Been composing full time 5 yrs now. My tip is all about focusing for the first 2 hrs of day: Start focused = easy to continue focused. Start unfocused & distracted = continue unfocused & distracted.
My Mrs always snarls when I set an early alarm, put on a shirt just to sit in the spare bedroom. I get it 100% if we don't think we are at work we aren't going to get shit done. I got to the point in my first few years were I had to sign in on a time sheet to log my time or I'd just be a truant little shit.
Timesheet! Fuuuuck... that's genius! In my previous life as an IT contractor, I didn't get paid if I didn't log my hours. Maybe I need to bring back the timesheets to trick my monkey brain.
I’m crying; thanks so much, Christian. You really hit the nail on the head there so I don’t need to start going to therapy to see what’s going on with me just yet! I’ve lost my inertia over the past year despite being accomplished on paper as I had a terrible couple of years doing something I hated and quit to channel my music qualifications into composing and did a cert course and summer course last year to get started. Since then, I’ve been scoring indie films that are going into festivals, but whilst I’m normally hardworking as both a composer and self-employed teacher, I find in everything I do, even in my personal life, over the past year it takes a great deal of effort to complete tasks. However, once I get going, I’m as happy as a clam. Working for yourself can be quite isolating, so I’m considering changing-up the day by having a chat with friends every evening and making a habit of going for a walk in the morning (living by the sea, it’s a good excuse). I convinced myself that I’m an introvert but I’m truthfully an extroverted creative so even though I’m in that limbo between being despondent and productive, I’m going to make a habit of using your tips and even physically meet-up with directors every time they want to discuss certain things so that I can get back to my exuberant self and start to enjoy life and get out of that blue funk. Looking forward to getting back to the next short film on my roster on Monday because of this video. Thanks again and stay safe xoxo
I'd just add: good inputs! Avoid news, negative inputs coming from social media... you talk about physical fitness: mental hygiene/fitness is equally important. Read/take in inspiring/enriching books, podcasts, and videos (like this one!) to get your head and heart fitted right. Mental fitness is also important in the long-term, to deal with the inevitable ups and downs of our business and work.
@@thobraa Glad it resonated. And yea, totally 101 level stuff, of course... kind of like saying "you should start taking regular walks" vs. "here's how to run an ultra-marathon" :)
@@AdrianEllis I get caught up in the world and especially in these days with virus and all... Sometimes it becomes too much. Taking care of mental hygiene is so important! Some are better at it than others, myself I sometimes forget. And what you wrote was just what I needed to be reminded of. I massively cut down on looking for negativity to feed on from social media today. Soon enough I will forget and be at it again lol :)
How kind and thoughtful of you to put this video together. It confirms my experience: musicians are often the most compassionate people you will find. Thanks, Christian.
Great thoughts Christian! I've found "Eat the Frog" a good principle - digging around your subconscious to find the thing you're avoiding > tackle that first. It's usually not half as bad as imagined. Then the Pomodoro technique (working in 25min bursts with 5min break). Keep vlogging & working well :-)
I've found your work ethic quite inspiring for a while, to be honest. I noticed about a year ago that you upload at 4am quite regularly and it's part of the drive for me to work hard knowing that there'll always be someone outworking me if I start slacking . I love small routines (like elevenses, don't laugh) and how they help me break up the day into bite-size chunks, and love my planner which is constantly open on the desk in front of me, normally always with lists of things to be done each day.
Fantastic, thank you, Christian. I've been working as a full-time musician from home for the past 7 years, I wholeheartedly agree with this list! Great to be reminded.
All great advice that I also follow. I have a way of setting a timer for 90-min to concentrate and work on a cue. After that 90-min if I am not done with that cue, I move on to the next one, then come back to the first one the next day (action cue take me a few days). After the 90-min-- I stretch, eat, surf the net, walk the dog, whatever, basically a "reward to myself"--- however I do watch my next scene before I break so my brain is thinking of it and hopefully processing the next musical puzzle to solve. BTW spoke to Bernard Herrmann's daughter recently about how her father's day was (I erroneously heard he was a night owl) apparently he was a very early morning worker who took many many naps during the day and was done by dinner time. Naps are good thing too.
Excellent advice here Christian, not stuff you would ever get from a formal music education through a college, but advice that I wish I had heard a long time ago.
My situation at the moment is basically a hobbyist. I can't really work at the moment as I am looking after my 92 yrs old mum. I can't really leave her alone for long periods of the day. Hence I have all day every day to write music lol. That would probably be the ideal situation for a media composer I suppose. Although composing music is so much fun, it can get a bit much even without deadlines. Watching films and playing video games is my other hobbies and of course the internet but all on different screens and rooms. Getting out the house is probably the most important part even just to go for walks to get fresh air. When I was married, that was a totally different situ and I had to balance what I enjoyed doing with my wife and stepson (at the time) It just all depends on what your situation is at this point of time in your life.
HI ! I don't get why this has not more view ! About procrastination, fear, and not finishing stuff that could easely be finished : I noticed (as a teacher, and also by analysing myself) that lot's of people are actually affraid of "failure" : affraid of beeing judged by people ; so, by never finishing work and never releasing your music, you stay in a never ending state of travelling through creation, and avoid the destination purposely, on a sub conscious level ; Glad you are back on this channel, this is by far one of my favourite youtube channel about production, love your video and your insight !!!
I am stunned right now. The topics you talked about here are those I was working out for myself the last weeks. I Do not fully understand the concept of the "fear of abandonment" though ... I can absolutely feel what you mean until you talk about loosing the person "not wanting you to be successful" although it makes total sense to me. I can not grab it fully. Thank you for organizing the points here.
