Daily work schedule

ttf_Andrew Meronek · Post by **ttf_Andrew Meronek** » Wed Apr 26, 2017 4:15 am

I'm normally more of a night owl, especially when it comes to playing gigs and such, but lately I've found that as far as cranking out written music, I seem to be more productive in the morning. Has anyone else experienced this?

I do remember reading somewhere the Beethoven was more of a morning writer . . .

ttf_M.R.Tenor · Post by **ttf_M.R.Tenor** » Mon May 22, 2017 9:30 am

Research has been done that shows for whatever reason we seem to have a limited number of conscious decisions that we can make in a day before getting mentally exhausted. This is why a lot of people of power like to delegate a lot of their daily schedule, and more generally why sticking to a schedule comes easier for many people, because you don't have to expend effort to decide what you need to do next, reserving higher order thinking for things of priority.

Here's a nice, short, non factual article from a site filled with ads that says it differently.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/244395

I can't remember where I heard about this originally, but it's a big thing in managing stress and anxiety if you have to be active in tons of decisions a day, eg. parenting, and management.

Could be that writing music isn't as natural for you as gigging, and requires more hard decision making. For a performance, it's just playing.

On the other hand,

Beethoven was slightly alcoholic...

ttf_Matt K · Post by **ttf_Matt K** » Mon May 22, 2017 9:48 am

I'm the same way, if I'm up early its a productive day. If I'm not, its just a normal day. Try to get up at 4AM to get stuff done but that definitely hasn't happened the last week with allergies and taking antihistamines. I'm a walking zombie for the tail end of May

ttf_Geezerhorn · Post by **ttf_Geezerhorn** » Mon May 22, 2017 10:05 am

I have my hardest and best play/practice sessions in the morning, after coffee, etc. Lol Even though I might get 12 hours of rest in-between my morning and my late evening sessions, I still do better in the morning. It's the sleep thing, I think. It clears the brain and rejuvenates the body.

Mornings are always the most voluntarily active times for me, even though I may have forced activity later in the day. My mornings are so active that I love a 1-hour nap mid-afternoon. If I could just freeze my life so that this time period would last a LOT longer, that would be very nice.

But do how you roll the best! There is no right or wrong, as long as you are healthy, happy and productive.

...Geezer

ttf_Ellrod · Post by **ttf_Ellrod** » Mon May 22, 2017 10:44 am

Morning. The body is rested and the mind is clear.

By late afternoon/early evening, I'm running out of gas.

ttf_Woolworth · Post by **ttf_Woolworth** » Mon May 22, 2017 11:21 am

ALL of my best work happens before 9:00 am. I feel my most creative when I get up, usually around 5:30. By 9:00 I'm done writing for the day, and I start on household chores. After lunch I practice (which usually involves simple "maintenance" playing, unless I have a specific gig to focus on). After that, I will spend time reviewing the morning's work or extracting parts (which doesn't require much creativity). Evenings are for relaxing unless I have a gig, which is rare, because I generally don't accept evening work. I leave that to the young'uns, plus I don't like to be on the road at night if I can avoid it. My band does most of its work on weekend afternoons. Once in a while we do an evening gig. These are tough for my because I'm usually in bed by 10:00. We played 8-11 on Saturday night, I didn't get home until 12:30 am, and I'm still not recovered!

By contrast, my 76-year-old bandleader friend keeps what he calls "musician's hours", which for him means sleeping until 2:00 or 3:00 pm, gigging until midnight or 1:00 am, then writing until 5:00 or 6:00 am.

ttf_Dukesboneman · Post by **ttf_Dukesboneman** » Fri Jun 30, 2017 7:59 am

When I`m writing , I find that I get much more creative and productive if I write in the morning. Before the "Real World" of music , noise, sounds etc begin to filter in .

ttf_Dukesboneman · Post by **ttf_Dukesboneman** » Fri Jun 30, 2017 7:59 am

When I`m writing , I find that I get much more creative and productive if I write in the morning. Before the "Real World" of music , noise, sounds etc begin to filter in .