How do you find time for songwriting and music making when you've got your hands full?
There's a harsh reality all artists have to face when they leave school and start working: it used to be that when you were a teenager, you had all the time in the world to make music, but you never had the money for gear, to put out music, to make a music video, and so on.
As you get older and start getting into better paying jobs or advancing in your career, the inverse is true: now that you actually have the money, but you hardly have any time left for music.
That's life
Everyone who juggles a day job with making music faces this. You're going to try hard to find a balance between work and artistry, but you'll realise that the scales tip towards what puts food on the table, and often that will be work.
So how do you find time for music when you don't have any? It's simple, but not easy: You make time for it. Pull out your calendar app and schedule time in your week to work on music. It doesn't have to be a long time either: start off by setting aside an hour on Friday night, and then stick to it.
The trap that musicians fall into is to overcommit to a schedule for practice or songwriting, and then it becomes too much of a chore and then the realities of life eclipse everything. It's bad because that makes you feel overwhelmed and defeated, when you could avoid it by planning ahead.
Habits make things easier to do
The trick is to do it in small steps that you can easily commit to. One hour a week for a month that you stick to and make a habit of. Then make it two hours the following month, and see how that goes. The important thing is to do it regularly so it becomes a habit, and to have a visual reminder of it by way of your calendar. Treat it just like you would any other important meeting - even if it's a meeting with yourself.
The important thing is to do it regularly so it becomes a habit, and to have a visual reminder of it by way of your calendar.
As we get older, free time disappears and life takes over. If you don't have time for art, you'll have to make time. And the best thing about making music in 2020 is that you've got access to all the stuff you need to make music at home (your phone, your guitar, your piano, etc) and they don't take a lot of time to set up.
The only thing keeping you from getting your ideas out of your head and into a demo or recording is yourself!