I'm terrible at keeping those boundaries. If someone wants my attention I just pause whatever I'm doing. I'm way too flexible and as a result I'm not as productive as I'd like. Doing chores and maintaining relationships is important as well, but since going freelance and working from home I tend to use my working hours to do these things. And then there's the pressure to quit early (like a normal human bean). Every creative person trying to do their own thing should read The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. The struggle is real. Love your inspiring videos Christian, keep it up!
Thanks Christian. I find a tidy up before I start clears my head and prepares me for the day/session. I believe it comes from working in studios where you are always ready to receive the artists / customer into the space and want to make a good impression and also ready to operate . When I was lucky enough to find myself in my early career in a great studio I saw it as a magical space where dreaming and sharing ideas happened. It’s a head space I still adhere to and mostly achieve. Thanks for the tips . All very very familiar. Stay Safe . Pepper .
i once watched (or read somewhere can`t remember) ... Vince Clarke used to get up and drive round to his cabin studio (located 100 mtrs away from his house) so he felt like he was going to work and then drove back at the end of the day .. i thought at the time how brilliant that was !!....
I’ve worked from home for 12 years, my wife for ten years. Where possible work in different rooms. But also agree times for a coffee break and for lunch. My wife and I basically do the equivalent of meeting in the brew room mid morning and then for lunch for 40 minutes.
A very good list! For many years I was a freelancer working mostly at home, then I got a full time job in a regular office and with the pandemic I’m now back working in home office all day. In my experience most of Christian’s golden rules are really important. Especially separating your private and your work life is essential. Don’t work in the same room you are normally living in, if you don’t have to. Dress up, take a walk before starting, do coffee or cigarette brakes, that all really helps. Otherwise you find yourself either never ending your work day or never getting really started. In the end it is all about tricking yourself out a little bit, so that your work doesn’t effect your private life and the other around. And I think, this is not only a thing, when you’re doing creative work. But especially if your job contains creative stuff, those kind of rules protect you and keep your mind fresh and healthy.
When I sit down to begin a project, I always have a rough idea of where it will go, but I don't start straight away. I have a set of fingering and chord exercises that I restrict myself to. As I play through them, I can feel the juices rising until I am free from the boundary I set. Only then do I allow myself to play meaningfully to fulfill the project. Sometimes the exercises springboard the first notes of my next tune.
Watching this at my 'work' desk next to my bed in my socks haha. Cheers Christian, all of this is a massive problem of mine generally. This workspace is where I also browse the net, watch hours of RUclips, constantly tweak project templates and faff around with photo edits etc etc. Massive procrastinator. For me the laziness part is more one of energy and drive with life long effects of previous illness I feel lethargic 24 7. I live feeling like I've already been awake most of a day. I watch as you say you're a procrastinator which I have no doubt about, but you're full of so much energy. The going for a walk first as if you're going to work is a great thing I've been doing lately. Just need to do all the other stuff you mentioned haha! Cheers Christian. Stay Safe!
This has prompted me to realize that when I work from home, I tend to procrastinate on the household chores that I routinely see to before going to work at the studio. Clean the cat box, wash the breakfast dishes, take out the trash, etc. I need to buckle down and do those every morning before I sit down in my bedroom studio, like I would before heading out to work,
Cheers Christian, I've been working from home for the past two years - some of these tips are things I already do (and they work!) but others are great new practices to build into my work life. Plus the mental game stuff makes a lot of sense to me. The full list is a brilliant framework - I'll be coming back to this video a lot, I think.
I am a stay at home dad with a 4-year old . Man, watching this, and looking at this list of, what I would consider, the necessities of a successful workflow and environment. I find that I lay somewhere in between being a perpetrator of all of these rules to doing some of the things in a subconscious manner. But even then, I find that my wolf is a bit of a procrastinator and also just plain tired. Sometimes my wolf is just the fact that after my son, after my wife(our breadwinner) , there is an inch left that's just for me. It makes finding that perfect time to be productive and creative a massive undertaking. Trying to wake before everyone else or staying up later than everyone else and understanding that each choice has an equally weighty consequence attached to it. I find this somewhat crippling at times as I justify being too tired sometimes. "I'll get to it in the morning" . For the people I love, I will be there always, happily. But maybe, just maybe, the time has come for me to commit to myself a bit, for the sake of the career I want and have dreamed of since i was younger, for the sake of my sanity (I get a little sad or further embrace my solitude when I neglect the things I like). Perhaps in doing this I can be a bit better for the ones I love if I can love myself a bit more. Dammit, I've got some work to do. Sorry for the deepness! Thank you Christian.
Done a couple jobs where I worked at home a good chunk of the time (Combination of music production, video production, and graphic design). Usually would schedule days where I got specific projects done and that pattern usually didn't change very much. Getting that rhythm down was really helpful in keeping me sane and productive, as well as incorporating regular exercise and getting breaks in.
Wow! pretty deep stuff - especially the fear aspect to which I can relate. Thanks for sharing As for being active, I personally enjoy a few tai chi routines (Chen family style which is shorter than Yang style) and I found that I am a lot more focused afterwards.
I've been through the process of changing abruptly from company office to working at home and can identify with all of your points. My earliest attempts to work while sitting on the comfy couch using the big screen on which I enjoyed watching movies and music videos within view of the musical instruments that I enjoyed playing (recreationally, not professionally) was the worst possible workspace. Setting up a designated work area has been the only thing I've found that overcomes the absence of the commute-transition mind shift as you mentioned. edit: and yes while it doesn't seem essential to see people's faces, at least talking with people can't be replaced by simply pecking on keyboards.
