Procrastinators Anonymous

[zeekat]

And done

https://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=231649

There's a subliminal butter knife solo in there

I'm having good track record here, will consider this thread while trying to lose weight.

[Garrick]

I fell into the classic procrastinators trap
letting the song go stale while I look for a decent string library.

I Garrick will have something to show, warts n all by Thursday 26th Feb

[Dragonetti]

Maybe a project manager like this can help us
I can't do it myself.

which categories would be important?

[MatthewMoran]

I won't cop to procrastination. Distractination, yes. That is to say, I've been recording and mixing 6 different songs. Plus, in that time, I had a couple articles published at PerformerMag (Recording with Reaper for Songwriters & Tools and Strategies for Booking a Tour).

In any case, I'll front this tune where it is. I made some adjustments to the mix last night away from my studio - so using my laptop speakers. :-o

EVERYDAY LIES AT SOUNDCLOUD
https://soundcloud.com/matthewmoranonline/everyday-lies

I posted this on the music collab discussion but needed to represent something here.

My daughter is recording some additional backing vocals.
==========

Everyday Lies
Copyright © 2008 - Matthew Moran

Verse:
I drove by your house today
Unintentional, I lost my way
I shouldn't be surprised to see his car

He always told me you were wrong for me
But you're just right for him it seems
Guess that explains why he missed last night's show
(chorus)

Chorus:
I don't feel hurt and I don't place blame
Don't hold you responsible for my shame
And I don't rage and I don't cry
These are my everyday lies

Verse:
So I drove down to that old laundromat
The day we moved you vowed you'd never go back
That must be why it feels so safe

It's not like I planned this whole thing through
Not like I'm avoiding you
Not like I don't know what I'd say.. cuz I'd say
(chorus)

Bridge:
We both play it easy with the truth
You said you didn't want to hurt me
And I don't want to see you cry.. so I oblige
With my everyday lies
(chorus)

[g4greg]

Shame on me, I only finished 2 songs, not 3...
and I'm late.


Reason:

The evil coronavirus shut down the province where we live, so we couldn't record the vocals for our 3rd song.

(Translation: The dog ate my homework)

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1GA...uVt0yqkGHp4-V9

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1qA...EkKrCljlt_CPH1

And our EP cover:


https://drive.google.com/open?id=1JY...lnAeWTs7A8nvHb

[Garrick]

Originally Posted by g4greg

Shame on me, I only finished 2 songs, not 3...
and I'm late.


Reason:

The evil coronavirus shut down the province where we live, so we couldn't record the vocals for our 3rd song.

(Translation: The dog ate my homework)

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1GA...uVt0yqkGHp4-V9

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1qA...EkKrCljlt_CPH1

And our EP cover:


https://drive.google.com/open?id=1JY...lnAeWTs7A8nvHb

Hey Greg, I really like "Pearl"
Nice work

[zeekat]

All the time in the world to finish the projects now. Great performance Greg, and a very nice natural sound.

[Garrick]

Originally Posted by zeekat

All the time in the world to finish the projects now. Great performance Greg, and a very nice natural sound.

Have you got the big C zeekat?

[zeekat]

Probably not, but we've been told to sit on our asses and don't leave homes last week and I'm abiding (work from home next two weeks and it's probably just a start).

[maxdembo]

Sigh. Well, I guess I'm resorting to this. After having tried to use this threads rules in the real world with a few friends who say the want to work on music, and having those attempts continually crash and burn, I'm here saying hello instead

I'm quite sick of not doing enough and not getting shit finished so... pile on the shame please!

I want this track finished within the next month. Four weeks from today.

It needs attempts at guitar, vibes, bass licks, rhodes piano, piano, chimes, and a bit of variation/weirdness. All the standard post-lounge tricks

https://soundcloud.com/ear/oneless

[foxAsteria]

Post-Lounge, eh? Well color me curious then.

Haha, well thanks for reviving my thread, maxdembo. I need to get back to work myself, so I'll go ahead and give myself the same deadline. "For what?" asked no one, to which I replied, "dunno yet."

