Minimalism go brrrrr. Your assignment: try spending however much time you spend on your phone/whatever working on something creative for the next 7 days. Become a Patron ► venustheory.com/patrons Samples and Presets ► venustheory.com/store My Latest Decent Sampler Instrument ► bit.ly/Bitscape95
Sorry, at times it's totally OK to "just consume" and "not be creative", and sleep a lot and take things a bit slower ... or not at all? There will be other times when things go better, run smoother. Life goes on. I do have "do not disturb" on ALL THE TIME though, I always have my phone on mute and usually never pick up calls but answer them when I HAVE TIME, I often forget my phone in the other room - and then pick it up deliberately after 2 hours of work because "I deserve a break" or need to zone out ... So I guess it's something in between "being a lazy millenial with a lot of guilt" and "having a work ethic that doesn't kill me within the next 5 years". 😉
I've been spending more time being creative in the kitchen, trying to eat better and avoid highly processed foods. I made lasagna a few days ago, after watching some guides on TH-cam. Best damn lasagna I've ever had.
getting off socials was one of the best things i ever did. amazing how much more productive, creative, and what skills you can learn when you don't drop multiple hours on your phone everyday. My boss thinks I'm a genius but I just have the whole day to study lol. Watch your screen time! Most of the world is pretty addicted and you get a huge advantage
Never been a big social guy but definitely agree - productivity is through the roof just by not sitting there reading an article or looking at tutorials/forums and all that sort of stuff.
Me, too. Started with Facebook in 2018, then Instagram a year later. I never did use....er, whatever that thing was that Elon Musk bought. As for TH-cam, I limit my watching to the few channels that deal with my interests and I delete everything else as it comes in. My rule there is that if it's from a channel I haven't subscribed to, I click on the Do Not Show Me Content from This Channel control. It can't stop all the other channels that are just like it, but the more of these channels I remove from my....whatever, the fewer of them seem to show up. One more tip: always clear your Watch History and Liked Videos from TH-cam.
What you’re describing is what Steven Pressfield calls ‘Resistance’ in a series of books starting with “The War of Art”. He essentially outlines how it (resistance) will do anything to stop you from deviating from the Status Quo and kill any sign of creative urge. His solution is to treat it like an enemy, understand it and where it comes from and go to war against it. It may sound cheesy but so far it has worked for me. I’m still struggling but at least I know how to recognise it and call out my own bullshit when I let it control me.
You happened to drop this video at the exact moment I was wasting my precious time on TH-cam watching interesting, but ultimately useless videos instead of learning about synthesis and composing like I had planned yesterday. Thank you.
I love that your channel is leaning more into “creative TH-cam” than specifically music TH-cam. Obviously I love music, and I love your videos on the subject. But at the same time, these kinds of videos have inspired me to engage in more than just music for a creative outlet. Filmmaking/cinematography, writing, graphic design, all of it. Thanks for being an inspiration man 🙂
It is extremely satisfying to see people come around to living intentionally in order to free themselves from the trappings of consumer culture. So much of everything you describe here is not so much about disconnecting or being minimalist, but about setting healthy boundaries between yourself and the sea of constant distractions engineered to manipulate and entrap you. By adding intent driven selectivity you create a natural filter for things that reward you for cultivating your own life which in turn creates a virtuous cycle of growth. This development has the added benefit of strengthening your resolve, reducing stress, and feeds your creative energy rather than drains it. You absolutely nailed all the critical elements of this and I hope it continues to reinvigorate all of your life. I am by no means any expert but I can confidently say you have unlocked one of the gates of nirvana and I look forward to your journey through it. Live well, good sir. There is no other life worth living.
Well said Cameron. One of THE worst things to kill your motivation is jumping on your phone as soon as you wake up; it starts you chasing the 'bad' dopamine all day. You're much better off going outside, getting sun in your eyes & walking. And thanks for the Unkook app tip = game changer!
This video really resonates with me, as over the years I've experienced symptoms comparable to an addiction. I found that it takes a lot of discipline to scale things back down to the bare essentials and actually learn to enjoy isolation as a way to boost productivity. Cutting distractions, as well as selecting only a handful of tools instead of scrolling through folders and folders of stuff I end up not even using in my music, is helping me immensely.
I'm a 62 year old boomer, I work in technology, and I have to walk that line too. I have definitely allowed WOW and GW2 and Conan Exiles etc. usurp my time as well. I had to double down on music to get out. Yeah and going out too. I live in the desert, no excuse to stay in after work.
A while ago I got a small pillow I placed on my desk just as decoration, I discovered that since I keep my phone on vibrate when I put it on that pillow it silences my phone completely. I've been checking it so much less when at my computer now its amazing.
Huh. I have a large like 'whole desk' mousepad that actually does the same sort of thing and I don't know that I've ever thought about that until now. That's actually a great little hack haha.
You can use B&wW filter on iphone too! Go to settings -> accessibility -> screen and text size -> color filters. You can assign that to the double tap on the back of the phone so you can restore it whenever.
Im glad im not alone fighting with this new era of digital chaos. 😂 I went down the hard way and closed my internet provider for 6 months. 1 month in already wish me luck😂 cool video!🎉 Watching this on my lunch break at work ❤
After a lot of experimentation, I discovered that both Android and Iphone have parental controls, so my old phone became my parent phone with a password and my regular phone had all the candy crack blocked. On Android it can even block specific websites. That way I can have all the important things like maps running freely instead of buying a dumphone or minimalism apps that only ever seem to partially work.
I sometimes see comments about why I like hardware synths when everything is so instant in Fruity or Ableton... But the amount of mastering tutorials that I get served here is a good reminder. I just adjust the eq and compression on my mixer a bit and everything is good. The fact each piece of gear is rather limited compared to a high end vst lets me know what each box excels at rather than just getting overwhelmed with endless settings
I often find myself scrambling to find a youtube video or podcast related to music production to listen to while I "get work done," just to find that I was creating a growing obsession trying to collect as much information as I could just so I could have something to do. And it turns out well over half of that information was pointless and not crucial to my journey as a musician. Thank you for reminding me it's okay to be bored, and to rise above the dangerous habit I was practicing.