These are great!! I'd say "To Do Lists" are huge! Whilst in a project it can help you stay organized and break things down into smaller chunks to not get overwhelmed. But especially useful when not in the midst of a project - I feel like when you want to sit down and be productive, and are at home but have no clear idea of what to do, and can't quite recall all those ideas you had at another time, it's great to be able to take a glance at your to do list and not waste that precious motivation and let it sink into procrastination and then into zombie social media scrolling only to emerge an hour later wondering where the time went (; - things like side projects, or those sampling ideas you may have had, or specific unfinished tracks you wanted to work on. I find having to try and sort through all of the things you wanted to do at times like that tend to use up a lot of energy, sometimes ends up feeling overwhelming, and can also make it hard to decide what's most important. If you already organized and decided what's most important on your list, you can just dive in when you're ready to dive in! I personally love modular to do lists (I've been using the Task app on android). I love when you can constantly move and reorganize things to keep the lists accessible and current, and be able to adjust titles or split a list into two to make it more relevant. If you have an "immediate" list and then realize there's something on there that's not so immediate, or is an ongoing thing, it helps to be able to move it to another list, and to reorder things as situations change etc.
Thinking about what you need to do can be harder than doing it. Splitting up the "thinking about what you want/need to do" from the "doing it" portion helps! Spend the energy thinking about it, deciding what's important at one time - write it down and organize it. Then when you're ready to work, you don't need to think about it, you just dive in and do it, with a clear plan and one step at a time (: makes it more manageable!
I'm surprised by how many of these things I already do, and unsurprised how guilty I feel of all the things I *do* do anyways. Also, that caramel flan made me hungry!
Christian, thanks loads for this video. It really hit "home" (sorry!). As s school teacher I often have to work AT home, but I have never in my life worked FROM home. Now I'm going to have to do just that, and the prospect was terrifying - until I watched this. So much of what of have said makes sense to me and I am going to take careful note and apply some of your method to my own practice over the next few weeks, and see what happens. I am new to all this, but the circumstances mean that I am forced into it - like everyone else! Thanks loads for your words of wisdom. Much appreciated.
My situation is a bit peculiar, in that I find I am most creative when making music on the couch, in bed or any place I find comfortable. I think for me, it helps ease the pressure of proof and fear by creating a sort of nonchalant environment in which I feel free to do the work I have to complete anyway. I have had plenty of writers block working in big studios but never in bed. haha.
Great Tips!!! It occurs to me to add, the important thing to stand up in that break (every 45min), and above all to exercise some slight stretching of the arms for example; to rest the hand on the door frame by raising the arm at shoulder height and turning the body in the opposite direction. In this way you will loosen and relax the tension in the area of the humerus and the tendons of the forearm. This is important because also when sitting the spine is overcome downwards carrying the lumbar and the use of the mouse has the effects of tendinitis if we do not stop using it from time to time (I strongly recommend to go to the track ball) If you have any doubts, try taking a postural re-education class or Alexander technique (used by many musicians who spend hours sitting down with the instrument)
You need to know when to walk away. As soon as frustration, anxiety, self-doubt level escalate or you stuck in a place you do't want to - walk away for 10 min. Get outside if you cn. Works every time. Loved this, @christianhensonmusic. Thanks.
This is my favorite RUclips Channel, Christian! If I dare, a vlog request! A conversation with Ben Fosket, orchestral lessons from sampling instruments. On the other hand, I remember you mentioned the importance of recording some live instruments in your productions. While I’d love to, and also agree that recording live musicians is like going from digital to analog, with very short budgets can be challenging. I’m currently working on a movie with very little budget. I’d love to record some live strings. The schedule is very tight, so I’d probably have to hire an orchestrator to help me out to produce the parts. I wonder what % of the budget you try to save for that item, and if you’ve a bottom line where you say: “I’d take this job, but for this budget I can only sequence virtual instruments”. Thanks for your thoughts and keep the great work!
Number 2 really hit home. I let a former business partner get too close to the point he nearly destroyed my mental health. Distancing was the very best thing to do. Thanks for mentioning ❤️
Thank you again Christian for another very inspiring video! I'm writing from Italy and the situation, as you surely know, is quite "complicated" here: I'll work on your tips during this period!
#1 was the most insightful for me. I think I've been heading in this direction but the point about boundaries vs. valves was really something I needed to hear. Si yu'us ma'åse
Dear Christian, apart from being a huge fan of Spitfire (except for some older stuff that really sucks...hahaha) I appreciate everything you´re sharing here.
Some Really Get tips , I guess a lot of them I do. I don't really watch TV, but Goal planning is my big problem. I've been doing music for 17 years as hobbyist, I learned a lot about structure in music, songs, lyrics and poem.i used the quote "Shakespeares was great because he mastered the sonnet", I guess I need a self structure plan.Plus When working with others ,people ask me to collaborate , You just want to get things done , it sometime weight on my mind and stop me for doing my own self, you get a lot of time waster at my level. Thank you
Those 10 dont's Christian have suddenly, immediately, surprisingly, increasingly altered the way I will wake up tomorrow and go to my rabbit hole studio to write music. Thank you. Been there, done that (doing still?).
Christian, your channel and content is amazing! Speaking of #pianoday, a question I hope you want to answer, even though it might be the most basic thing of all you could weigh in on; how would you go about learning piano for improvising and composing, if you should start today? At the tender age of 32, after playing in rock bands for some years, mostly doing original material, and never getting into music theory and outside of jamming in the rehearsal space with great musicians, I want to get into doing my own material, also for my business as a graphic designer where I really feel the video/filmmaking part slowly taking a bigger role. I know how to work a DAW and record guitar, bass and vocals, and do some rough mixing of that. I also know how to do midi programming, but it’s a tedious process that takes the spontaneity out of composing, because I go too much in to the details, too soon in the composing part. Seeing you clamping away on the keys is really inspiring, and I see that as the next step to up my game. Sorry for the long rant, but I hope you have some great input, beside the obvious “practice, practice and more practice”. Thanks in advance! 🤘
I’ve worked for myself, from home, for about 13 years. My top tip - don’t do “busy work”. Meaning, if you have nothing genuinely productive to do, then don’t just sit at your desk and fanny about! Either do productive work at your desk, or do something else, somewhere else.
