Knowing When To Slop, and When To Not

I realized recently that it takes me about an hour to write an okay song. If I bust my butt, I can write a good song in about two hours. If I want to write a great song, it takes between 3-5 hours of concentrated work. To write one of my best songs ever, it takes writing about 10 of my great songs (3-5 hours x 10 songs = 30-50 hours). 

Is that really great song that took 30-50 hours of work worth it? I believe it is, because people who want to hire me to co-write with them will judge me by my best songs. 

Is it worth it to me to spend 30-50 hours polishing the font on my blog, keeping my house in an immaculate state of cleanliness, or reaching out to people that will never give me work like Bono or Sting? Absolutely not. 

If you’re a musician, people aren’t going to hire you because you only have a pretty good website, or an average font, or only semi-fashionable clothes. They’re going to hire you because you’re a great musician, a great person, and fit what they need. And it’s pointless to spend valuable time working on things that you can slop through with no noticeable side effects.