I greatly appreciate these little reminders to live life instead of watching it happen. I spent the 90s and 00s trying to fix what I thought was wrong with my life by applying more and more complicated digital tools to my work, my organizing, my time management, and my hobbies, and the biggest realization I came to is that I was spending more time trying to find the perfect digital workflow than I was accomplishing anything. Productivity porn is insidious enough, and pouring algorithmically sticky social media content over the top creates a layer cake of disappointment, helplessness, and depression. Though it hurts to see the next generation struggling with the same crap, but greatly amplified, it's also heartwarming to see folks like you figuring this stuff out much sooner in your life than I did. Humans gotta human, and I'm always happy to see and share tips on improving the quality of humaning we all do.
In Buddhism there is talk of hot boredom and cool boredom. The former is the restless feeling of needing to get away from whatever is going on in our brains and emotion, but cool boredom, apart from being cool, is where we begin to appreciate the joyful ease of not having our dopamine receptors smashed with useless stimuli. The latter is where my creative flow truly arises
There have been some studies about how multitasking can be bad for the brain, so once you learn about that, it gets somewhat easy to understand why your mind is so tired and "foggy" at the end of the day. I used to have to do multitasking for my job (not music-related, which is just a hobby), but managed to streamline it a lot, and it helped immensely with my brain's stamina. The thing about being bored every once in a while is also important, and I think there have also been studies showing that being bombard by information all the time is bad. It's healthy to have nothing to do sometimes and _not_ being bombarded by endless stimuli. It's nice that you found out about this.
Watching this video on my phone while procrastinating instead of doing what I've planned to do afterwork for my self-development is the biggest controversy I've experienced in a long time...
Good on you. We could all benefit from a little bit of minimalism. Multitasking is overrated, especially when there is a high output of ideas, content, etc. I'm glad you are finding a balance with all of this madness.
As someone who is dealing with burnout right now, I needed to see this. My phone is a box of distractions, and I think it would really help me to not use it so much.
Boredom and idleness have a bad reputation - for absolutely no good reason! At least I am not aware of any good one. Looking out a window without any intention and feeling this weird something creeping up to you can be both, challenging and satisfying at the same time. At least that’s my personal experience. (Yeah, the one writing a comment for a TH-cam video. I am aware of the spot I find myself in, at least at this very moment.) The fantastic thing about boredom and idleness is that (from my experience) can make ideas become more clear, even if they are tiny at first glance. And when you feel bored enough, that feeling of happiness when returning to something like your studio (what ever that might be or look like, it doesn’t really matter) and pickup something 'unfinished' or just try something new, different, whatever … I say, it’s worth it, it’s worth trying. Good luck everyone. - And Cam: Nice video, thanks for that one!
Well, I can think of *a couple reasons* why boredom is bad for me. It's, uh... not pretty, trust me (haha mental illness go brrr). But boredom and idleness aren't the same. Sometimes, just looking through a window is not boring, it's just calming. Walking outside with no aim or purpose, can be boring, or it can not be. And when it's not, it feels amazing. And it tends to clear my mind. I realize that over half of the best melodies, chord progressions, etc. that I came up with, were while I was away from my computer. Something else I can recommend, is to listen to your own tracks while walking outside. Gives you a whole new perspective on them, and I find it allows me to notice glaring sound balance/texture issues that I barely notice when I've been working for a while.
I don't know what your stats say, but I think these are your strongest videos - pillar content that pulls on your greatest strength, your personality. I've been waching from another account for years and I still want to see your sound design videos and I love your personal studio and software content, but I think YOU are coming through most strongly in this type of video.
I deeply appreciate that you're talking about this! I can especially relate to the TH-cam thing. It's been a real struggle for me for years (I even wrote a song about it in 2014) and I would just watch hours upon hours of content. Last year, I managed to do a five month TH-cam cleanse. It was great and ever since then, I can go for days without watching TH-cam, sometimes I even forget to check it for new videos.
Limiting the sandbox in my expeirence has really helped me learn about what is important to me in a song in regards to digital minimalism and creativity. Using the Dirtywave M8 has been immensely helpful in making me more conscious of the resources I use putting more intent behind what I am doing. Since its a DAW in a box basically I can completely disconnect from social media when I work.
I'm glad you're talking about this, because this is important. I don't want an abundance of distractions in between myself and creative work either. The "Gaslighting myself into believing that I can't do creative work while mindlessly browsing online" concept is very real to me.
My phone is always on silent. Not vibrate, but don't forget where you put it silent. I have an old pebble smartwatch I got as an experiment because I can't feel my phone vibrate, but I can feel the watch tap my wrist. It has additional powers that let me make it silent whenever I'm working or likely to get a junk call, and I went know I missed a notification until I switch it back on or wonder what time it is. I also divided my devices into their jobs- my phone has socials and all the communication stuff but very few games and although I have music trackers for scratch pad I haven't used my phone this way for a couple years. A tablet is for streaming audio and video and reading books, it's basically a carry anywhere TV. No social apps on it at all. The PC is for creative use only. I will sometimes use the browser to look things up quickly or to post something I just created to social, but I won't surf, scroll, or browse. I like the notion of visiting with intent, even if that intent is to consume, that means you're going to search and not just take the auto timeline. I think that plug in you showed enforces this
Your videos have honestly gotten better and better. Thanks to your videos, I’ve changed the way I make music and live life. Please keep doing these type of videos. We need them more than you know.
Thank you Cameron. I have felt stuck creatively for the least year now. I look back on something I have made previously and don’t know how I did it. I get stuck doing sound design for days on end trying to get a single part just right and keep feeling like I’m doing it wrong. Then pick up my phone and veg out for hours. Swirl some depression into the mix because I feel I can’t do anything productive. This was relatable. Thank you for your tips.
Amazing stuff man. I'll be adding this to my newsletter in a few weeks, as I think you've hit the nail on the head with a REALLY big obstacle getting in the way of people's creativity and mental clarity. Appreciate these videos! 🙌
Excellent video on a vital topic! I've been attempting to do similar things and it helps to clear away mental clutter and cobwebs. Setting limits for time wasted on social media (as well as deleting contacts which you don't really have reasons to be connected to, etc.) helps me feel more free. One thing I do is put my phone somewhere out of reach / out of mind and I tend to eventually forget about it and focus more on what I should be doing. I reward myself with a little bit of time to scroll or read what I wanted to read, but limit myself when I do (or try my best to do so). I turn my wi-fi off on my phone too at times to help kill the temptation
Crazy. I deleted my socials a few weeks ago and everything you've said here I relate to so much. My phone turned me into a sad uncreative asshole and it almost killed me. I'm glad I'm back from that place cause for the firs time in a long time I can say I love myself and that I'm so much more capable and creative than I ever gave myself credit for.