I’m a reformed smoker... and I still take frequent breaks. To just sit outside with coffee or to take a quick walk... anything to break up the work day and give my mind time to reset. I realized that was the big appeal *of* smoking for me. The hard excuse to just stop for a moment. You don’t need to wreck your health to do it, just insist on breaks (assuming you’re your own boss ;)
Thanks for tips. Some of these things I've learnt some I haven't and continue to struggle with. I'm wondering what exercise you do? I think its vital for being productive and creative.
Now you've raised the ultimate question about concentration and motivation....I am motivated to concentrate on that pipe T/vice thing on the left side of your desk. I thought I watched all your videos including when you brought those yellow people in to rewire but never noticed it. I can't work again until I know what that bench was originally intended for. Cobbler? Welder? Luthier? Medieval torture device? Witch deviner? World's first noise gate? Clamping limiter? Or is it just Beethoven's original music stand? Am I close?
Wanna try working in a call centre where you get 2 10 min breaks a day and have to 'Clock' when you go to the loo..... Not knocking BTW, just the way my life is and then I come home and play scales on my Guitar or write something in Cakewalk.... great !
Hi Christian, I submitted a video dor Piano Book Day, it's a bit continuous, I could record some bangs on the piano with mallets if we still have time…
Excellent tips, except I can’t agree about the telephone. It’s the most hideous form of communication ever created. I think I’m telephone-phobic. Not keen on email either. Face to face or send a letter. 😊 Also - I'd LOVE to see the out-takes from the food drop sequence!
The two B's - browsers and boundaries. Turn off your browsers and establish your boundaries i.e. between these times I am working and not available. Also good to go on aeroplane mode then too. Lastly, the discipline to do this every day which I still need to work on.
As a hobbyist musician, my music is just for me, if others like it then great, I'm certain that the pressure of having to please a client would strike utter fear in me so I'm glad I'm just a small amateur.
Regarding the idea of sketching out your work for the next day at the end of your day, comedian Al Franken refers to that as "Parking your car facing downhill." That ensures that the next day, you've left yourself something obvious to do that helps you slip into your day. ;)
Hi Christian, I have a question about the Kontrol M32 you said you've been using in your mobile rig. Has it been updated to assign the pitch strip to any cc and to function as intended instead of returning to center position? Thanks
Well I am late for this. I so wanted to do this but I had other matters to attend to, thankfully related to music. I will be uploading something tomorrow regardless and I hope this project turns completely epic.
Best practice is to understand that your not a machine and being a human being with mush emotions as a composer is okay at times. If we wasn’t emotional or an ass at times our work would reflects it we won’t be composers anymore. Therefore, learn more about yourself and what makes you mad, sad and happy so you can focus on things that make you happy and work on the things that makes you mad and sad. One thing I have learned is to not over think things too much which holds me back from completing assignments at there due dates, procrastination is never no ones friend. However, good diets and exercise which allows you to pour your emotions onto your exercise routines then, that allows your to be more humble for me anyways. Overall, do things for other people that would fill the gaps of feeling wanted and loved by people because at times you don’t get it from the individuals you think you should get it from and love what you do because it allows you to be who you are in the end of the day. #Spitfire #Roomtherapy, #lovetobeloved,andhatetohate #noC-19 Thank you,
I am a programmer by profession. Most people don't consider it a creative profession but it is. I am creating something from nothing purely from my own thoughts. Over the last 20 years I have had all of these issues and have come to my own ways of grappling with them. Good points one and all. But I still, every once in a while, break the PYJAMA rule. Hehe, not all the time, but once in a while it is a reward for working hard so just not have to get dressed for it.
I work with Windows, so I don't know if this is possible on OS X. On my music computer I have hidden the Taskbar, so I have to move the mouse to the bottom of the screen, in order to get it shown. The primary goal of this was to hide the clock. Yeah, it's nice to know that there's 10 minutes to whatever is happening, but having the clock visible only distracted me from working on my music. I don't have a problem with taking 2-5 minute stand up/stretch breaks every hour or so, but perhaps having the clock shown is nice for people that are bad at taking breaks.
Been composing full time 5 yrs now. My tip is all about focusing for the first 2 hrs of day: Start focused = easy to continue focused. Start unfocused & distracted = continue unfocused & distracted.
yes this is very true, but can still be inverted if you are aware of being distracted
My Mrs always snarls when I set an early alarm, put on a shirt just to sit in the spare bedroom. I get it 100% if we don't think we are at work we aren't going to get shit done. I got to the point in my first few years were I had to sign in on a time sheet to log my time or I'd just be a truant little shit.
ha ha ha ha!!!
Timesheet! Fuuuuck... that's genius! In my previous life as an IT contractor, I didn't get paid if I didn't log my hours. Maybe I need to bring back the timesheets to trick my monkey brain.
I’m crying; thanks so much, Christian. You really hit the nail on the head there so I don’t need to start going to therapy to see what’s going on with me just yet! I’ve lost my inertia over the past year despite being accomplished on paper as I had a terrible couple of years doing something I hated and quit to channel my music qualifications into composing and did a cert course and summer course last year to get started. Since then, I’ve been scoring indie films that are going into festivals, but whilst I’m normally hardworking as both a composer and self-employed teacher, I find in everything I do, even in my personal life, over the past year it takes a great deal of effort to complete tasks. However, once I get going, I’m as happy as a clam. Working for yourself can be quite isolating, so I’m considering changing-up the day by having a chat with friends every evening and making a habit of going for a walk in the morning (living by the sea, it’s a good excuse). I convinced myself that I’m an introvert but I’m truthfully an extroverted creative so even though I’m in that limbo between being despondent and productive, I’m going to make a habit of using your tips and even physically meet-up with directors every time they want to discuss certain things so that I can get back to my exuberant self and start to enjoy life and get out of that blue funk. Looking forward to getting back to the next short film on my roster on Monday because of this video. Thanks again and stay safe xoxo
I'd just add: good inputs! Avoid news, negative inputs coming from social media... you talk about physical fitness: mental hygiene/fitness is equally important. Read/take in inspiring/enriching books, podcasts, and videos (like this one!) to get your head and heart fitted right. Mental fitness is also important in the long-term, to deal with the inevitable ups and downs of our business and work.
