How do you organize your composition work?

Oct 16 (edited) in Mindset & Productivity 🧠

I assume that most of the members here have a full-time job, and compose as a hobby or with the intention of making it a full-time job. I'm curious if you try to organize your compositional "obligations" on a weekly or even daily basis and how you manage to balance that with everyday life and all that it entails?

For example, I work at a music school and I don't have the most normal working hours. I work at a different time every day, and when I add to that other activities such as competitions, concerts (of which we have almost a hundred in the season) and other projects, sometimes I am at school all day. Often after class I don't have the strength or will to compose, except when I'm facing deadlines (then things just go by themselves, but it's a lot of stress). I don't want this to be a post in which I complain how difficult it is for me, but I am interested in how you plan your time and how you organize yourself considering all the other obligations?

For example, do you have a certain amount of music you want to write each day and how you want to do it? Do you first work on motivic and thematic material and for how long, do you work on the form, how do you prepare the writing of a thematic album when it comes to a certain genre, etc.?

Thanks a lot!

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