I bet that most of the people you’ve spoken with over the last month have said “I’m so busy!” at least once. Everybody’s busy. It’s the first thing so many people say if they’re asked how they’re doing, or how work is going. It’s an epidemic.
I’ve just stopped saying it. What’s the point? We all seem to be in the same boat for some reason. Are we all working more? I don’t have the answer. But, I will tell you that all this busy-ness is making it hard to find time to practice DJing.
How are you managing to keep your skills up to date? Here’s my strategy:
- Set achievable goals. Ask yourself: what do I want to do with my skills this year? Learn a new technique? Improve something you’re already good at? Whatever it is, write it down. Then break it down into a doable time frame. Something like this: I will practice scratching for 15 minutes every other day for 3 months.
- Make time. Are you waiting to practice until you have some spare time? Guess what? It’s not going to happen. You’re going to have to drop something else or tear yourself away from Netflix. Carve out 15 minutes a day to practice. Write that practice time into your calendar, so you can’t just ignore it. Then force yourself to do it everyday. Soon, it’ll be second-nature, and you’ll be looking forward to that practice time.
- Reward yourself. Once a month, or whatever you decide will work for you, buy yourself a drink. Celebrate the fact that you’ve been sticking to your goals and your practice time. Celebrate the fact that you’re now a much better DJ than you were before you started practicing regularly.
A lot of DJs are reactive. They don’t put together a press kit until they need it. They don’t learn a new skill until they need. Be different. Push yourself to practice according to a schedule, and you’ll find yourself way ahead of all the rest.