So true! Thank you for, maybe obvious advice, but I needed to read that. Thank you!
@@thobraa Glad it resonated. And yea, totally 101 level stuff, of course... kind of like saying "you should start taking regular walks" vs. "here's how to run an ultra-marathon" :)
@@AdrianEllis I get caught up in the world and especially in these days with virus and all... Sometimes it becomes too much. Taking care of mental hygiene is so important! Some are better at it than others, myself I sometimes forget. And what you wrote was just what I needed to be reminded of. I massively cut down on looking for negativity to feed on from social media today. Soon enough I will forget and be at it again lol :)
How kind and thoughtful of you to put this video together. It confirms my experience: musicians are often the most compassionate people you will find. Thanks, Christian.
Great thoughts Christian! I've found "Eat the Frog" a good principle - digging around your subconscious to find the thing you're avoiding > tackle that first. It's usually not half as bad as imagined. Then the Pomodoro technique (working in 25min bursts with 5min break). Keep vlogging & working well :-)
I've found your work ethic quite inspiring for a while, to be honest. I noticed about a year ago that you upload at 4am quite regularly and it's part of the drive for me to work hard knowing that there'll always be someone outworking me if I start slacking . I love small routines (like elevenses, don't laugh) and how they help me break up the day into bite-size chunks, and love my planner which is constantly open on the desk in front of me, normally always with lists of things to be done each day.
Fantastic, thank you, Christian. I've been working as a full-time musician from home for the past 7 years, I wholeheartedly agree with this list! Great to be reminded.
All great advice that I also follow. I have a way of setting a timer for 90-min to concentrate and work on a cue. After that 90-min if I am not done with that cue, I move on to the next one, then come back to the first one the next day (action cue take me a few days). After the 90-min-- I stretch, eat, surf the net, walk the dog, whatever, basically a "reward to myself"--- however I do watch my next scene before I break so my brain is thinking of it and hopefully processing the next musical puzzle to solve.
BTW spoke to Bernard Herrmann's daughter recently about how her father's day was (I erroneously heard he was a night owl) apparently he was a very early morning worker who took many many naps during the day and was done by dinner time. Naps are good thing too.
Excellent advice here Christian, not stuff you would ever get from a formal music education through a college, but advice that I wish I had heard a long time ago.
Thank you Christian. This was was from the heart and your concern and love for your audience is real.
My situation at the moment is basically a hobbyist. I can't really work at the moment as I am looking after my 92 yrs old mum. I can't really leave her alone for long periods of the day.
Hence I have all day every day to write music lol.
That would probably be the ideal situation for a media composer I suppose.
Although composing music is so much fun, it can get a bit much even without deadlines.
Watching films and playing video games is my other hobbies and of course the internet but all on different screens and rooms.
Getting out the house is probably the most important part even just to go for walks to get fresh air.
When I was married, that was a totally different situ and I had to balance what I enjoyed doing with my wife and stepson (at the time)
It just all depends on what your situation is at this point of time in your life.
Great video. I know so many music producers that moan about their productivity and mental state yet do nothing to change that
HI ! I don't get why this has not more view !
About procrastination, fear, and not finishing stuff that could easely be finished :
I noticed (as a teacher, and also by analysing myself) that lot's of people are actually affraid of "failure" : affraid of beeing judged by people ;
so, by never finishing work and never releasing your music, you stay in a never ending state of travelling through creation, and avoid the destination purposely, on a sub conscious level ;
Glad you are back on this channel, this is by far one of my favourite youtube channel about production, love your video and your insight !!!
I am stunned right now. The topics you talked about here are those I was working out for myself the last weeks. I Do not fully understand the concept of the "fear of abandonment" though ... I can absolutely feel what you mean until you talk about loosing the person "not wanting you to be successful" although it makes total sense to me. I can not grab it fully. Thank you for organizing the points here.
I'm terrible at keeping those boundaries. If someone wants my attention I just pause whatever I'm doing. I'm way too flexible and as a result I'm not as productive as I'd like. Doing chores and maintaining relationships is important as well, but since going freelance and working from home I tend to use my working hours to do these things. And then there's the pressure to quit early (like a normal human bean). Every creative person trying to do their own thing should read The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. The struggle is real. Love your inspiring videos Christian, keep it up!
i know you touched this on some earlier videos but it would be interesting to know how you schedule your day or week if you have multiple projects.
I could not have heard anything more beneficial in lockdown days, You are a gift not only composers Love you man!
Thanks Christian. I find a tidy up before I start clears my head and prepares me for the day/session. I believe it comes from working in studios where you are always ready to receive the artists / customer into the space and want to make a good impression and also ready to operate . When I was lucky enough to find myself in my early career in a great studio I saw it as a magical space where dreaming and sharing ideas happened. It’s a head space I still adhere to and mostly achieve. Thanks for the tips . All very very familiar. Stay Safe . Pepper .
i once watched (or read somewhere can`t remember) ... Vince Clarke used to get up and drive round to his cabin studio (located 100 mtrs away from his house) so he felt like he was going to work and then drove back at the end of the day .. i thought at the time how brilliant that was !!....
"Cubbying away in a small dark space". Smeagol??
Thank you so much for this effort. You're a good bloke!
I’ve worked from home for 12 years, my wife for ten years. Where possible work in different rooms. But also agree times for a coffee break and for lunch. My wife and I basically do the equivalent of meeting in the brew room mid morning and then for lunch for 40 minutes.
