Get out of the COVID funk

I hate COVID.

That's it, that's the post.

No, its not the whole post but it is definitely a contributor to the reasoning in this post.

As we move into our fourth month of "Quarantine and Scream", I have used much of this time to assess where I am in life, in my career, in school, and in general really. I've made plans, developed new ideas and started digging onto things I didn't, or simply couldn't find time for before the shut down.

While all of this seems well and good, I had a bit of a setback. The first month of quarantine was cool. I got a lot of content made and really made myself more productive in my music and media career. The second month was harder. I lost some motivation because I was stuck inside, unable to go anywhere. I had no reprieve from the work I was so determined to get done and i ended up burning myself out. So I stopped working altogether.

BAD IDEA.

That second month flew by and I did the bare minimum. Don't get me wrong writing songs isn't a small feat, but I wasn't enough to keep my career moving forward.

I became a bit stagnant in building myself up to be successful.

Midway through month two the studio opened back up. So i did the only logical thing to get myself out of the house; I recorded. Then I wrote some more. Recorded those songs; and continued this series about four or five times.

This may sound like a great leap forward. But I missed a crucial opportunity to build while doing this. NOTHING was marketed. I didn't post about my studio trips, I clearly didn't blog about them,and I've only released 2 of the 15 songs. A little pathetic right?

Well, I'm moving forward yet again, and giving myself a set structure from this point going forward. I have come to understand that I have to let myself have a time of reprieve where I don't work, or else I will burn out, but I also have to know when that time needs to end so that I don't hinder my progress.

So here is my new schedule (for a regular day in quarantine) :

First 4 Hours of work: 8a-12p

- Write a new blog post or Vocal story

- Produce a new beat

- Create a new graphic

These 4 hours are for updating you guys on whats coming next, and bettering my skills outside of just writing and singing/rapping. In building a full scale production house I have to be able to do what I'm telling people I can do, and the best way to ensure that is with practice and learning. That's the first part of my day.

The following 2 Hours of rest: 12p-2p

- Lunch and TV time

- Take a walk

- Run small errands

This is my break time for the day. Some may look at this and say that two hours is too long. I believe that this is the perfect amount of time to reset, replenish, and refocus. The first half of my work day was dedicated to educating my fans and myself. The later half has a different purpose, therefore I have to get myself out of learning mode and into building mode. The best way for me to do that is to walk away completely and focus on things unrelated to the work and give my mind a break. I go back more productive in the end.

Last 4 hours of work: 2p-6p

- Write a New song

- Move forward with album plans

- Check all analytics

These last 4 hours are dedicated to moving forward with building my career from where it currently stands. Making sure I understand who my audience currently is, and where they are; finishing my album or EP; and making sure I am on schedule for it's release are all key in these last few hours. This sets me up to start this process over again the following day. If I have special plans the following day this is the time to rework my literal to-do list for the next simple day in quarantine.

I hope this moment of self-reflection and spirit of motivation helps you get out of your own quarantine funk. It can be hard to stay production when the world seems to be on hold. Just remember to give yourself time to reset, replenish and refocus every once in a while.

Until next time, Stay Creative.