This video saved my life man, i was with a real problem with youtube on my computer, always when have a to search something, then i see something that intrest me and after 2hrs i wars in a black hole, was realy a sucks, thank you very much for this video. im starting to produce content and soon i will start to post, hope that we can someday do something together.
There's a lot say about this, but instead I'll just commend you for being one of the only guys whose background music actually adds to the video instead of making it worse!
Thank you. I needed this video. It made me realize where my own obsession came from; how this doom scrolling started with me. So I'm taking action today. Here's to finishing projects.
I eliminated everything except TH-cam on my phone. And I disabled the comments on YT so I never have to deal with humans….at all…..ever. I'm 50 and life is good!!
You have this knack of coming up with content that’s absolutely appropriate for my current state of mind. Thanks for keeping my feet on the ground! Cheers Dave
In the Google/TH-cam settings, you can also disable your watch history. Then you won't see anything on the homescreen anymore. That way, I can focus on the ones I've subscribed to, e.g. you. Still have the recommended videos list on the right side though...
The youtude extension is a life saver!!!! Thanks a lot!!! Im in uni and use youtube a bit so that i can learn about some topics but always end up with a bunch of different tabs open and hours later overwhelmed like u said. Great video thanks! One thing im trying is getting some more intencional distractions like play the guitar for 10 min(im learning) or maybe go outside in the sun for a bit. Something that does not lead me into an infinite fictional reward loop
Lots of food for thought here! I have tried (unsuccessfully) many times to remove devices from my bedroom. But within a week I'm back to doom scrolling in bed. You gave a lot of sage advice here that I'm going to try. The notifications, app deletion, and focus mode seem simple enough, but far easier said than done. The FOMO is real when it comes to this. But I find myself missing being bored, missing the place where abstract thought begins. Thanks for making this, very thoughtful and well framed.
Awesome video. I’ve personally been attempting to minimize for the last couple months, and adding the screen time widget to my Home Screen to see how much time I’ve spent on my phone was a big help. I don’t like setting strict limits, like maybe I want to listen to a video at work which my phone sees as several hours of screen-on use, but being cognizant of the time was a good step for me.
07:00 the point with this tip is the following: you are adding an expense to the use of the smartphone (walking to it) and then we realize that the benefit gained through the cost is not worth...just recently I had this perception that what messes with our brain when it comes to tecnology is its inherit FREE to use nature. Our way to avoid using it so much is making it expensive (like having to walk from one room to another, you are spending chemical energy to do it) and when you do this you come to the conclusion that whatever you get from it does not comepnsate the extra effort to reach the device.
Nicely designed, excellently written, shot and edited, and the message, at least, for me, gives food for thought. Thank you for creating this video, well worth watching! ❤
Great video and it's gave me a kick up the arse I needed. I bought a new house and I had no studio set up and instead of building my studio back I got into the routine off watching TH-cam instead. I'd goto work,get home have dinner then id go into my empty room and couldn't envisage how to rebuild my old studio in my new space. I'd get frustrated because the room dimensions weren't the same and would put it off and chill out watching TH-cam instead. Then finally my wife forced me too build it ,once I'd built it my computer then died !! It took over a month too get it repaired and yet again I'd be watching TH-cam. I got everything working and installed about 2 months ago but my creativity has gone through the window. Before I moved I'd get home from work,spend time with family but would always spend a few hours in my studio each day..I was creating everyday and loved it but now because I've got out of my routine Ive been second guessing and taking TH-cam advice which has had me second guessing my work and took my focus away from creating. Starting tommorow my phone will be off more often and I'll be trying to get back into my old routines..thanks Cameron ❤
Very harsh drop, I am very motivated and I want to do the same but I followed a couple of these suggestions but failed. I think it gets harder everytime. But let's do it. Thanks for making this video, I really really like how you make these videos and inspire me in different ways!
I came to the same realization about a year ago as I found myself a consumer of too much "junk content", and passive is the delivery mode. It hit me waiting at the doctors for my appointment. Everyone was on their phone. It was the realization that I was now disconnected from the matrix. Now I can observe the addiction, but I'm not part of it anymore. Hope there a time in the future when this format and how it is administered is found out for what it is.
great topic, Cameron. Thats for sure something i've been struggling with. Good to see that more people are actually trying to do something and create healthier environments for both themselves and help others. I have a suggestion, not necessarily for a full YT video, but would you mind sharing some takes on ergonomics? the way to balance the Sound design (mouse) with the composing (piano/keyboard) setup. thanks
Awesome stuff, I’ve recently done similar things, I’ve removed most apps from the Home Screen and often leave my phone in other rooms. Also got rid of the notifications and unread count bubbles off most apps. It’s a truly freeing experience. As a result I’ve ended up doing more, be it music or photography or reading a book.
Oh, the whole "getting stuck on youtube or facebook or similar, and suddenly having wasted most of the day, and not having done anything creative." Yeah, I know the feeling. I kind of have to keep my phone close, as my dad goes a bit nuts if he can't get hold of me (i.e. if I don't answer on messenger within a few minutes) at any time of day. I've tried being very conscious of my content consumption recently, and I've managed to finish one song, and written a few dozen pages on my book project, so I think that simply being more conscious of what and why, really helps.
You’re my favorite channel on this platform. Thank you for all the work you put into these strong statements in video form. You make me want to do more and push harder to do something. So again, thanks.
Good advices! My little piece of advice as well, if you wanna try, people: find your old phone and upload there only necessary stuff like maps, browser, whatever you really need on a daily basis except distracting apps. That way you have a fully functional device to meet the needs of our modern world and you are separated from this endless stream of information and dopamine addiction, it makes much easier separating from it for for me, hope it may help you as well.