I watch a bunch of videos about this, and yours is by far the most insightful ; thank you, cheers from Paris :) !
A very good list! For many years I was a freelancer working mostly at home, then I got a full time job in a regular office and with the pandemic I’m now back working in home office all day. In my experience most of Christian’s golden rules are really important. Especially separating your private and your work life is essential. Don’t work in the same room you are normally living in, if you don’t have to. Dress up, take a walk before starting, do coffee or cigarette brakes, that all really helps. Otherwise you find yourself either never ending your work day or never getting really started. In the end it is all about tricking yourself out a little bit, so that your work doesn’t effect your private life and the other around. And I think, this is not only a thing, when you’re doing creative work. But especially if your job contains creative stuff, those kind of rules protect you and keep your mind fresh and healthy.
When I sit down to begin a project, I always have a rough idea of where it will go, but I don't start straight away. I have a set of fingering and chord exercises that I restrict myself to. As I play through them, I can feel the juices rising until I am free from the boundary I set. Only then do I allow myself to play meaningfully to fulfill the project. Sometimes the exercises springboard the first notes of my next tune.
Watching this at my 'work' desk next to my bed in my socks haha. Cheers Christian, all of this is a massive problem of mine generally. This workspace is where I also browse the net, watch hours of RUclips, constantly tweak project templates and faff around with photo edits etc etc. Massive procrastinator. For me the laziness part is more one of energy and drive with life long effects of previous illness I feel lethargic 24 7. I live feeling like I've already been awake most of a day. I watch as you say you're a procrastinator which I have no doubt about, but you're full of so much energy. The going for a walk first as if you're going to work is a great thing I've been doing lately. Just need to do all the other stuff you mentioned haha! Cheers Christian. Stay Safe!
Regarding the dressing for work idea, I keep toying with the idea of getting a laboratory coat similar to the ones early audio engineers used to wear.
This has prompted me to realize that when I work from home, I tend to procrastinate on the household chores that I routinely see to before going to work at the studio. Clean the cat box, wash the breakfast dishes, take out the trash, etc. I need to buckle down and do those every morning before I sit down in my bedroom studio, like I would before heading out to work,
Cheers Christian, I've been working from home for the past two years - some of these tips are things I already do (and they work!) but others are great new practices to build into my work life. Plus the mental game stuff makes a lot of sense to me. The full list is a brilliant framework - I'll be coming back to this video a lot, I think.
I am a stay at home dad with a 4-year old . Man, watching this, and looking at this list of, what I would consider, the necessities of a successful workflow and environment. I find that I lay somewhere in between being a perpetrator of all of these rules to doing some of the things in a subconscious manner. But even then, I find that my wolf is a bit of a procrastinator and also just plain tired. Sometimes my wolf is just the fact that after my son, after my wife(our breadwinner) , there is an inch left that's just for me. It makes finding that perfect time to be productive and creative a massive undertaking. Trying to wake before everyone else or staying up later than everyone else and understanding that each choice has an equally weighty consequence attached to it. I find this somewhat crippling at times as I justify being too tired sometimes. "I'll get to it in the morning" . For the people I love, I will be there always, happily. But maybe, just maybe, the time has come for me to commit to myself a bit, for the sake of the career I want and have dreamed of since i was younger, for the sake of my sanity (I get a little sad or further embrace my solitude when I neglect the things I like). Perhaps in doing this I can be a bit better for the ones I love if I can love myself a bit more. Dammit, I've got some work to do. Sorry for the deepness!
Thank you Christian.
Done a couple jobs where I worked at home a good chunk of the time (Combination of music production, video production, and graphic design). Usually would schedule days where I got specific projects done and that pattern usually didn't change very much. Getting that rhythm down was really helpful in keeping me sane and productive, as well as incorporating regular exercise and getting breaks in.
This was an amazing video. The part about 'The Wolf' was really insightful and really resonates with me and how I feel. Thank you.
Wow! pretty deep stuff - especially the fear aspect to which I can relate. Thanks for sharing
As for being active, I personally enjoy a few tai chi routines (Chen family style which is shorter than Yang style) and I found that I am a lot more focused afterwards.
Hmm, nice pyjamas... From totally locked down, chilly and eerily quiet Ireland! ☘️💪🏽👀👍🏽☘️
This style of music and recording has given me a new found excitement and enthusiasm..Thanks!
I've been through the process of changing abruptly from company office to working at home and can identify with all of your points. My earliest attempts to work while sitting on the comfy couch using the big screen on which I enjoyed watching movies and music videos within view of the musical instruments that I enjoyed playing (recreationally, not professionally) was the worst possible workspace. Setting up a designated work area has been the only thing I've found that overcomes the absence of the commute-transition mind shift as you mentioned.
edit: and yes while it doesn't seem essential to see people's faces, at least talking with people can't be replaced by simply pecking on keyboards.
These are great!! I'd say "To Do Lists" are huge! Whilst in a project it can help you stay organized and break things down into smaller chunks to not get overwhelmed. But especially useful when not in the midst of a project - I feel like when you want to sit down and be productive, and are at home but have no clear idea of what to do, and can't quite recall all those ideas you had at another time, it's great to be able to take a glance at your to do list and not waste that precious motivation and let it sink into procrastination and then into zombie social media scrolling only to emerge an hour later wondering where the time went (; - things like side projects, or those sampling ideas you may have had, or specific unfinished tracks you wanted to work on. I find having to try and sort through all of the things you wanted to do at times like that tend to use up a lot of energy, sometimes ends up feeling overwhelming, and can also make it hard to decide what's most important. If you already organized and decided what's most important on your list, you can just dive in when you're ready to dive in!
