Concentration / Enthusiasm help !!

[LeVzi]

Sorry for the personal story but I am a bit lost at the moment and seeing if anyone has any similar experiences and ways to overcome them.

Years ago I had no problem writing tracks in the genre I liked. I could arrange, make and finish tracks with no issues, and pretty much sit and work through a track in a few days, with long sessions.

I had a break from producing and kinda lost interest in the genre I was producing back then, (Some 10 years ago or longer)

Now I have a new (er) genre I am liking and decided to try my hand at it, and started a track just before Xmas. But now I struggle to spend an hour in Cubase without having to do something else. I find myself having these sporadic sessions and having to get away from the project and come back to it. It's hard to get into a rhythm this way I find, and I can't maintain the same level of concentration I used to.

The biggest difference in me, is a change in medications I was taking then, and now. Back then I was on meds for my mental health (Anti depressants, anti physcotics) but now I take nothing. (Cannot take these meds for cardiac reasons) So I assume it's something to do with this ? Or maybe my life is different that I just am not "that producer" anymore and I need to just adapt to shorter sessions and stop worrying about lack of continuity ?

Do people produce in this manner well ? or do most people have longer sessions ?

I also think my studio plays a part, i've gone from a full larger size room, to a tiny side room when I moved house, it's extremely cramped here. But when I stop producing I dont actually leave the room, so I am not sure.

All insights / advice is gratefully receieved

[vurt]

my advice would be, if its not your job, dont force it.
enjoy it when you can, then it will be something you look forward to. dont worry so kuch about finishing a track, just do something fun and interesting each time you start cubase.

after a while you may find youre spending longer in there without noticing and getting stuff done

[classic]

Technicaly, medication for mental health, takes away distraction and confusion inside someones head. Sometimes they even take away things, the one who takes them, does not realice he had them, until they are gone.
So you can conzentrate better and are more focust .

When this medication is gone, the distractions come back, sometimes not directely noticeable, but show they face in problems you mentioned. Conzentration and focusing is gone ore not as got as with the medication.
May be that is the case or part of it, at least.

If yes, find a way to clear your mind by some sort of meditation, Joga ore anything, that helps you, to clear your head, as much as possible:)

Good luck.

[vurt]

are there no options for meds?

dont take this as me suggesting you do it, this is me suggesting you speak to your doctor
but you could ask if st johns wort is ok with your cardiac issues? its a herbal remedy, not as powerful as many of the prescribed meds, but it may at least "take the edge off" allowing you to be more "restful" inside.

theres also aromatherapy, again not as powerful as prescription drugs, but things like lavender on your pillow, will help you sleep, which in turn will help ypu focus.

speak to your gp aboùt other herbal options or even hypnosis, this can be expensive though.


my initial advice of dont push yourself still stands

[LeVzi]

are there no options for meds?

dont take this as me suggesting you do it, this is me suggesting you speak to your doctor
but you could ask if st johns wort is ok with your cardiac issues? its a herbal remedy, not as powerful as many of the prescribed meds, but it may at least "take the edge off" allowing you to be more "restful" inside.

theres also aromatherapy, again not as powerful as prescription drugs, but things like lavender on your pillow, will help you sleep, which in turn will help ypu focus.

speak to your gp aboùt other herbal options or even hypnosis, this can be expensive though.


my initial advice of dont push yourself still stands

Unfortunately not, due to previous cardiac issues, the physchiatrist won't prescribe anything due to side effects. I am OK mentally, I can cope, but it's obviously effected my ability to concentrate.

Ironic you mention oils, as I have a diffuser in my studio running a lot, but of late been full of oils to help breathing due to the flu lol , I rarely use lavendar, mainly rosemary , but I should try more calming oils perhaps to see if that helps. That's a good call, thanks.

[LeVzi]

Technicaly, medication for mental health, takes away distraction and confusion inside someones head. Sometimes they even take away things, the one who takes them, does not realice he had them, until they are gone.
So you can conzentrate better and are more focust .

When this medication is gone, the distractions come back, sometimes not directely noticeable, but show they face in problems you mentioned. Conzentration and focusing is gone ore not as got as with the medication.
May be that is the case or part of it, at least.

If yes, find a way to clear your mind by some sort of meditation, Joga ore anything, that helps you, to clear your head, as much as possible:)

Good luck.

Thank you, it does appear to be the case now I am flying without wings, I have all the old distractions back in my mind. Which is true. I will try to find a happy medium.

[Gamma-UT]

This may not apply in this case given you've had a big medication change an' all but...

