur Code, and a large chunk of that book is dedicated to productivity.
https://productivityformusicians.com/throwbackthursday-productivity-in-music-does-it-matter/

In business, there’s a term called “systems.” Many other terms describe, in effect, the same thing – Standard Operating Procedures, checklists, processes, workflows, and more. These are documents or videos showing the exact step-by-step process of how to complete a task. The benefit of systems is that they help you do things more efficiently, save your precious willpower, and save your money too.

Businesses have found systems so valuable that there's a catchy acronym – S.Y.S.T.E.M. stands for Saves YourSelf Time, Energy, and Money. In this guide, you will learn how to create systems for your music career – specifically, how to create frameworks.

This post originally appeared on David Andrew Wiebe. There are no alterations except to enhance clarity, cite more resources, or offer more up-to-date information.

Is it time for you to create systems for your artistic career?

No matter your discipline, Standard Operating Procedures are vital.

Systems define the scope of every task. They help you focus on what needs to be accomplished. They help you achieve consistent results. And, because they are finite in focus, they help you save time. That’s the foundation of productivity and effectiveness.

Moreover, as the author, Dan Kennedy said:
All wealth is based upon systems.
So, let's talk about how you can use systems to build your wealth. First, I wanted to share a little about my journey...

Why it Took Me So Long to Create Systems
Having talked to over 100 business owners specifically about systems and operations, I had a good handle on how important systems are. I knew they would prove crucial to my projects and businesses too.

I knew about all the books (The E-Myth, Checklist Manifesto, The 4-Hour Workweek, etc.), all the tools (Basecamp, Atlassian, Process Street, etc.), and all the methods. I had all the answers. Yet, I struggled.

I would create systems, but most of the time they would end up sitting in some forgotten folder I would rarely access. I wasn’t great at creating new systems or updating them.

And, they were all over the place. I had systems in Word docs, Google Docs, Evernote, Asana, SweetProcess, and elsewhere.

But no matter what I tried knowledge didn’t turn into breakthrough.

Isn’t that what it’s like to be human? To draw a comparison, you can know how to lose weight, but unless you do what you know to do, you're not going to shed unwanted pounds.
Breakthrough Was Created in Language
In my personal development work, I discovered that if it doesn’t exist in the realm of language, it simply doesn’t exist.

This is a bit of an advanced concept, and it usually takes laying some serious groundwork before it “lands” for people.

But the basic idea is this. What lives, lives in language. And, each of us has different feelings associated with different words.

Last year, I was watching a video with Taki Moore, and he was talking about frameworks. When I heard the word, "frameworks," something finally clicked for me.

Up until that point, I had been using the same terms everyone else was using to describe their systems. Terms like:

- Standard Operating Procedures
- Processes
- Process maps
- Procedures
- Policies
- Checklists
- Workflows
- Systems

Again, I’m creative. When approaching business, I always try to think in terms of business (what’s going to generate sales) instead of showing up in my “default” mode (which is as an artist, and artists either don't like to or don't want to, sell).

Your artist hat helps you create. Your business hat helps you market and sell.

But these terms – the ones you see in the list above – just felt too constraining to me. They made me slightly queasy, to be honest.

When I heard the term “frameworks,” my eyes opened wide and I found the motivation I needed to create processes that would work for me.

I had a breakthrough in language.

I also shared this in a video:

One More Piece of the Puzzle
I would love to say things have been smooth sailing from that day forward, but that would be a lie.

I knew I would be creating “frameworks” and not “systems”, but that wasn't enough.

Since having that realization, I only ever created one framework, and it was specifically for a training course (The Code Breaker Course – it's awesome) I’d been putting together:

Then, the other day, I was reading this post on how to start a podcast (mostly because my coach wrote it).

In that post, I found multiple checklists that looked like this:

That’s all I needed to see. Now I was confident I had a format that would work for me.

Technically, the above would be considered a minimum viable procedure because it does not feature a detailed explanation of each step, but hell, I’m a CEO. I will get my assistant to handle the rest (I’m being tongue-in-cheek here).

So, This is What I Did (This is How to Create Frameworks, Step by Step)
Are you still with me? Good. Because this is where I show a step-by-step process you can use for creating frameworks

First, I created a new folder on my desktop and called it “SOPs” (Standard Operating Procedures).

I know this kind of goes contrary to what I said earlier about frameworks. I don’t know why I went with “SOPs." Maybe it’s a bit of a mind hack or just the fact that it would make the folder easier to find. Ultimately, I still call the documents inside “frameworks.”

Then, I created a folder specifically for Music Entrepreneur HQ (as you can see, I have other projects requiring frameworks):

Then, inside the "Music Entrepreneur HQ" folder, I started making folders for different areas of the business (still very much a work in progress):

And, of course, within those folders exist multiple Word docs containing the frameworks (because let’s face it – there’s never just one thing to do in any area of your career or business):

Finally, here’s what my frameworks look like:

And, that’s it! How simple was that?

Pro tip: One day, all my systems will live in the cloud and yours should too. Why? Because one of the reasons to create frameworks in the first place is so you can hand off tasks to your team.

Don't let perfectionism get in the way of making your frameworks. These are powerful tools for increasing your productivity.

