energy for late night music writing

Meef Chaloin · Post by **Meef Chaloin** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 7:05 am

loose good quality green tea

northernlight · Post by **northernlight** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 8:28 am

Some things that work for me:

- 3 healthy meals a day. No snacks in between.
- 2l of water spread out over the day.
- Avoid caffeine in the morning or when you don't really need it. Save it for the evening when you need a bit of a kick.
- 10 minutes of exercises go a long way. I often do stretching or go for a run for 10 minutes when I’m home from work before going to the studio.
- Take a 5-minute break every hour. Get out of your chair and go for a walk outside.
- I play hockey and go to the sauna twice a week.
- Schedule your time and try to stick to it. When you go to the studio, always make sure you have an idea of what you want to do before you sit down. Efficiency is key.
- DO NOT STRESS

lunabass · Post by **lunabass** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 8:50 am

here's a good idea, try 3 grapes on a ritz cracker sprinkled with crushed green tea.

actually i eat a couple of bananas a day especially in the morning and that helps keep me going

sqook · Post by **sqook** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 8:52 am

At the risk of sounding like I'm trying to psycho-analyze you, I'm going to go out on a limb here... you're not looking for advice at all about energy boosters and such, or else you wouldn't have written so much about your lifestyle and various small vices. I think you want us to tell you that you should eat breakfast/lunch, quit smoking/caffeine, etc., because you clearly have identified these factors yourself as contributing to fatigue.

And yet, I somehow doubt that a bunch of fellow ableton nerds berating you for said habits will get you to change them.

Johnisfaster · Post by **Johnisfaster** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 8:53 am

you know those drinks called ensure made for old people? they are actually pretty freakin amazing and give you a total boost of energy without a fake caffience buzz or anything. they are actually so good for you you could actually live off of them and nothing else if you wanted to.

I tried drinking those when I was working 14 hours a day last month and it really heald me together. I would definetly recommend them before trying to get down to some business when you're running dry.

and they taste good too if you ask me.

the only thing is if you drink one of those and then go quite a few hours after without eating you can expect a total crash after about 3 hours. you can feel your blood sugar drop and then you're like "ohhhhh god... I need some energy" so then you drink another one or eat some real food adn you're good to go. but you should definetly plan on some more "input" after about 3 hours of drinking one.

pabloaugustus · Post by **pabloaugustus** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 9:05 am

For musical inspiration and the energy to stay focused while playing or songwriting I smoke herb. If I smoke with dedication and intention to making music and opening myself up to inspiration I get 'fired up' & have plenty of energy to play/create music. Smoking puts me in a mindset where I'm listening much differently, more closely, more enjoyably. Better music results. When playing live music the set after the break is much better. Almost every single professional musician/producer I play/work with smokes. I know not everybody has these same experiences (smoking regularly probably makes productive experiences more likely due to the tolerance factor) but musicians have been drawn to herb for a long time for good reason. Not to say its the only or best way to get into the 'zone', but being an herb smoking musician is great for me (not the lungs though...) and I would recommend it, along with & eating well & exercising as per previous posts.

-Pablo

"Never go to excess, but let moderation be your guide."
Cicero (106 BC - 43 BC)

"Excess on occasion is exhilarating. It prevents moderation from acquiring the deadening effect of a habit."
W. Somerset Maugham (1874 - 1965)

Freakybeatz · Post by **Freakybeatz** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 9:46 am

LOOK!

I buy a big jar of coffee granules skip the water sugar and milk and just tip it down my throat.

roll 100 unfiltered ciggies and that gets me through the night (and most of the day)

food is overrated, it takes time to prepare and eat, plus when I go in for my triple bypass next week I'll get enough then!

Just wish these shooting pains in my arm would go away!

FREAKY.......

jeskola · Post by **jeskola** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 9:55 am

beats me wrote: So I thought I would ask some of you for some of your more exotic (and legal) quick energy boosters.

Exercise regularly!
Stick some of your own tunes on a ipod/mp3 player to review and go run.

