Time Management Essentials to Build a Music Career

Never underestimate the power of adopting some basic workplace time management skills in your journey to become a successful professional musician. After all, you can’t create if you’re constantly scrambling for time. Follow these highly effective time management music industry tips to gain more time and make more progress.

1. Know and Maintain Your Gear

In any profession, you must be a master of your equipment. It’s so easy to waste hours fiddling with knobs and cables—hours that could be spent creating. Take the time to learn the ins and outs of every piece of gear you own so you can immediately get to work or troubleshoot if needed. You also need to be vigilant about taking care of your equipment and replacing components as needed.

2. Don’t Overbook Yourself

Sometimes having too much on your plate can work against you. Sure, having work at all is a blessing, and especially when you’re hustling to get noticed, it’s easy to get in the habit of accepting anything that comes your way. However, too much work can lead to rushed, shoddy results, and that means no work in the future. It’s better to do a few things well rather than many things poorly. One important time management skill in the workplace is to select the work that will most advance your career and that you can complete excellently; politely decline anything else. Focus on quality over quantity.

3. Recognize When to Outsource

One of the most important time management music industry tips is that sometimes you’re not going to be able to handle everything yourself, and that’s okay. Collaborations are huge in the music industry, and many of your favorite artists’ tracks feature guest musicians, even if they’re not always credited. Delegation is one of the most essential time management skills in the workplace.

4. List Your Priorities and Work in That Order

As a musician, it’s easy to focus on whatever is most fun in the moment. And while impromptu inspiration is fantastic at times, sometimes you need to sit down and focus on the most important tasks. Keep a list of things you want to accomplish and number them in order of importance. Stick to working in that order, then move on once you’ve crossed a task off the list.

5. Make Big Moves

Nearly every musician starts at the bottom. You’re not always going to be able to be picky about your work, but at the same time, don’t sell yourself short. One of the most critical time management skills in the workplace is knowing when to say no. If you feel like your time could be better spent in other ways, spend that time planning a bigger move. Time is valuable, so value your time.

It’s Time to Enroll at 1500 Sound Academy

Out of all of the time management music industry tips, easily the best one is to start your career off right with a solid foundation. You can’t get to the top if you don’t put the work in, and that means honing your craft at a professional level. We offer On-Campus, Live Online, and On-Demand courses available, so what are you waiting for? Now is the time to embrace time management skills in the workplace and make every second count. Enroll today.