The Best Tips For Effective Time and File Management
If you're a producer and want to make the best use of your time when creating music, there are a few key things that you can do to help with time management. If taken seriously, the following tips can highly increase your productivity:
Make a categorized list
Make a list of everything you do in your production business. This could be making beats, uploading beats, sending emails, uploading on YouTube and Instagram, etc. Once you have everything listed out, put them into three different categories. The first category is for things that you have to do that no one else can do in your production business. Examples of this include making beats and creating videos where you have to show up on camera. The second category is for things that you can automate. Examples here include scheduling emails and social media content out in advance. You can achieve these things through apps such as Hootsuite and Preview. Another example is automating the beat buying process - we do that for you. When an artist purchases a beat, everything is automated from getting a receipt for the purchase to receiving the relevant files. The third category is for things that you don't have to do, but also things that technology can't quite do the best. These are best outsourced to people who specialize in the particular field. Examples include hiring someone to optimize your YouTube videos and hiring a freelancer to create artwork and graphics for your releases. You can use services such as upwork.com and fiverr.com to find people who will meet your needs.
Create a weekly schedule
After you’re finished creating your fully categorized list, it's time to create a consistent weekly schedule. For example, Monday through Wednesday you can focus on music production including creating music for TV/film and for artists. On Thursday, you can hone in on marketing. This can be learning new things about marketing and scheduling out emails. On Friday, you can round up any tasks you didn’t get around to and handle financial matters pertaining to your business. Keep in mind, this is just an example and you should adjust your schedule to whatever works for you. By having a weekly schedule, you can ensure that you’re not neglecting any part of your business because there are specific days dedicated for everything you want to accomplish.
Batching tasks together & project management
A helpful tip for time management is batching tasks together. For example, if you're creating videos for YouTube, you might as well knock out multiple videos in one session versus setting up all over again the next day. Similarly, if you dedicate a particular day to music production and already set up your keyboard and DAW, it may be worth aiming to knock out as many beats as possible in one sitting. The last thing you want to do is waste precious time that could be better spent doing something else important. As you start taking on more projects and have a lot of tasks at hand, you’ll highly benefit from using a project management app or software. Apps such as Asana, Monday, and Trello will allow you to visualize and manage the things going on in your production business better.
As a producer, you’re managing a lot of files and it’s essential that you stay organized so that you can access them whenever they’re needed. You also want to make sure you back up your files in case your computer or hard drive crashes. In the video linked above, our very own Clint goes over file management and provides you with examples of how you can set up your computer/sessions for optimal success.