I personally love modular to do lists (I've been using the Task app on android). I love when you can constantly move and reorganize things to keep the lists accessible and current, and be able to adjust titles or split a list into two to make it more relevant. If you have an "immediate" list and then realize there's something on there that's not so immediate, or is an ongoing thing, it helps to be able to move it to another list, and to reorder things as situations change etc.
Thinking about what you need to do can be harder than doing it. Splitting up the "thinking about what you want/need to do" from the "doing it" portion helps! Spend the energy thinking about it, deciding what's important at one time - write it down and organize it. Then when you're ready to work, you don't need to think about it, you just dive in and do it, with a clear plan and one step at a time (: makes it more manageable!
I love the honesty I sense in your videos Christian, thank you very much. :)
I'm surprised by how many of these things I already do, and unsurprised how guilty I feel of all the things I *do* do anyways.
Also, that caramel flan made me hungry!
Thanks Christian, I'm a programmer by trade and it looks like i'll be working from home until who knows when. Found this really helpful.
Christian, thanks loads for this video. It really hit "home" (sorry!). As s school teacher I often have to work AT home, but I have never in my life worked FROM home. Now I'm going to have to do just that, and the prospect was terrifying - until I watched this. So much of what of have said makes sense to me and I am going to take careful note and apply some of your method to my own practice over the next few weeks, and see what happens. I am new to all this, but the circumstances mean that I am forced into it - like everyone else! Thanks loads for your words of wisdom. Much appreciated.
My situation is a bit peculiar, in that I find I am most creative when making music on the couch, in bed or any place I find comfortable. I think for me, it helps ease the pressure of proof and fear by creating a sort of nonchalant environment in which I feel free to do the work I have to complete anyway. I have had plenty of writers block working in big studios but never in bed. haha.
Great Tips!!!
It occurs to me to add, the important thing to stand up in that break (every 45min), and above all to exercise some slight stretching of the arms for example; to rest the hand on the door frame by raising the arm at shoulder height and turning the body in the opposite direction. In this way you will loosen and relax the tension in the area of the humerus and the tendons of the forearm.
This is important because also when sitting the spine is overcome downwards carrying the lumbar and the use of the mouse has the effects of tendinitis if we do not stop using it from time to time (I strongly recommend to go to the track ball)
If you have any doubts, try taking a postural re-education class or Alexander technique (used by many musicians who spend hours sitting down with the instrument)
You need to know when to walk away. As soon as frustration, anxiety, self-doubt level escalate or you stuck in a place you do't want to - walk away for 10 min. Get outside if you cn. Works every time.
Loved this, @christianhensonmusic. Thanks.
The last 10 sec are the best .... lol. Thanks Christian!
thank you Christian. great pointers, delivered as usual in such a resonating way.
Wow! Thnx for this video, it's VERY helpful and everything shoots exactly into an apple!
This is my favorite RUclips Channel, Christian! If I dare, a vlog request! A conversation with Ben Fosket, orchestral lessons from sampling instruments. On the other hand, I remember you mentioned the importance of recording some live instruments in your productions. While I’d love to, and also agree that recording live musicians is like going from digital to analog, with very short budgets can be challenging. I’m currently working on a movie with very little budget. I’d love to record some live strings. The schedule is very tight, so I’d probably have to hire an orchestrator to help me out to produce the parts. I wonder what % of the budget you try to save for that item, and if you’ve a bottom line where you say: “I’d take this job, but for this budget I can only sequence virtual instruments”. Thanks for your thoughts and keep the great work!
Number 2 really hit home. I let a former business partner get too close to the point he nearly destroyed my mental health. Distancing was the very best thing to do. Thanks for mentioning ❤️
Thank you again Christian for another very inspiring video! I'm writing from Italy and the situation, as you surely know, is quite "complicated" here: I'll work on your tips during this period!
The food drop was hilarious.
Simply great and applicable to any.
Some great tips there, Christian. Another fantastic video! 👍🏻
Great video as always. Some of these tips (and pitfalls) definitely hit home with me.
#1 was the most insightful for me. I think I've been heading in this direction but the point about boundaries vs. valves was really something I needed to hear. Si yu'us ma'åse
Use a cup holder on a mic stand is my addition. Thas all I'm sayin.. Also as a guitar player, I need valves AND boundaries! Solid points there.
I'm awaiting the vlog you mentioned at 0:57. Where is it? :) (Sorry, but I'm really excited about this project! :D)
Absolutely none of this applies to my work including the stay at home part but I was entertained watching this all the same!
Dear Christian,
apart from being a huge fan of Spitfire (except for some older stuff that really sucks...hahaha)
I appreciate everything you´re sharing here.
Some Really Get tips , I guess a lot of them I do. I don't really watch TV, but Goal planning is my big problem. I've been doing music for 17 years as hobbyist, I learned a lot about structure in music, songs, lyrics and poem.i used the quote "Shakespeares was great because he mastered the sonnet", I guess I need a self structure plan.Plus When working with others ,people ask me to collaborate , You just want to get things done , it sometime weight on my mind and stop me for doing my own self, you get a lot of time waster at my level. Thank you
Those 10 dont's Christian have suddenly, immediately, surprisingly, increasingly altered the way I will wake up tomorrow and go to my rabbit hole studio to write music. Thank you. Been there, done that (doing still?).
11:48... woah. That really hit home for me. Thank you
Amazing tips man, loved!!!
Christian, your channel and content is amazing! Speaking of #pianoday, a question I hope you want to answer, even though it might be the most basic thing of all you could weigh in on; how would you go about learning piano for improvising and composing, if you should start today? At the tender age of 32, after playing in rock bands for some years, mostly doing original material, and never getting into music theory and outside of jamming in the rehearsal space with great musicians, I want to get into doing my own material, also for my business as a graphic designer where I really feel the video/filmmaking part slowly taking a bigger role. I know how to work a DAW and record guitar, bass and vocals, and do some rough mixing of that. I also know how to do midi programming, but it’s a tedious process that takes the spontaneity out of composing, because I go too much in to the details, too soon in the composing part. Seeing you clamping away on the keys is really inspiring, and I see that as the next step to up my game.