2 questions is all you need: Does it serve a function? If no: Does it make me happy? If no: remove it And if yes to function: is that function necessary or does it improve my life in a meaningful way? And if yes to happiness: Is this the only way to gain happiness or can I replace it? It's pointless to change something if that change leads to additional stress or makes your life worse in the long term. And dont fall into the trap of toxic self improvement.
It's funny timing, because I've been thinking about exactly this just in the last few days... Now I just need to do the hardest part of all, and motivate myself to accept, and start, this whole idea for myself...
This is important. Another helpful step is to minimise your options. Have a minimal set of plugins and vsts installed. Remove unnecessary toolbars, menus etc in your Daw. Sometimes I'd like a daw with just play, rec, stop and rewind.
Thanks for your provocativeness! I wrote a song called, " Caught Up in It." It seems like being caught up in it, is a good thing and a bad thing. Your insights demonstrate how easy it is to get stuck in a Rabbit Hole as you call it. I appreciate your talents, and also appreciate you caring enough to try to point out our obsessions, and how they maybe destroying our creativity. Keep up the great work.
Sooo I’m lining up with your content right now. Been feeling exactly like this…I started studying music theory when I would use socials. If I post..I post then I LEAVE. I get off the app. I decided to stop using tiktok as often. my creativity has been soooo much better.
Great video, I can relate cause i've been using my daw disconnected from the internet 20 years now and I don't miss any daw internet related feature so far.
I haven't had a smartphone in about 5 years. My studio has no WiFi. I like it that way, but my brain still finds ways of ridiculising its own ideas. Learning that that seems to be a common thing might help me going forward though. Thanks.
Somewhere on the ADD/ADHD spectrum, I very-recently retired from a 50+ year daily worklife, with the last 44 years spent in high-intensity, public/client facing roles. The constant need to multi-task in this working environment fit perfectly within the boundaries of my attention-limited persona. However, over time, my ability to train my focus on things, like reading or creating music or art, heck even watching an hour-long episode of an enjoyable Netflix serial, became less possible as the years wore on. Constant interruptions from a plethora of digital devices simply aggravated and exacerabted this trauma. However, with my exit from the "Corporate Hamster Wheel" I, like VT, have turned-off 98% of "Notifications" and have found myself mentally "breathing" for the first time in like...forever. So much so that I'm endeavoring to develop a daily Meditation Practice, something I was NEVER heretofore able to do. Like the title of a SPHONGLE tune: "Nothing is Something Worth Doing"! Cheers!
Related to the video subject, Anytime I realize I am on an app/area with 'endless scroll' I immediately inventory if I'm doing anything productive with it (so far, always a NO). Additionally, nice quiet 'Jameson Nathan Jones' shout out. It's always fun to see one of my TH-camrs watching another one of my TH-camrs (Yes I claim ownership, apparently).
I also recommend checking out Cal Newport, who talks about deep work. He’s a big preacher for keeping focus for long stretches of time and minimizing distractions.
Needed to hear this, good stuff VT... I usually hop on here to watch a few tutorials and like you said, fall down the rabbit hole of suggested vids and realized an hour or two has passed me by. I'm going to try a few of these ideas this week for sure. Keep dropping these videos good sir. 🤙🏽
You know, i came here to learning music theory and i started with Bitwig and i found a video for beginners! But sir, i can say i more thankful these videos to You. Actually it helped me lot more a making music! You are awesome!
Hi there @Venustheory! This is a really pivotal video in trying to fix everything distracting from..yourself. It's a long time since I'm feeling I'm not doing nothing specia with my music which probabaly is, whilst by the end of 90s mid 00's my means was so poor I almost regret all the goals I achieved. NOwadays, daws are so filled with choices, the internet is so full of "answer" which I agree with you, lead to a feeling of "thinking not to be good enough" in playing a synth, coming up with ideas, everyone's ideas which could be so unique. In the end, at least for me, I stopped producing, playing something at all. What I came up with? TH-cam: only for "sharing experiences" video; Social: dropped off of Insta and my REAL social relationship got better (no need to stare at the phone wating for something that will never come, probably); INTERNET (as a connection): not in the room where I'm playing. I'm now having a same kind of fun as 20 years ago. Thanks for this video. Just wanted to share these few lines. Thought all that the above was not a problem but for me. Now I know it's not. Hugs
Minimalism go brrrrr. Your assignment: try spending however much time you spend on your phone/whatever working on something creative for the next 7 days.
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well I mean if it gets you 10 pounds of American muscle who wouldn't
Sorry, at times it's totally OK to "just consume" and "not be creative", and sleep a lot and take things a bit slower ... or not at all? There will be other times when things go better, run smoother. Life goes on.
I do have "do not disturb" on ALL THE TIME though, I always have my phone on mute and usually never pick up calls but answer them when I HAVE TIME, I often forget my phone in the other room - and then pick it up deliberately after 2 hours of work because "I deserve a break" or need to zone out ...
So I guess it's something in between "being a lazy millenial with a lot of guilt" and "having a work ethic that doesn't kill me within the next 5 years". 😉
I've been spending more time being creative in the kitchen, trying to eat better and avoid highly processed foods. I made lasagna a few days ago, after watching some guides on TH-cam. Best damn lasagna I've ever had.
@@g3cd agreed, up until
when doing that that way gets ingrained into one's muscle memory, all bets are off
getting off socials was one of the best things i ever did. amazing how much more productive, creative, and what skills you can learn when you don't drop multiple hours on your phone everyday. My boss thinks I'm a genius but I just have the whole day to study lol. Watch your screen time! Most of the world is pretty addicted and you get a huge advantage
Never been a big social guy but definitely agree - productivity is through the roof just by not sitting there reading an article or looking at tutorials/forums and all that sort of stuff.
Stop telling people
Me, too. Started with Facebook in 2018, then Instagram a year later. I never did use....er, whatever that thing was that Elon Musk bought. As for TH-cam, I limit my watching to the few channels that deal with my interests and I delete everything else as it comes in. My rule there is that if it's from a channel I haven't subscribed to, I click on the Do Not Show Me Content from This Channel control. It can't stop all the other channels that are just like it, but the more of these channels I remove from my....whatever, the fewer of them seem to show up. One more tip: always clear your Watch History and Liked Videos from TH-cam.