I don't have as much time as most everyone else cos I'm doing the "critical work" of food farming, but I've got so much stuff that just needs a little push over the finish line, so time to get back to setting some deadlines.

Who else? Let's get this procrastination bus moving again!

[fred garvin]

Fox! How ya doin' man?

Good to see this back, pondered it several times but figured you prolly had other things going on, what with the end of the world n all.

I commit to posting another cover THIS WEEKEND. One thing I learned last time was longer deadlines just give me more time to not do much.

[foxAsteria]

I'm ok fred, thanks! I was just procrastinating life as usual and the thread got caught up in that.

If this is the end of the world tho, there should be a lot more parties...too bad we're not allowed.

Although I'd probably just be staying home as much as possible even if there was no illness whatsoever in the world.

@g4greg - Mother has some really nice melodies, esp during the "chorus!" I got the feels!

[maxdembo]

Originally Posted by foxAsteria

Post-Lounge, eh? Well color me curious then.

Haha, well thanks for reviving my thread, maxdembo. I need to get back to work myself, so I'll go ahead and give myself the same deadline. "For what?" asked no one, to which I replied, "dunno yet."

I don't have as much time as most everyone else cos I'm doing the "critical work" of food farming, but I've got so much stuff that just needs a little push over the finish line, so time to get back to setting some deadlines.

Who else? Let's get this procrastination bus moving again!

Maybe Easy Glitchening would be more apt with the way this is going

[foxAsteria]

Easy Glitchening...heheh.

Maybe we should start a new contest thread where we make up new genres every month and see who can write the most definitive song for them.

[Beat Machine]

then i got over it,.

you need 2 things,. MotivTion ,&.. A schedualed systematic routine.

[foxAsteria]

Well then, let me just pop off to the local motivation surplus outlet and grab me some of that shiz.

[Beat Machine]

909[COLOR="Sienna"]080[/COLOR
]if it doesnt have strings;... its "procrastinators" spiral
(i cant just buy a "lifetime" supply of strings though)
then THINK this,then THINK that, *THINKING IS NOT YR 'FREIND'

just DO something
one step 2 step 3 step 4,.

be organized;... develop a workflow

Originally Posted by foxAsteria

Well then, let me just pop off to the local motivation surplus outlet and grab me some of that shiz.

n/p: stay in man;... stay safe ,...
i got sum extra motorvation in the trunk
ill leave it at yr door

[fred garvin]

FAIL!

Tell me ya didn't see that one coming. Actually I didn't, I have been working on songs and thought I'd just be able to throw at least one down but on -recording- it turns out some of that progress was illusory especially singing wise. Note to self: PROJECT. E Nun Cee Ate. Record. Listen. Repeat. Oh well, there's always next week, maybe.

Thanks again, fox, for kindly providing this substitute for discipline and willpower. At least I'm back on the horse.

[maxdembo]

Originally Posted by fred garvin

FAIL!

Tell me ya didn't see that one coming. Actually I didn't, I have been working on songs and thought I'd just be able to throw at least one down but on -recording- it turns out some of that progress was illusory especially singing wise. Note to self: PROJECT. E Nun Cee Ate. Record. Listen. Repeat. Oh well, there's always next week, maybe.

Thanks again, fox, for kindly providing this substitute for discipline and willpower. At least I'm back on the horse.

SHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAME!

SHAME SHAME SHAME!

[fred garvin]

Fair enough.

[Beat Machine]

i already picked up a rake,...where did i put the rake...
fux,..ill sit down an have coffee +4 (that will help)

believe me i am "one of you", can i join plz?

* the nxt time i see the rake thats the 'where and when'
step 3 alredy how many more to go?

[Beat Machine]

Originally Posted by Spine Of God

This thread called me. Hard.

Hi. My name is SoG, and I am a procrastinator. I make dozens of “demo”s and never finish em.

