I learned it during a season when time was the one thing I did not have much of.
When my daughter was a preschooler and I was freelancing as a musician, my work happened in nooks and crannies of the day.
Nap time. After bedtime. Two mornings a week when she was at preschool.
At first, those preschool mornings felt luxurious. I remember thinking, wow, I am finally time rich.
But here is what actually happened.
I would sit down with the best intentions to work on my music.
Then I would get excited about an idea.
Something I saw another artist doing. A new opportunity that popped into my head (or my inbox). A project that felt important in the moment.
Down the rabbit hole I went.
Next thing I knew, it was time to pick her up and I would think, what just happened to my precious block of time?
The answer was simple and uncomfortable: I had not been intentional with it.
That was the season I learned I had to get ruthless with my time and my ideas. Not because ideas are bad. But because unchecked ideas were stealing the little time I had.
That is when I created what I now call my Inspiration Vault. My kinder, gentler version of a wastebasket for ideas. It was my not now pile.
Here is the thing I started noticing when I began working with other musicians.
They were dealing with the exact same problem.
Why?
Because we are creative people with no shortage of ideas pulling us in a million directions.
For musicians, these ideas come from everywhere.
Seeing other artists succeed with a new platform. Being invited to join a band. Being asked to collaborate on a project. Starting something new that sounds exciting and promising in the moment.
All of it feels flattering. All of it feels like opportunity.
And all of it stealthily steals time away from what usually matters most when we really get honest.
Our main project. Your solo career. Your signature band or body of work.
I am not making a blanket statement here, but I have found that many female musicians are people pleasers. I know I am.
We do not want to say no. We want to believe we can do it all. So we say yes and assume we will magically find the time later.
Spoiler alert.- we do not.
We cannot make extra time appear without taking it from somewhere else. And that somewhere else is usually our family time, important rejuvenating self care, or the time we should be spending on our own music.
That is why the Inspiration Vault became non negotiable for me.
I like to picture it like one of those old school blue mailboxes. You can put things in, but you cannot take them back out until later.
When an idea pops up, it goes in the vault. No waffling. No negotiating. Put it in!
Then I finish my current 90-day goal sprint.
Only after that do I open the vault and decide which ideas, if any, deserve a spot in my next set of goals.
Because I am ruthless, I only choose 5 goals for 90 days. And here is the magic.
Most of the ideas that once felt urgent and "do or die" do not make the cut anymore.
Giving them time to simmer saves an incredible amount of energy and prevents you from chasing things that turn out not to be priorities at all.
So where should you keep your idea vault?
Your phone. A notebook. A single piece of paper. Anywhere that's easily accessible to quickly capture ideas.
Just put a big warning at the top that says, "You are not allowed to read this again until your current 90-day sprint is over!"
If you are reading this thinking, I do not even have a 90-day goal system yet, I have something coming that will help.
This is not a course. Not an exercise that takes hours.
It will be like having me on your team helping you whittle down your ideas into five clear SMART music career goals for the next 90 days, broken down into daily tasks and weekly milestones.
Basically, I will map out your next 90 days for you in just 15 minutes and for less $ than what I spent on lunch out yesterday.
Keep an eye on your inbox.
Always in your corner,
<3 Bree
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