...when doing creative stuff, seeking distractions is often a symptom of feeling pressure to deliver. You've started in a new genre, which brings up additional questions ("Am I any good at doing this?") and you're using the experience of having produced finished tracks before to think "I should be able to do this", possibly with an added "that last idea isn't working". When it's not happening, for whatever reason, your brain goes "sod it, I'm reading the interwebz" because it takes the pressure off.

There's no really easy way around it but nine times out of ten, the most effective is to break it down into little tasks that are achievable and which let you give yourself a mental pat on the back rather than focus on the "I must finish this track" aspect of it. Once you've got through them, you've probably finished the track and have done it with fewer distractions.

A second one is to set out to have more fun in the first place: just mess around a bit doing studio/music playing things you enjoy and use that to feed in additional ideas. On the little-task thing, it's worth making notes whenever you think of something you need to do when away from the computer. I tend to get ideas in the seconds it takes to put the machine to sleep and get up: I'm rubbish at having ideas in front of the computer while it's actually running unless I'm already actively doing something, so I have to use the ideas I've already got to make any progress.

Hope this helps.

[LeVzi]

This may not apply in this case given you've had a big medication change an' all but...

...when doing creative stuff, seeking distractions is often a symptom of feeling pressure to deliver. You've started in a new genre, which brings up additional questions ("Am I any good at doing this?") and you're using the experience of having produced finished tracks before to think "I should be able to do this", possibly with an added "that last idea isn't working". When it's not happening, for whatever reason, your brain goes "sod it, I'm reading the interwebz" because it takes the pressure off.

There's no really easy way around it but nine times out of ten, the most effective is to break it down into little tasks that are achievable and which let you give yourself a mental pat on the back rather than focus on the "I must finish this track" aspect of it. Once you've got through them, you've probably finished the track and have done it with fewer distractions.

A second one is to set out to have more fun in the first place: just mess around a bit doing studio/music playing things you enjoy and use that to feed in additional ideas. On the little-task thing, it's worth making notes whenever you think of something you need to do when away from the computer. I tend to get ideas in the seconds it takes to put the machine to sleep and get up: I'm rubbish at having ideas in front of the computer while it's actually running unless I'm already actively doing something, so I have to use the ideas I've already got to make any progress.

Hope this helps.

I think you've actually hit the nail on the head tbh, very insightful, as it is a new genre to me, and I am asking myself is what I am doing acceptble ? Will it be any good ? And I have to keep telling myself that what I am doing is my own interpretation. But I do find myself asking myself why I find it so hard to complete it and end up doing exactly what you said, disappear to the internet and do something else.

I'll try what you suggested though, breaking it down into smaller steps and see how I get along doing it that way.

Thank you.

[DJ Warmonger]

Make a task list with clearly defined goals. Work on complete your tasks every now and then. There is always something that you can complete with a sense of achievement, without sitting long session or "inspiration".

[billybong]

My own solution that I'm working on for very similar circumstances to what you describe is to forget about computer based music production for a while and learn a new instrument. So far the physical of playing a different instrument is completely absorbing like sitting down at a screen never is.

No, so far I'm not more likely to finish an electronic tune but I'm learning an instrument and it takes me out of myself for hours.

Edit : only clicked on the thread as I misread 'Concentration/Euthanasia help!'

[vurt]

.

Edit : only clicked on the thread as I misread 'Concentration/Euthanasia help!'

err and you had a suggestion?

"move to switzerland" by any chance?

[billybong]

err and you had a suggestion?

Yeah but not in a bad way

I read a book once that was kind of the definitive guide, fascinating stuff but truthfully no, I wouldn't be sharing tips with others. Cracking read tho lol.

[LeVzi]

I am breaking down my sessions into smaller times, and trying to achieve one thing per session, sometimes I find I run over a bit and thats good, means I didnt break concentration, but still feel like I am over thinking stuff too much.

Always find it hard when moving to a new genre tbh. 4th time i've tried it.

[vurt]

I am breaking down my sessions into smaller times, and trying to achieve one thing per session, sometimes I find I run over a bit and thats good, means I didnt break concentration, but still feel like I am over thinking stuff too much.

Always find it hard when moving to a new genre tbh. 4th time i've tried it.

i think thats normal when trying anything new, checking details and such till it becomes second nature?

[Passing Bye]

As I recall you are into genre that revolves around a kick on which folks take pride and spend days and decades perfecting it, no wonder why you are stuck and discouraged, until you nail that kick, nothing will sound good enough and finished.