There is no cure.

my 1st song was awsome,..it was also a completee mess
it took 3 years to get a routine to where i could manage process

the trouble with process is reapers full of it

its a mpuntain,...you can climb,...one step at a atime
sherpa, current map , not availiable

[foxAsteria]

I mean, if any kind of substantial progress was made, I call it a win. Ideally, we should have something to show for it, but the important thing is that hopefully a deadline should spur some action.

My problem is not really motivation (I memorized the guitar parts for at least 5 Rush songs in the last few weeks and have been basically playing them nonstop), but that my motivation doesn't get to me to the finish line.

My efforts are scattered and I'm hardly ever satisfied enough to call anything done. Somewhere around 90% through a project I lose confidence and have to put it on the shelf so as not to overcook it.

That said, I do have a basically finished track that just needs a final mix. There's a guest vocalist, who will be sure to tell me when she's satisfied, so if things go to plan, I should be able to pull it off by my deadline. Can't allow myself to have 3 fails in a row, can I? We shall see...

[maxdembo]

Originally Posted by foxAsteria

I mean, if any kind of substantial progress was made, I call it a win. Ideally, we should have something to show for it, but the important thing is that hopefully a deadline should spur some action.

My problem is not really motivation (I memorized the guitar parts for at least 5 Rush songs in the last few weeks and have been basically playing them nonstop), but that my motivation doesn't get to me to the finish line.

My efforts are scattered and I'm hardly ever satisfied enough to call anything done. Somewhere around 90% through a project I lose confidence and have to put it on the shelf so as not to overcook it.

That said, I do have a basically finished track that just needs a final mix. There's a guest vocalist, who will be sure to tell me when she's satisfied, so if things go to plan, I should be able to pull it off by my deadline. Can't allow myself to have 3 fails in a row, can I? We shall see...

This.

I find the concept of motivation to be more of a crock than anything. Its a rod for ones back, waiting for the unknown.

IMHO, there is only directed learning, self analysis, and probably most importantly, as our friend posted above, habit.

Just doing.

Just starting.

Thats what I'm using this thread for, I hope. If anything comes of the deadline, however small, its an achievement. If I can make plans for what to be done by next deadline, I have a directed bit of learning to do and if I get closer to having done it, thats a win.

No goals, just process (learning and habit). Oh, and enjoyment.

EDIT: Life is too short to take up making music and have it just being more stress. Being productive, I dont like that concept. I aint making product, thats a capitalist business thing, not creativity and thought and process and fun

[foxAsteria]

Originally Posted by maxdembo

Life is too short to take up making music and have it just being more stress. Being productive, I dont like that concept. I aint making product, thats a capitalist business thing, not creativity and thought and process and fun

For sure, enjoyment of the process is why I keep making, learning and playing music. But the fact that nothing's ever done prevents me from showing anyone or allowing it to open any doors in life.

Hundreds of unfinished projects weighs on me and although my goal has never been money, I still want the thing I spend all my free time doing to become the thing I also make a living from. I don't want to forever divide my time between tasks I don't care about but do to live and the things that make me want to keep living.

Since I have no interest in business or social networking, I can only strive to make the best music I'm capable of in the hopes that some random external force will put me in a position where my music is how I relate to the world instead of merely how I escape from it. For that to happen, I'm pretty sure I at least have to put something out there that I'm 100% confident in. Y'know, something complete...

[maxdembo]

Originally Posted by foxAsteria

For sure, enjoyment of the process is why I keep making, learning and playing music. But the fact that nothing's ever done prevents me from showing anyone or allowing it to open any doors in life.

Hundreds of unfinished projects weighs on me and although my goal has never been money, I still want the thing I spend all my free time doing to become the thing I also make a living from. I don't want to forever divide my time between tasks I don't care about but do to live and the things that make me want to keep living.

Since I have no interest in business or social networking, I can only strive to make the best music I'm capable of in the hopes that some random external force will put me in a position where my music is how I relate to the world instead of merely how I escape from it. For that to happen, I'm pretty sure I at least have to put something out there that I'm 100% confident in. Y'know, something complete...