I was about to watch this video but then I saw your comment, so I’m skipping it now and will try to be productive instead.
@@Eric-pc4yi the Snark side of the force is strong in this one. 🙂
What you’re describing is what Steven Pressfield calls ‘Resistance’ in a series of books starting with “The War of Art”. He essentially outlines how it (resistance) will do anything to stop you from deviating from the Status Quo and kill any sign of creative urge. His solution is to treat it like an enemy, understand it and where it comes from and go to war against it. It may sound cheesy but so far it has worked for me. I’m still struggling but at least I know how to recognise it and call out my own bullshit when I let it control me.
You happened to drop this video at the exact moment I was wasting my precious time on TH-cam watching interesting, but ultimately useless videos instead of learning about synthesis and composing like I had planned yesterday. Thank you.
Glad to be of service haha
I love that your channel is leaning more into “creative TH-cam” than specifically music TH-cam. Obviously I love music, and I love your videos on the subject.
But at the same time, these kinds of videos have inspired me to engage in more than just music for a creative outlet. Filmmaking/cinematography, writing, graphic design, all of it. Thanks for being an inspiration man 🙂
It is extremely satisfying to see people come around to living intentionally in order to free themselves from the trappings of consumer culture. So much of everything you describe here is not so much about disconnecting or being minimalist, but about setting healthy boundaries between yourself and the sea of constant distractions engineered to manipulate and entrap you. By adding intent driven selectivity you create a natural filter for things that reward you for cultivating your own life which in turn creates a virtuous cycle of growth. This development has the added benefit of strengthening your resolve, reducing stress, and feeds your creative energy rather than drains it. You absolutely nailed all the critical elements of this and I hope it continues to reinvigorate all of your life. I am by no means any expert but I can confidently say you have unlocked one of the gates of nirvana and I look forward to your journey through it. Live well, good sir. There is no other life worth living.
Well said Cameron. One of THE worst things to kill your motivation is jumping on your phone as soon as you wake up; it starts you chasing the 'bad' dopamine all day. You're much better off going outside, getting sun in your eyes & walking. And thanks for the Unkook app tip = game changer!
This video really resonates with me, as over the years I've experienced symptoms comparable to an addiction. I found that it takes a lot of discipline to scale things back down to the bare essentials and actually learn to enjoy isolation as a way to boost productivity. Cutting distractions, as well as selecting only a handful of tools instead of scrolling through folders and folders of stuff I end up not even using in my music, is helping me immensely.
I'm a 62 year old boomer, I work in technology, and I have to walk that line too.
I have definitely allowed WOW and GW2 and Conan Exiles etc. usurp my time as well.
I had to double down on music to get out.
Yeah and going out too.
I live in the desert, no excuse to stay in after work.
A while ago I got a small pillow I placed on my desk just as decoration, I discovered that since I keep my phone on vibrate when I put it on that pillow it silences my phone completely. I've been checking it so much less when at my computer now its amazing.
Huh. I have a large like 'whole desk' mousepad that actually does the same sort of thing and I don't know that I've ever thought about that until now. That's actually a great little hack haha.
You can use B&wW filter on iphone too! Go to settings -> accessibility -> screen and text size -> color filters. You can assign that to the double tap on the back of the phone so you can restore it whenever.
Im glad im not alone fighting with this new era of digital chaos. 😂 I went down the hard way and closed my internet provider for 6 months. 1 month in already wish me luck😂 cool video!🎉
Watching this on my lunch break at work ❤
What helped for me is a combination of two things:
1 - no phone after 9pm
2 - schedule a non-phone activity for 9pm every day
After a lot of experimentation, I discovered that both Android and Iphone have parental controls, so my old phone became my parent phone with a password and my regular phone had all the candy crack blocked. On Android it can even block specific websites. That way I can have all the important things like maps running freely instead of buying a dumphone or minimalism apps that only ever seem to partially work.
I sometimes see comments about why I like hardware synths when everything is so instant in Fruity or Ableton... But the amount of mastering tutorials that I get served here is a good reminder. I just adjust the eq and compression on my mixer a bit and everything is good. The fact each piece of gear is rather limited compared to a high end vst lets me know what each box excels at rather than just getting overwhelmed with endless settings
I often find myself scrambling to find a youtube video or podcast related to music production to listen to while I "get work done," just to find that I was creating a growing obsession trying to collect as much information as I could just so I could have something to do. And it turns out well over half of that information was pointless and not crucial to my journey as a musician. Thank you for reminding me it's okay to be bored, and to rise above the dangerous habit I was practicing.
Well heck if this isn't the EXACT video I needed to see today. Thank you for softening another rough day.
I greatly appreciate these little reminders to live life instead of watching it happen. I spent the 90s and 00s trying to fix what I thought was wrong with my life by applying more and more complicated digital tools to my work, my organizing, my time management, and my hobbies, and the biggest realization I came to is that I was spending more time trying to find the perfect digital workflow than I was accomplishing anything. Productivity porn is insidious enough, and pouring algorithmically sticky social media content over the top creates a layer cake of disappointment, helplessness, and depression. Though it hurts to see the next generation struggling with the same crap, but greatly amplified, it's also heartwarming to see folks like you figuring this stuff out much sooner in your life than I did. Humans gotta human, and I'm always happy to see and share tips on improving the quality of humaning we all do.
In Buddhism there is talk of hot boredom and cool boredom. The former is the restless feeling of needing to get away from whatever is going on in our brains and emotion, but cool boredom, apart from being cool, is where we begin to appreciate the joyful ease of not having our dopamine receptors smashed with useless stimuli. The latter is where my creative flow truly arises
How do you ‘activate’ cool boredom?
@@xXGrandclosingXx its a combo, u do L shift+ctrl+c+b on ps u go L1+R2+SQUARE+TRIANGLE+UP+UP+DOWN+LEFT
Fascinating. I'm going to look into that. Thanks.
@@xXGrandclosingXx > With daily Mindfulness Meditation 😉
There have been some studies about how multitasking can be bad for the brain, so once you learn about that, it gets somewhat easy to understand why your mind is so tired and "foggy" at the end of the day. I used to have to do multitasking for my job (not music-related, which is just a hobby), but managed to streamline it a lot, and it helped immensely with my brain's stamina.
