Who Stole Your Time?

Hi there,

Most people I speak to in the music industry are incredibly busy - most are running around like headless chickens trying to fit everything into their hectic working lives. When I ask about time for a personal life, most just laugh and say "what personal life?" Or "time - what's that? - I don't have any!" Can you relate to this? Are you working in the industry and find that you have little or no time for anything other than work?

Below are some typical scenarios that my clients tell me they are dealing with in terms of the use of their time - you can probably add to them!

Artists have priorities around writing, rehearsing, recording, performing, touring, publicity, looking good, keeping fit etc. This equates to exhausting schedules and even more so if you are an unsigned artist who also has a day job to perform or if you are a student who has school or college work too.

Session musicians often have to juggle different aspects of their music careers, such as session work, teaching, touring with bands et al. Because their income is usually irregular they dare not say "No" to work and take on too much and find themselves totally drained of energy.

Artist Managers have a major role in looking after their artist(s) and their interests - liaising and negotiating between the artist and the record companies and all those involved in realising the artist's music career. This role very often becomes a 24/7 one and as such managers endure a massive amount of pressure.

I could go on but you get the drift….each role in the music industry seems to have issues of 'time' - or rather the lack of it! And with this kind of schedule, where is the time for a personal life?

This scenario is concerning because of the stress it causes within individuals if these gruelling schedules continue for any sustained length of time (there's that word again!). This stress can, not only affect your physical state, but also your mental health too.

How? Well physically, you may suffer with minor ailments, or feel completely worn out or lacking in energy - coming down with one cold after another or even spots, for example. Mentally, you may feel low or even depressed and find that your concentration goes when you're singing, playing your guitar etc and generally your performance becomes poor. You can also become moody and snappy with the people around you (see last month's newsletter about being a Mardy Bum!).

All in all, the stress and pressures of your extreme workloads will take its toll on you in some form or other if you don't look after yourself. This is not desirable in an industry where artists, particularly, are required to look good and perform well. It is also not good for those of you who are working in supporting roles around the artist - as you are relied upon to be available at all times for your expertise.

Despite a number of people in the music industry intellectually knowing the above, they still feel they can't afford to take time out for themselves, that there is not enough time in the day to do everything in their work, never mind anything personal. However there are some people in the industry who have worked with me, who have realised that this state of being is a false economy! They have realised that having to take time out for being ill is not the way to succeed in their music career and that they have a choice and can create a balanced lifestyle within their careers that enables them to perform consistently well - still undertaking a large schedule, but in a more effective way.

How have they done that? They have invested some of their time in working through the Tips below and with the results have created a balanced lifestyle that energises them, nurtures their creativity and caters for the other interests in their life. They tell me "prevention is better than the cure!" And that 'time' doesn't seem to be an issue for them anymore.

I hope that you will invest an hour of your time to go through the tips below to help you gain a balanced, fulfilled and successful career and life in the music industry:

Tip 1: Take time out - to look at what time you have available. You only have a finite amount of time to fill each day - take a typical day and check out what time you get up and go to bed. This will obviously vary depending if you are out gigging frequently or on tour etc. But work out essentially how many hours you have available to you each day.

Tip 2: List your priorities - for your career and your personal life and don't forget to add eating and sleeping to one of those lists (!) Yes these are a priority in the self-care stakes - you cannot function for very long without them!

Tip 3: Create a timetable - be logical with your timetabling, look at what you need to do each day/week/month - where there is no flexibility - for instance, you may be a music student and have specific lectures each day, or you may have specific deadlines - fit these into your schedule first and then start filling in the gaps - but before you do this, check out Tip 4 to make sure that you allow for balance!

Tip 4: Keep a balance - between work and play within your timetable. Unless you have this balance you are in great danger of burning out. You all have a large amount of priorities to fit into your timetable, but unless you maintain some of your own space to do you, you will not be a happy or fulfilled artist, musician, manager, producer etc.

Tip 5: Saying "No" - is not easy! But sometimes you have to say "No" to enable you to say "Yes" to something else. It's all about choice - your choice to live a balanced lifestyle within your music career. Make sure that you make the right choice for you at any given time and so long as you say "No" in a kind way to others, they won't hate you for it!

Tip 6: Live it! - live your new lifestyle and don't let it slip - or you will find that you are a martyr to 'time' once more!

A great deal of my coaching work in the music industry is based around work/life balance - and gaining a decent one! If you are battling with the issue of reclaiming or managing your time, please contact me for a free consultation to discuss how I can help you. You may also want to check out the free Balance Report on my website for more detailed guidance.

With very best wishes,

Bravura Group
helping you brave the music industry

http://www.bravura-group.com

t: 01246 231 249 / 0845 456 460
e: lindsey@bravura-group.com

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I work with signed and unsigned artists and personnel working in the Music Industry who want to become more productive, creative and ultimately more successful in their music careers, whilst enjoying a more enriched, fulfilling and balanced personal life.

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