Sorry for the long rant, but I hope you have some great input, beside the obvious “practice, practice and more practice”.
Thanks in advance! 🤘
I’ve worked for myself, from home, for about 13 years. My top tip - don’t do “busy work”. Meaning, if you have nothing genuinely productive to do, then don’t just sit at your desk and fanny about! Either do productive work at your desk, or do something else, somewhere else.
Brilliant video. I do most of these thing right because I did them wrong but caught on.
Man, number 1 is so true. It's like I don't respect myself if I'm trying to work in sweatpants.
I’m a reformed smoker... and I still take frequent breaks. To just sit outside with coffee or to take a quick walk... anything to break up the work day and give my mind time to reset. I realized that was the big appeal *of* smoking for me. The hard excuse to just stop for a moment. You don’t need to wreck your health to do it, just insist on breaks (assuming you’re your own boss ;)
Thanks for tips. Some of these things I've learnt some I haven't and continue to struggle with. I'm wondering what exercise you do? I think its vital for being productive and creative.
Thank you! It was very timely for me!
Excellent! informative & entertaining ...
Now you've raised the ultimate question about concentration and motivation....I am motivated to concentrate on that pipe T/vice thing on the left side of your desk. I thought I watched all your videos including when you brought those yellow people in to rewire but never noticed it. I can't work again until I know what that bench was originally intended for. Cobbler? Welder? Luthier? Medieval torture device? Witch deviner? World's first noise gate? Clamping limiter? Or is it just Beethoven's original music stand? Am I close?
Always dropping gold on us!
thank you for your observations
Thank you for making this.
This is brilliant. Thank you.
These are great. Love your pyjamas.
Thank you for this sir, you're making me kick myself in the ass and get shit done.
Quality advice mate.
Wanna try working in a call centre where you get 2 10 min breaks a day and have to 'Clock' when you go to the loo..... Not knocking BTW, just the way my life is and then I come home and play scales on my Guitar or write something in Cakewalk.... great !
Really helpful video thank you.
Thanks we love this project
Hi Christian, I submitted a video dor Piano Book Day, it's a bit continuous, I could record some bangs on the piano with mallets if we still have time…
Your pajamas are fancier than my evening wear. (I'm lying, I don't have evening wear.)
I have serious jimjam envy
Who wears pajamas??!
Excellent tips, except I can’t agree about the telephone. It’s the most hideous form of communication ever created. I think I’m telephone-phobic. Not keen on email either. Face to face or send a letter. 😊
Also - I'd LOVE to see the out-takes from the food drop sequence!
Right on!
Great insight!
This is amazing! Christian, the Mitchell & Webb video link says the video is "unavailable." Is this a regional thing? I'm in New York.
It's a segment from a BBC video production and I think that they (BBC) don't allow it to be viewed outside of the UK
I thought he's gonna lick that pudding off of the phone, and he did ))))
The two B's - browsers and boundaries. Turn off your browsers and establish your boundaries i.e. between these times I am working and not available. Also good to go on aeroplane mode then too. Lastly, the discipline to do this every day which I still need to work on.
As a hobbyist musician, my music is just for me, if others like it then great, I'm certain that the pressure of having to please a client would strike utter fear in me so I'm glad I'm just a small amateur.
Regarding the idea of sketching out your work for the next day at the end of your day, comedian Al Franken refers to that as "Parking your car facing downhill." That ensures that the next day, you've left yourself something obvious to do that helps you slip into your day. ;)
Hi Christian, I have a question about the Kontrol M32 you said you've been using in your mobile rig. Has it been updated to assign the pitch strip to any cc and to function as intended instead of returning to center position? Thanks
Dude I thought that was a dress shirt! Or is that your PJ's? Hahaha!
Well I am late for this. I so wanted to do this but I had other matters to attend to, thankfully related to music. I will be uploading something tomorrow regardless and I hope this project turns completely epic.
number 2 fear. wow. Thanks for that.
Best practice is to understand that your not a machine and being a human being with mush emotions as a composer is okay at times. If we wasn’t emotional or an ass at times our work would reflects it we won’t be composers anymore. Therefore, learn more about yourself and what makes you mad, sad and happy so you can focus on things that make you happy and work on the things that makes you mad and sad. One thing I have learned is to not over think things too much which holds me back from completing assignments at there due dates, procrastination is never no ones friend. However, good diets and exercise which allows you to pour your emotions onto your exercise routines then, that allows your to be more humble for me anyways. Overall, do things for other people that would fill the gaps of feeling wanted and loved by people because at times you don’t get it from the individuals you think you should get it from and love what you do because it allows you to be who you are in the end of the day. #Spitfire #Roomtherapy, #lovetobeloved,andhatetohate #noC-19
Thank you,
I am a programmer by profession. Most people don't consider it a creative profession but it is. I am creating something from nothing purely from my own thoughts. Over the last 20 years I have had all of these issues and have come to my own ways of grappling with them. Good points one and all. But I still, every once in a while, break the PYJAMA rule. Hehe, not all the time, but once in a while it is a reward for working hard so just not have to get dressed for it.
I work with Windows, so I don't know if this is possible on OS X. On my music computer I have hidden the Taskbar, so I have to move the mouse to the bottom of the screen, in order to get it shown. The primary goal of this was to hide the clock.
Yeah, it's nice to know that there's 10 minutes to whatever is happening, but having the clock visible only distracted me from working on my music. I don't have a problem with taking 2-5 minute stand up/stretch breaks every hour or so, but perhaps having the clock shown is nice for people that are bad at taking breaks.
6:48 - Me calling myself out in the mirror out of frustration.