How to swap doom-scrolling for songwriting
On cultivating environments that make music-making more likely
Using social media rarely makes me feel good. I can’t think of a time—since I first started using Myspace—that social media hasn’t left me feeling both strung out and saturated after just a few minutes of use. It’s only gotten worse since then (like, oh, so much worse), and yet I still reach for it daily.
Recently, I was working with a client on the specific challenge of reducing doom-scrolling in favor of making more music. As we discussed some practical ways to approach this shift, I realized that I was eager to try much of what we came up with myself.
The thoughts below are quite specific and practical, but they’re all grounded in one main principle: keeping fun, easy-to-use music-making tools highly visible in the spaces where you play and relax.
Big love and keep going,
Lucy
On swapping scrolling for songwriting
MEMO - Make music apps easier to access than social media
You don’t have to delete social media entirely, but you can remove social apps from your home screen and replace them with music-making apps. This makes it just a little bit harder to get to Instagram, and a little bit easier to start making a quirky beat using Figure or Drop Dots.
MEMO - Put together a musical toy box
Fill this with small, playful music-making toys and instruments, and set it next to your sofa or somewhere visible in your living room. Ideas for what to include: a kalimba, an ocarina, a Stylophone, a simple analog looper, a shaker or two. Really, anything eye-catching and fun that you’ll want to pick up and play around with.
MEMO - Make musical instruments a part of your decor
Wall-mount your guitars, give your modular synth a place of pride, or put a small bowl of percussion instruments on your coffee table. Having your musical instruments where you can see them will make you more likely to pick them up and play.
Let me know: What would you put in your musical toy box?