Dear Destroyx: Motivation, Focus, Planning

I get quite a few emails every week asking me for advice on various topics from fashion, design, music and life in general. Many of these questions are quite common in theme, so I thought it would be helpful to actually answer these on the blog so that my reply can help more people. So if you have any questions for me, please direct them to me at amelia @ destroyx.com. I can’t promise that I will answer every single one, but I will do my best to assist as many people as possible.

The first question I’m going to answer is a pertinent one for those embarking on new projects and challenges for the new year. I received this question from a fellow musician and artist.

“How do you do it? How do you remain so focused and bring your ideas into fruition? As a fellow artist, I really struggle with this. My mind has a tendency to wander between so many different things at such a high rate and I find it incredibly difficult to stay focused on one thing long enough to realise what I set out to do. It’s partly due to the fact there are so many things I’d like to explore creatively (however, my main area is music) but also partly because, for some reason, I can’t seem to find the power to go for what I really want. I always come up with excuses like ‘I don’t know how to do that’, ‘I don’t have enough money for that’ or ‘I don’t have enough time to do that’, when, really, I could probably find another way around it. I don’t know what’s holding me back…. I guess what I’m asking is: how do you stay so organised and focused, how do you go about planning things, how do you stay motivated? What are your methods?”

This is a great question because for me personally it’s something that I am constantly working on and struggling with myself as a multidisciplinary artist.

Figure out your motivation and write some goals

Strong motivation will come from inner passion for the project that you want to do. The first thing that you have to figure out is what you want to achieve. If you find motivation is your problem, it could be that your goal is not aligned with what you really want to do.

It is crucial to stay focused. It is natural to be attracted to many forms of creativity and it’s a good thing to want to explore widely. I’m interested in everything from music, design, styling, art and business and I believe it’s an advantage to have a multidisciplinary approach to things. However I also have experienced that it is quite difficult to multi task and I often find myself drowning in a sea of half finished ideas. From my personal experience, I’ve found that it is easier to focus on one thing at a time initially, until you get a handle on how to execute projects to completion.

Once you figure out what you want to achieve, set yourself a goal that will be completed within a specific time frame. It is no use saying ‘I’d like to make some music’ without having a future plan for the music. I find that if you have something to work towards, it really pulls you into action. For example you might say, in 6 months I’m going to have a 6 track EP written, mastered and pressed. You might want to book yourself some shows in 3 months time at a local club. You might want to enter an art competition or try to get into a local art group show. Setting deadlines is something that I always do, without it, things just don’t get done. I find that setting an incredibly ambitious or seemingly impossible deadline is even more helpful because it challenges you to work outside of your comfort zone and encourages you to better yourself. Deadlines are really your friend and can motivate you to achieve your dreams.

Write a production plan

An example of one of my ongoing production plans

Now that you have your finite, measurable goals, the next thing you’ll want to do is to come up with a schedule for how you will actually execute the plan. I like to call this a production plan or action plan. Often I use Excel or Google Docs spreadsheet to do this. What you will want to do is to outline the steps you will need to undertake to complete the goal, and allocate appropriate amounts of time to each task. When you complete each task, mark it off on the spreadsheet. I like to structure my action plans by the week, but for longer projects you might do it by the month.

For example here is a mini plan for an imaginary 6 track EP.

• Month 1: Brainstorm lyrics and song concepts.
• Month 2: Write initial drafts of the songs
• Month 3: Develop songs and lyrics
• Month 4: Record final songs, mix and produce them
• Month 5: Finalise songs, get CD mastered and work on CD artwork
• Month 6: Get CD manufactured and work on publicity.

The good thing about doing this is that you can see the path which you are going to take laid out for you. You aren’t going to worry about juggling too many tasks at the one time and get hopelessly overwhelmed by doing too many things at the one time. The plan will probably change over time and that’s expected, but writing an overall plan is extremely important so that you can understand the scope of the project and systematically organise tasks linearly which will help you complete them. Action plans are also useful when you are collaborating with other people, so that everyone can understand how things are progressing and what role they have to play in the plan.

Implement the plan

This is the hard part, actually sticking to the plan and seeing it into fruition. Procrastination is the enemy here, and self discipline is your friend. What you will want to do is set aside time each week for your project. Perhaps every Saturday you will work all day on it. Make it a habit and you will get so much done. If you work on it sporadically you might not get enough of your planned goals completed every week and you will leave the bulk of it to the end, decreasing your chance at success.

While you are working on the plan, you might find that it’s a difficult process. You might start making excuses for yourself like ‘I don’t have the money’, ‘I don’t know how to do it’ and so on. This happens to me too, but I have learnt to recognize when I am supplying myself with reasons to give up. These excuses are a form of procastination. Do not give into this weakness. Do not justify the desire to give up.

If you don’t have the money, save up money until you have what you need. If you need to learn a new skill, go and learn it. Do not compromise your vision, but do not needlessly wait until you have everything you think you need. Many musicians wait until they have the ‘perfect studio’ and don’t publish anything. Meanwhile all of their best ideas and opportunities are passing them by. When we were working on music in Berlin. We only had a pair of 15 Euro speakers to monitor the music on and Zoog’s laptop was a shitty second hand one we bought because that was all we could afford. It couldn’t play the music without skipping and it gave us continual grief… we could have stopped working on the album but we didn’t and if we gave up, we wouldn’t have Blood Death Ivory, our best CD to date.

So I would encourage you to find the strength within yourself to keep going. If you find that you don’t have the motivation, it could be that there is a problem with your goal and that it’s not actually what you want to do.

Remember that goals should inspire you to action, not fill you with dread.

Stay motivated and organised

My desk at the moment filled with images that inspire me. Yes… even Star Wars is inspiring!

Continually remind yourself of the end goal. This will aid you in keeping you motivated. I like to keep visual references around me that stimulate my creativity. Sometimes I have a list of goals I want to achieve pinned up near my desk. Other times I stick up a moodboard of all of my visual inspiration around me. Maybe you should print out a fake album cover of your band and stick it to your wall to remind you of how awesome it is going to be when the CD is finished and you can share it with your friends. Maybe you could make a mock tour poster of your band headlining a 50 date tour of the USA.

Make sure you keep organised by sticking to your production schedule. Avoid distractions and don’t try to attempt too many things at once. This is one thing I’m still working on myself at the moment, because I want to do so many things, which often means I do many things at half strength. Embark on one major project at a time until you get used to managing your time and working effectively. You will increase your chances of success if you can remain focused.

I believe that everyone has the ability to achieve great things, it’s just a matter of believing in yourself and making it happen. Take action!

The first step is always the hardest, but once you realise that you are on your way to achieving your dreams, it’s so exciting and you won’t want to stop.

Do any of you have good tips or tricks in regards to motivation, focus and planning? If you do, please share them!