The thing about being bored every once in a while is also important, and I think there have also been studies showing that being bombard by information all the time is bad. It's healthy to have nothing to do sometimes and _not_ being bombarded by endless stimuli.
It's nice that you found out about this.
Watching this video on my phone while procrastinating instead of doing what I've planned to do afterwork for my self-development is the biggest controversy I've experienced in a long time...
Good on you. We could all benefit from a little bit of minimalism. Multitasking is overrated, especially when there is a high output of ideas, content, etc. I'm glad you are finding a balance with all of this madness.
As someone who is dealing with burnout right now, I needed to see this. My phone is a box of distractions, and I think it would really help me to not use it so much.
Boredom and idleness have a bad reputation - for absolutely no good reason! At least I am not aware of any good one. Looking out a window without any intention and feeling this weird something creeping up to you can be both, challenging and satisfying at the same time. At least that’s my personal experience. (Yeah, the one writing a comment for a TH-cam video. I am aware of the spot I find myself in, at least at this very moment.)
The fantastic thing about boredom and idleness is that (from my experience) can make ideas become more clear, even if they are tiny at first glance. And when you feel bored enough, that feeling of happiness when returning to something like your studio (what ever that might be or look like, it doesn’t really matter) and pickup something 'unfinished' or just try something new, different, whatever … I say, it’s worth it, it’s worth trying.
Good luck everyone. - And Cam: Nice video, thanks for that one!
Well, I can think of *a couple reasons* why boredom is bad for me. It's, uh... not pretty, trust me (haha mental illness go brrr).
But boredom and idleness aren't the same. Sometimes, just looking through a window is not boring, it's just calming. Walking outside with no aim or purpose, can be boring, or it can not be. And when it's not, it feels amazing. And it tends to clear my mind. I realize that over half of the best melodies, chord progressions, etc. that I came up with, were while I was away from my computer.
Something else I can recommend, is to listen to your own tracks while walking outside. Gives you a whole new perspective on them, and I find it allows me to notice glaring sound balance/texture issues that I barely notice when I've been working for a while.
Your message, delivery and editing is always on point. That's why I'm a Patron 👍🏽
🤠
I don't know what your stats say, but I think these are your strongest videos - pillar content that pulls on your greatest strength, your personality. I've been waching from another account for years and I still want to see your sound design videos and I love your personal studio and software content, but I think YOU are coming through most strongly in this type of video.
I deeply appreciate that you're talking about this!
I can especially relate to the TH-cam thing. It's been a real struggle for me for years (I even wrote a song about it in 2014) and I would just watch hours upon hours of content. Last year, I managed to do a five month TH-cam cleanse. It was great and ever since then, I can go for days without watching TH-cam, sometimes I even forget to check it for new videos.
Limiting the sandbox in my expeirence has really helped me learn about what is important to me in a song in regards to digital minimalism and creativity. Using the Dirtywave M8 has been immensely helpful in making me more conscious of the resources I use putting more intent behind what I am doing. Since its a DAW in a box basically I can completely disconnect from social media when I work.
I'm glad you're talking about this, because this is important. I don't want an abundance of distractions in between myself and creative work either. The "Gaslighting myself into believing that I can't do creative work while mindlessly browsing online" concept is very real to me.
My phone is always on silent. Not vibrate, but don't forget where you put it silent.
I have an old pebble smartwatch I got as an experiment because I can't feel my phone vibrate, but I can feel the watch tap my wrist. It has additional powers that let me make it silent whenever I'm working or likely to get a junk call, and I went know I missed a notification until I switch it back on or wonder what time it is.
I also divided my devices into their jobs- my phone has socials and all the communication stuff but very few games and although I have music trackers for scratch pad I haven't used my phone this way for a couple years.
A tablet is for streaming audio and video and reading books, it's basically a carry anywhere TV. No social apps on it at all.
The PC is for creative use only. I will sometimes use the browser to look things up quickly or to post something I just created to social, but I won't surf, scroll, or browse.
I like the notion of visiting with intent, even if that intent is to consume, that means you're going to search and not just take the auto timeline. I think that plug in you showed enforces this
Your videos have honestly gotten better and better. Thanks to your videos, I’ve changed the way I make music and live life. Please keep doing these type of videos. We need them more than you know.
Great advice. Glad you made a video on this!
Thank you Cameron. I have felt stuck creatively for the least year now. I look back on something I have made previously and don’t know how I did it. I get stuck doing sound design for days on end trying to get a single part just right and keep feeling like I’m doing it wrong. Then pick up my phone and veg out for hours. Swirl some depression into the mix because I feel I can’t do anything productive.
This was relatable. Thank you for your tips.
Amazing stuff man. I'll be adding this to my newsletter in a few weeks, as I think you've hit the nail on the head with a REALLY big obstacle getting in the way of people's creativity and mental clarity. Appreciate these videos! 🙌
Ha no way, it's THE Zach Heyde. Love your channel dude, a regular on my gym playlist.
Excellent video on a vital topic! I've been attempting to do similar things and it helps to clear away mental clutter and cobwebs. Setting limits for time wasted on social media (as well as deleting contacts which you don't really have reasons to be connected to, etc.) helps me feel more free. One thing I do is put my phone somewhere out of reach / out of mind and I tend to eventually forget about it and focus more on what I should be doing. I reward myself with a little bit of time to scroll or read what I wanted to read, but limit myself when I do (or try my best to do so). I turn my wi-fi off on my phone too at times to help kill the temptation
Crazy. I deleted my socials a few weeks ago and everything you've said here I relate to so much. My phone turned me into a sad uncreative asshole and it almost killed me. I'm glad I'm back from that place cause for the firs time in a long time I can say I love myself and that I'm so much more capable and creative than I ever gave myself credit for.
I 100% agree with the last rule!!! Understanding what is behind our intentions is the key thing if we want to change our behaviour.
This video saved my life man, i was with a real problem with youtube on my computer, always when have a to search something, then i see something that intrest me and after 2hrs i wars in a black hole, was realy a sucks, thank you very much for this video.
im starting to produce content and soon i will start to post, hope that we can someday do something together.
There's a lot say about this, but instead I'll just commend you for being one of the only guys whose background music actually adds to the video instead of making it worse!