Tarekith · Post by **Tarekith** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 11:42 am

Can't say it enough, exercise. I'm 32 and up at 5:00 everyday too, two cup of coffee at work AND breakfast are a must for me. Food in the morning will keep you going all day long, don't skip that. I get home around 2:00-3:30 and the first thing I do is put on my running or biking shorts and hit the trails for 30 minutes most days, and up to two hour runs once a week (I run half-marathons when I can). Soemtimes I'll grab my board and go to the loca skatepark for a bit too, vary it up some.

The exercise definitely gives you more energy, and more importantly, I find it's a nice way to unstress from work before I try and work on music. Get all those frustrations and any tense muscles worked out before you try and be creative, helps loads.

forge · Post by **forge** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 12:03 pm

Tarekith wrote:Can't say it enough, exercise. I'm 32 and up at 5:00 everyday too, two cup of coffee at work AND breakfast are a must for me. Food in the morning will keep you going all day long, don't skip that. I get home around 2:00-3:30 and the first thing I do is put on my running or biking shorts and hit the trails for 30 minutes most days, and up to two hour runs once a week (I run half-marathons when I can). Soemtimes I'll grab my board and go to the loca skatepark for a bit too, vary it up some.

The exercise definitely gives you more energy, and more importantly, I find it's a nice way to unstress from work before I try and work on music. Get all those frustrations and any tense muscles worked out before you try and be creative, helps loads.

you are speaking words here that feel like some ancient knowledge my soul injects into the back of my head every day yet I insist on ignoring

how do us fat bastards who drink too much beer get started on that?

dustspec · Post by **dustspec** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 12:05 pm

42 year old here - full time job - family - insane. I actually cut out most of my caffeine recently and drink lots of green tea instead- it is not as hardcore but I definitely have more energy.

The thing that really gets me going though is sitting down and opening up Ableton then making some beats or playing a chord or mucking with a soft synth - I find that if I dive in and start that the energy comes. It is when i sit around and check emails or browse the web for gear or plugins that I feel the time wastes away and energy wanes. Oh and avoid spending too much time on forums. lol

dustspec

jeskola · Post by **jeskola** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 12:08 pm

forge wrote:
Tarekith wrote:Can't say it enough, exercise. I'm 32 and up at 5:00 everyday too, two cup of coffee at work AND breakfast are a must for me. Food in the morning will keep you going all day long, don't skip that. I get home around 2:00-3:30 and the first thing I do is put on my running or biking shorts and hit the trails for 30 minutes most days, and up to two hour runs once a week (I run half-marathons when I can). Soemtimes I'll grab my board and go to the loca skatepark for a bit too, vary it up some.

The exercise definitely gives you more energy, and more importantly, I find it's a nice way to unstress from work before I try and work on music. Get all those frustrations and any tense muscles worked out before you try and be creative, helps loads.
you are speaking words here that feel like some ancient knowledge my soul injects into the back of my head every day yet I insist on ignoring

how do us fat bastards who drink too much beer get started on that?

Try running a minute, walk for two for half an hour every second day. Over weeks increase how much you run and decress how much you walk... within a few weeks youll be running two or three miles without stopping... But make sure you have proper shoes or you'll fuck yer knees over time.

Amazing how your body can adapt. Even simply walking for 3 or so miles a day blows the cobwebs out.

dustspec · Post by **dustspec** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 12:08 pm

And ditto to the exercise. Energy begets energy. Apparently now there is growing research that exercise is one of the most important ways to avoid depression. I reckon it has to do with inertia - an object at rest tends to stay at rest - one in motion stays in motion. Keep moving, keep searching, keep picking up.

pixelbox · Post by **pixelbox** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 1:19 pm

Dude! You all know that Jenny Craig, Susan Powter, and Joe Weider ain't got shit on us!

substance_g · Post by **substance_g** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 1:24 pm

Great discussion.

Ditto ditto for the exercising boost. Doesn't have to be running a marathon every week - everyone has their own level. I'm going wakeboarding after work a couple of times a week and it's worked wonders for my energy levels. Instead of feeling half-knackered all day, I'm now full of beans during the day and completely knackered after boarding, resulting in a good night's sleep. Binary energy levels are better!

The only problem I still have is that the nature of my work involves staring at a laptop screen for 10 hours a day. Last thing I want to do when I'm home is stare at a screen again - any tips?

energy for late night music writing

Re: energy for late night music writing