And, don’t forget – if you aren’t happy with anything, you can always tweak it. There are no mistakes. You will add and subtract from your checklists as needed. System creation is an ongoing process (I just saw something to add to one of my checklists while writing this post!).

Remember – put away the artist hat when you’re working on the business side of things.
https://productivityformusicians.com/throwbackthursday-how-to-create-and-use-frameworks-to-boost-your-productivity/

✅ How to Build a Magnetic Reputation as a Musician

✅ How to Build a Magnetic Reputation as a Musician

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chw87b_RLcU

Ideas form the basis of actions. Artists always need new ideas, whether it’s ideas for songs, album artwork, stage moves, or otherwise. In this post, our founder & editor David Andrew Wiebe reveals a simple but effective process for generating more and better ideas.

This post originally appeared on David Andrew Wiebe. There are no alterations except to enhance clarity, cite more resources, or offer more up-to-date information.

Quick answer: Read a book. Listen to a podcast series. Take a course. First, take in relevant and inspiring information. Then, take a break. Take a shower. Go for a walk. Drive. Meditate. As your brain works on integrating and synthesizing the information you’ve been consuming, fresh ideas will begin to form. Rinse and repeat until desired outcomes are reached.

Now for the longer answer.

Step #1: Consume Relevant & Inspiring Information
Here are several sources of valuable information:

- Blog posts
- Articles
- Books
- Podcasts
- Videos
- Courses
- Mastermind groups
- Coaches and mentors
- Live events

Experiment. Try staying with a concept or topic for an hour or more. Then, try jumping around from topic to topic as you finish articles or podcast episodes.

Keep digging, reading, listening, or watching until you begin to feel excited and/or inspired.
Step #2: Take a Break & Step Away for a While
Once you’ve consumed one or more value-adding resources, try:

- Taking a shower
- Going for a walk
- Going for a drive
- Meditating

Fresh ideas should begin to form in your mind. If not, go back to the first step and try again.

Capture your ideas, such as with a journal or voice memo app.
Additional Resources on Generating Ideas
I believe James Altucher to be the foremost expert in this field. Check out his article on becoming an idea machine for more information.
https://productivityformusicians.com/throwbackthursday-how-to-generate-more-and-better-ideas/

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https://productivityformusicians.com/

Have you ever been writing a song, only to be distracted by a potentially important phone call? Sure, you probably did need to pick up the phone and have that conversation. But when you finally returned to your song, you probably lost your place. And it probably took you the better part of 20 to 30 minutes to find your place again, if you managed to find it at all.

These kinds of things happen all the time. If anything, they happen more than ever due to phone, tablet, and even computer notifications. You’re interrupted in the middle of working on something important, lose focus, and have trouble finding your flow again.

In an article titled Context switching: Why jumping between tasks is killing your productivity (and what you can do about it), RescueTime writer, content marketer, and editor Jory MacKay points out that 20% of your productive time is lost when context-switching between two tasks. Further, 40% is lost when switching between three tasks.

The best strategy to reduce context switching is to refuse to multitask and choose instead to focus on one thing at a time for longer, uninterrupted blocks of time, switching only after meals, workouts, meditation, and the like. That’s the ideal. It’s easier said than done, however, even if you do turn off all device notifications.

Learning how to perform under any circumstance is just as valuable. And this usually requires that you put yourself in situations where you are challenged to focus. It’s like building muscle. If you don’t tear your muscles (microtears), they will never grow or become stronger during recovery. Similarly, if you’re never under the gun to produce, you may not learn how to adapt to different scenarios and continue to perform at a high level.

Engaging in self-development programs that last for several months will do the trick for most artists. Adding a new responsibility to your life and staying accountable to doing what the program requires you to do puts you in a situation where you must make things work, no matter what. Rising to the challenge transforms you into the kind of human being that can handle more.
https://productivityformusicians.com/task-switching-kills-productivity/

The Productivity, Performance & Profits Breakthroughs Program was created by Music Entrepreneur HQ founder & CEO David Andrew Wiebe in support of his first premium book, the Productivity, Performance & Profits Blackbook.

Wiebe is a best-selling seven-time self-published author, an award-winning composer, and a podcaster for over a decade. He has published 44 songs (not including those he’s produced or played guitar on), thousands of blog posts and articles, hundreds of podcast episodes, and hundreds of videos too.

These are not facts he’s openly bragging about. But these achievements sparked an idea. Wiebe began to think, “What if I could help other people be more accomplished in their own lives?” And so, a plan started coming together.

Wiebe is currently campaigning to gather early feedback on his new material. He set up a Facebook group – called Productivity, Performance & Profits Breakthroughs – where artists committed to having breakthroughs in productivity can gather, ask questions, offer feedback, and engage in weekly live streams and assignments.

The group is already a veritable treasure trove of valuable information on productivity and efficiency. There’s plenty of time to get caught up with the training Wiebe has offered so far. Here are the relevant links (you may need to answer a few questions to be able to join the Productivity, Performance & Profits Breakthroughs Facebook group):

- Week 1 live stream
- Week 1 assignment
- Week 2 live stream
- Week 2 assignment

Join in on the fun!
https://productivityformusicians.com/if-youre-not-in-the-productivity-performance-profits-breakthroughs-program-youre-missing-out/