This is one of the best videos I have seen on my decade on TH-cam. To the point, not over complicating a genuinely important topic. Well done. 👍🏼
Thank you. I needed this video. It made me realize where my own obsession came from; how this doom scrolling started with me. So I'm taking action today. Here's to finishing projects.
I eliminated everything except TH-cam on my phone. And I disabled the comments on YT so I never have to deal with humans….at all…..ever. I'm 50 and life is good!!
Would like to know how you disabled comments on TH-cam ? Would like to do it myself
You have this knack of coming up with content that’s absolutely appropriate for my current state of mind. Thanks for keeping my feet on the ground! Cheers Dave
In the Google/TH-cam settings, you can also disable your watch history. Then you won't see anything on the homescreen anymore. That way, I can focus on the ones I've subscribed to, e.g. you. Still have the recommended videos list on the right side though...
The youtude extension is a life saver!!!! Thanks a lot!!! Im in uni and use youtube a bit so that i can learn about some topics but always end up with a bunch of different tabs open and hours later overwhelmed like u said. Great video thanks!
One thing im trying is getting some more intencional distractions like play the guitar for 10 min(im learning) or maybe go outside in the sun for a bit. Something that does not lead me into an infinite fictional reward loop
Lots of food for thought here! I have tried (unsuccessfully) many times to remove devices from my bedroom. But within a week I'm back to doom scrolling in bed. You gave a lot of sage advice here that I'm going to try. The notifications, app deletion, and focus mode seem simple enough, but far easier said than done. The FOMO is real when it comes to this. But I find myself missing being bored, missing the place where abstract thought begins. Thanks for making this, very thoughtful and well framed.
Not only am I fan of getting off social media and OLaucnher, but this channel is fast becoming my favourite in general.
I am a one screen guy now. Logic Pro on the MacBook is awesome because it has deep integration with the track pad.
Awesome video. I’ve personally been attempting to minimize for the last couple months, and adding the screen time widget to my Home Screen to see how much time I’ve spent on my phone was a big help. I don’t like setting strict limits, like maybe I want to listen to a video at work which my phone sees as several hours of screen-on use, but being cognizant of the time was a good step for me.
Yeah man, good advice as always! Love the reminder that it's ok to not be busy all the time and it's Ok to just do nothing.
07:00 the point with this tip is the following: you are adding an expense to the use of the smartphone (walking to it) and then we realize that the benefit gained through the cost is not worth...just recently I had this perception that what messes with our brain when it comes to tecnology is its inherit FREE to use nature. Our way to avoid using it so much is making it expensive (like having to walk from one room to another, you are spending chemical energy to do it) and when you do this you come to the conclusion that whatever you get from it does not comepnsate the extra effort to reach the device.
Thanks a lot!! I've already applied many of your tips but the Launcher will really help me! :)
Nicely designed, excellently written, shot and edited, and the message, at least, for me, gives food for thought. Thank you for creating this video, well worth watching! ❤
Great video and it's gave me a kick up the arse I needed.
I bought a new house and I had no studio set up and instead of building my studio back I got into the routine off watching TH-cam instead.
I'd goto work,get home have dinner then id go into my empty room and couldn't envisage how to rebuild my old studio in my new space.
I'd get frustrated because the room dimensions weren't the same and would put it off and chill out watching TH-cam instead.
Then finally my wife forced me too build it ,once I'd built it my computer then died !!
It took over a month too get it repaired and yet again I'd be watching TH-cam.
I got everything working and installed about 2 months ago but my creativity has gone through the window.
Before I moved I'd get home from work,spend time with family but would always spend a few hours in my studio each day..I was creating everyday and loved it but now because I've got out of my routine Ive been second guessing and taking TH-cam advice which has had me second guessing my work and took my focus away from creating.
Starting tommorow my phone will be off more often and I'll be trying to get back into my old routines..thanks Cameron ❤
Very harsh drop, I am very motivated and I want to do the same but I followed a couple of these suggestions but failed. I think it gets harder everytime. But let's do it. Thanks for making this video, I really really like how you make these videos and inspire me in different ways!
You and Benn are my favorite drama queens : I produce Industrial EBM and chaos is what drives me and keeps me alive : Cheers 🥂
Appreciate this one. I've been working on this problem myself for awhile, but I appreciate a few of the specific suggestions for things I hadn't seen.
I came to the same realization about a year ago as I found myself a consumer of too much "junk content", and passive is the delivery mode. It hit me waiting at the doctors for my appointment. Everyone was on their phone. It was the realization that I was now disconnected from the matrix. Now I can observe the addiction, but I'm not part of it anymore. Hope there a time in the future when this format and how it is administered is found out for what it is.
This is a great video with some super useful tips. I needed to see this. Thank you.
Setting limits and allowing yourself to be functional is a skill most people don't have...
As always, Great video!
great topic, Cameron. Thats for sure something i've been struggling with. Good to see that more people are actually trying to do something and create healthier environments for both themselves and help others. I have a suggestion, not necessarily for a full YT video, but would you mind sharing some takes on ergonomics? the way to balance the Sound design (mouse) with the composing (piano/keyboard) setup. thanks
Awesome stuff, I’ve recently done similar things, I’ve removed most apps from the Home Screen and often leave my phone in other rooms. Also got rid of the notifications and unread count bubbles off most apps. It’s a truly freeing experience. As a result I’ve ended up doing more, be it music or photography or reading a book.
Thank you so much for your channel, always helpful and inspiring. Keep up the good work, the world definitely needs it 🙏🏻
great finale! I'll take that quote 👍 (alongside with my old: "Hoka hey")
Oh, the whole "getting stuck on youtube or facebook or similar, and suddenly having wasted most of the day, and not having done anything creative." Yeah, I know the feeling. I kind of have to keep my phone close, as my dad goes a bit nuts if he can't get hold of me (i.e. if I don't answer on messenger within a few minutes) at any time of day. I've tried being very conscious of my content consumption recently, and I've managed to finish one song, and written a few dozen pages on my book project, so I think that simply being more conscious of what and why, really helps.
You’re my favorite channel on this platform. Thank you for all the work you put into these strong statements in video form. You make me want to do more and push harder to do something. So again, thanks.
I love this. I see myself as a digital minimalist and often go through purges where I heavily question the actual utility of certain things I have.