Oh i get that feeling, I understand completely. I think thats why I gave up thinking about doing any of that, and instead turned to learning and streamlining my process. My thinking being that if I can do that, and keep the habit up, then a finished song gets more and more likely as the process gets streamlined. Identifying what those sticking points that prevent finishing are and circumvent the bastards, or come at them from another angle, or go back to basics with tutorials to see if I'm missing one little thing that could speed the whole process up.

Im not saying I'm actually achieving this but its made the whole thing less of a headache and has, surprisingly, increased my output ever so slightly.

And things are never finished for some of us, we just have to abandon them, take what we learnt from doing them, and move on to the next thing. My hope is, each one gets faster to 'finish'.

Sometimes what sounds unfinished to us sounds finished to other people. Get it out, move on Cos in the meantime, no one is hearing anything.

[maxdembo]

Would this help you?

Find your favourite unfinished, 90% done track, bring it in here, and start breaking down what it needs to be 'finished' into little achievable chunks and set deadlines for em

For my own thing I'm working on via this thread, I want picked guitar parts complementing or copying the main riff started, and the same thing doing with midi parts for vibes/keys. I also need to bring out the transients of the panned drum parts as pointed out by zeekat in the tracks thread. Thats what I want to have done some of by June 1st (I think that was the deadline I set in here).

[zeekat]

Ever imagined how horrible making music solely full time and strictly to deadlines must be? Knowing you can safely be without inpiration and nothing stopping you abandoning ideas for indefinite time is liberating. Not having to do stuff is grand and there's a lot of romance in bands finishing their releases after 18 years or something. Even if it usually ends up with a critics (and fans) collectively shitting on such long awaited work.

[maxdembo]

Originally Posted by zeekat

Ever imagined how horrible making music solely full time and strictly to deadlines must be? Knowing you can safely be without inpiration and nothing stopping you abandoning ideas for indefinite time is liberating. Not having to do stuff is grand and there's a lot of romance in bands finishing their releases after 18 years or something. Even if it usually ends up with a critics (and fans) collectively shitting on such long awaited work.

For sure. Thats been my outlook for ages, the very idea of deadlines was everything I was against But then nothing got done and here I am

[foxAsteria]

Originally Posted by zeekat

Ever imagined how horrible making music solely full time and strictly to deadlines must be?

Well I'd never take that up full time. Creativity has to be totally free at least half the time for me. I suppose I make weird enough music that I only get offers for gigs needing my particular brand of sound, so I usually enjoy them a lot, get paid and let someone else decide when they're done. Deadlines set by someone else help a lot too, even if I still tend to wait til the last minute...

@maxdembo - Yea I've been on the same journey of streamlining my workflow (hello, Reaper!). I basically didn't write any music for about 5 years and just set up controllers and custom/cycle actions and worked out all the kinks that would stifle inspiration. Some of that was also trying out all the other DAWs and ultimately not being satisfied.

Probably wasted too much time on that obsession, but having achieved probably 95% of my vision of perfect workflow, I don't really regret it. When I'm into something now I can go all night without getting tired or frustrated or losing ideas because they took too long to execute. That's magical. Thank you Cockos and fellow Reaperites!!!

But yea, I think I'll do as you suggest and post the thing I'm trying to finish here as W.I.P. Maybe some of you can give me the feedback I need to make a plan of attack.

[maxdembo]

Originally Posted by foxAsteria

Well I'd never take that up full time. Creativity has to be totally free at least half the time for me. I suppose I make weird enough music that I only get offers for gigs needing my particular brand of sound, so I usually enjoy them a lot, get paid and let someone else decide when they're done. Deadlines set by someone else help a lot too, even if I still tend to wait til the last minute...

@maxdembo - Yea I've been on the same journey of streamlining my workflow (hello, Reaper!). I basically didn't write any music for about 5 years and just set up controllers and custom/cycle actions and worked out all the kinks that would stifle inspiration. Some of that was also trying out all the other DAWs and ultimately not being satisfied.