Killing it again Cam! Installing unhook is a no-brainer, thanks for pointing it out.
Good advices! My little piece of advice as well, if you wanna try, people: find your old phone and upload there only necessary stuff like maps, browser, whatever you really need on a daily basis except distracting apps. That way you have a fully functional device to meet the needs of our modern world and you are separated from this endless stream of information and dopamine addiction, it makes much easier separating from it for for me, hope it may help you as well.
Always a pleasure to watch your videos. Thank you!
Great timing man, every so often I cut more n more distractions off from my phone and electronics and been doing it the past few days
Also phenomenal music, editing, shots, scripting, and especially color grading 👌
2 questions is all you need:
Does it serve a function?
If no:
Does it make me happy?
If no: remove it
And if yes to function: is that function necessary or does it improve my life in a meaningful way?
And if yes to happiness: Is this the only way to gain happiness or can I replace it?
It's pointless to change something if that change leads to additional stress or makes your life worse in the long term. And dont fall into the trap of toxic self improvement.
It's funny timing, because I've been thinking about exactly this just in the last few days... Now I just need to do the hardest part of all, and motivate myself to accept, and start, this whole idea for myself...
good point!
For some reason, your videos are putting me back on track.
This is important. Another helpful step is to minimise your options. Have a minimal set of plugins and vsts installed. Remove unnecessary toolbars, menus etc in your Daw. Sometimes I'd like a daw with just play, rec, stop and rewind.
Thanks for your provocativeness! I wrote a song called, " Caught Up in It." It seems like being caught up in it, is a good thing and a bad thing. Your insights demonstrate how easy it is to get stuck in a Rabbit Hole as you call it. I appreciate your talents, and also appreciate you caring enough to try to point out our obsessions, and how they maybe destroying our creativity. Keep up the great work.
Great thoughts man! So much truth here. I’m definitely a fan of simplifying where I can.
This is exactly what i am going thru right now. I need it to stop immediately and get back to work.
im just glad i am not the only one going through this!
Top stuff! Your videos/content are just getting better and better. really enjoying this corner of YT. Thanks :)
Sooo I’m lining up with your content right now. Been feeling exactly like this…I started studying music theory when I would use socials. If I post..I post then I LEAVE. I get off the app. I decided to stop using tiktok as often. my creativity has been soooo much better.
Thanks for this, you somehow said exactly what i needed to hear.
''You don't have to fill all of your time all the time''
Ouch. I felt that.😶🌫
Really like the suggestion for browser plugins that hide all the TH-cam stats. Hadn't ever considered that. Nice, thx!
Great video, I can relate cause i've been using my daw disconnected from the internet 20 years now and I don't miss any daw internet related feature so far.
This is exactly how I’ve been feeling lately. This is a great video😀 it’s just so darn addictive.
Great vid. It made me think of this quote from Goethe : "We always have time enough, if we will but use it aright." Keep on!!
Beautifully produced video and some really wonderful practical advice. Thank you as always
I haven't had a smartphone in about 5 years. My studio has no WiFi. I like it that way, but my brain still finds ways of ridiculising its own ideas. Learning that that seems to be a common thing might help me going forward though. Thanks.
hey cameron, would kinda love to hear what you have to say about udio/suno and the new ai stuff. I'm kinda struggling
Somewhere on the ADD/ADHD spectrum, I very-recently retired from a 50+ year daily worklife, with the last 44 years spent in high-intensity, public/client facing roles. The constant need to multi-task in this working environment fit perfectly within the boundaries of my attention-limited persona. However, over time, my ability to train my focus on things, like reading or creating music or art, heck even watching an hour-long episode of an enjoyable Netflix serial, became less possible as the years wore on. Constant interruptions from a plethora of digital devices simply aggravated and exacerabted this trauma. However, with my exit from the "Corporate Hamster Wheel" I, like VT, have turned-off 98% of "Notifications" and have found myself mentally "breathing" for the first time in like...forever. So much so that I'm endeavoring to develop a daily Meditation Practice, something I was NEVER heretofore able to do. Like the title of a SPHONGLE tune: "Nothing is Something Worth Doing"! Cheers!
Related to the video subject, Anytime I realize I am on an app/area with 'endless scroll' I immediately inventory if I'm doing anything productive with it (so far, always a NO). Additionally, nice quiet 'Jameson Nathan Jones' shout out. It's always fun to see one of my TH-camrs watching another one of my TH-camrs (Yes I claim ownership, apparently).
I also recommend checking out Cal Newport, who talks about deep work. He’s a big preacher for keeping focus for long stretches of time and minimizing distractions.
No joke, that unhook extension makes TH-cam look so clean. Might even clean up my life.
“Sometimes it’s okay to be bored” i made a little art piece on that quote literally today and now i see this video…
Minimal TH-cam extension is also really awesome. it makes YT a simple search bar without any distractions
Needed to hear this, good stuff VT... I usually hop on here to watch a few tutorials and like you said, fall down the rabbit hole of suggested vids and realized an hour or two has passed me by. I'm going to try a few of these ideas this week for sure. Keep dropping these videos good sir. 🤙🏽
You know, i came here to learning music theory and i started with Bitwig and i found a video for beginners! But sir, i can say i more thankful these videos to You. Actually it helped me lot more a making music! You are awesome!
Hi there @Venustheory! This is a really pivotal video in trying to fix everything distracting from..yourself. It's a long time since I'm feeling I'm not doing nothing specia with my music which probabaly is, whilst by the end of 90s mid 00's my means was so poor I almost regret all the goals I achieved. NOwadays, daws are so filled with choices, the internet is so full of "answer" which I agree with you, lead to a feeling of "thinking not to be good enough" in playing a synth, coming up with ideas, everyone's ideas which could be so unique. In the end, at least for me, I stopped producing, playing something at all. What I came up with? TH-cam: only for "sharing experiences" video; Social: dropped off of Insta and my REAL social relationship got better (no need to stare at the phone wating for something that will never come, probably); INTERNET (as a connection): not in the room where I'm playing. I'm now having a same kind of fun as 20 years ago. Thanks for this video. Just wanted to share these few lines. Thought all that the above was not a problem but for me. Now I know it's not. Hugs