Probably wasted too much time on that obsession, but having achieved probably 95% of my vision of perfect workflow, I don't really regret it. When I'm into something now I can go all night without getting tired or frustrated or losing ideas because they took too long to execute. That's magical. Thank you Cockos and fellow Reaperites!!!

But yea, I think I'll do as you suggest and post the thing I'm trying to finish here as W.I.P. Maybe some of you can give me the feedback I need to make a plan of attack.

All sounds worth it to me! Good feedback comes out of the 'post your own music' section of the board, imho of course

Its a long process figuring out your process

[Beat Machine]

Originally Posted by Beat Machine

i already picked up a rake,...where did i put the rake...
fux,..ill sit down an have coffee +4 (that will help)

believe me i am "one of you", can i join plz?

* the nxt time i see the rake thats the 'where and when'
step 3 alredy how many more to go?

*WHO WANTS TO PAINT MY FENCE ' ILL DO FREE 'MIX ANAYLISIS'*
(ie_tell you u sux :P :P

help,..Im still drinking my coffee

[maxdembo]

Originally Posted by foxAsteria

Well I'd never take that up full time. Creativity has to be totally free at least half the time for me. I suppose I make weird enough music that I only get offers for gigs needing my particular brand of sound, so I usually enjoy them a lot, get paid and let someone else decide when they're done. Deadlines set by someone else help a lot too, even if I still tend to wait til the last minute...

@maxdembo - Yea I've been on the same journey of streamlining my workflow (hello, Reaper!). I basically didn't write any music for about 5 years and just set up controllers and custom/cycle actions and worked out all the kinks that would stifle inspiration. Some of that was also trying out all the other DAWs and ultimately not being satisfied.

Probably wasted too much time on that obsession, but having achieved probably 95% of my vision of perfect workflow, I don't really regret it. When I'm into something now I can go all night without getting tired or frustrated or losing ideas because they took too long to execute. That's magical. Thank you Cockos and fellow Reaperites!!!

But yea, I think I'll do as you suggest and post the thing I'm trying to finish here as W.I.P. Maybe some of you can give me the feedback I need to make a plan of attack.

Nearly only two weeks left. Chosen a track yet or are you starting a new one?

[foxAsteria]

Originally Posted by maxdembo

Nearly only two weeks left. Chosen a track yet or are you starting a new one?

C'mon dude, I'm PROcrastinator remember? Plenty of time...

[Beat Machine]

Originally Posted by martifingers

Perhaps tomorrow?

is he on the list yet.??

[foxAsteria]

Hey Bri2, did you want to participate or something?

[maxdembo]

Well, one week to go on my chosen procrastination track and I've done FUCK ALL! I've done a remix in that time, given it a video. Done a few rehearsals. Started a couple of other tracks, but FUCK ALL on the actual track I wanna work on

Oh well, at least output is growing. And this is why I wanted to use this thread in the first place. One week to go!

Originally Posted by foxAsteria

Hey Bri2, did you want to participate or something?

Silence

[foxAsteria]

I dug up something old that inspired me but Idk if I'll finish by the weekend...Here's hoping!

If I get it to a good place, I'll put my progress up here for feedback, tho the thread's gotten pretty quiet lately.

Originally Posted by maxdembo

Oh well, at least output is growing. And this is why I wanted to use this thread in the first place.

Yea, sometimes I get a lot done on random stuff when I'm procrastinating an important project.

Sometimes I can direct that momentum back to it, but most of the time I just really enjoy endless improvisation with no pressure to record any of it. Never felt like a waste of time anyway.

[ivansc]

How many of us procrastinators have actually had radio plays of anything?

With a smug grin, I can announce that I have two tunes being aired on my 76th birthday (6th June) on no less than three local stations, one of which is actually a full blown station with a huge following.
Finally got round to paying out my £100 to Performing Rights Society in the vain hope that I might actually make some money!

All part of a virtual Cambridge Strawberry Fair show, which runs for several hours from 11am. My 2 tunes are in the 4-5pm Flying Pig segment and it is primarily on Cambridge 105 Radio online at https://cambridge105.co.uk/