Habits Framework

Overview

This semester, you will design and maintain two weekly habits that support your growth as a musician and producer. Inspired by James Clear’s Atomic Habits, this framework emphasizes small, consistent actions that compound into significant improvements over time.

The Philosophy

“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.” — James Clear

Rather than focusing on outcomes (finishing a track, getting better at mixing), we focus on the process—the daily and weekly actions that lead to those outcomes naturally.

Designing Your Habits

In Week 1, you will choose two habits from any of the skill areas below. These habits should be:

Specific: “Practice synthesis for 15 minutes” not “Get better at sound design”
Measurable: You should know definitively if you did it or not
Achievable: Start small—you can always increase later
Relevant: Connected to your musical goals
Time-bound: Include when and how often

Skill Areas

Production Skills

Mixing practice (balance, EQ, compression)
Sound design sessions
Synthesis exploration
Mastering techniques
Sampling and resampling

Creative Practice

Composition (writing new material)
Ear training exercises
Improvisation sessions
Music analysis (studying reference tracks)
Arrangement practice

Technical Workflow

DAW proficiency drills
File organization maintenance
Learning keyboard shortcuts
Plugin exploration
Template building

Habit Examples

Skill Area	Example Habit
Production	Spend 20 minutes mixing a project every Tuesday and Thursday
Creative	Write 8 bars of new music every day before checking social media
Technical	Learn 3 new keyboard shortcuts in my DAW each week
Production	Design one new sound in Vital every Monday
Creative	Transcribe 4 bars of a song I admire every weekend
Technical	Organize my sample library for 15 minutes every Sunday

The Habit Stack

Consider connecting your new habits to existing behaviors:

After I make my morning coffee, I will practice ear training for 10 minutes
After I finish a class assignment, I will spend 15 minutes on free composition
Before I start working on music, I will clean up my project folder from yesterday

Weekly Documentation

Each week, you will document your habit progress in Canvas discussion posts. Your documentation should include:

What you did: Specific actions taken for each habit
What you learned: Insights, discoveries, or challenges
Evidence: Screenshots, audio clips, or descriptions of your work
Reflection: How the habit is affecting your overall practice

Tracking Your Progress

Consider maintaining a simple habit tracker:

Week	Habit 1	Habit 2	Notes
1	✓✓✓	✓✓	Started strong, missed Thursday
2	✓✓✓✓	✓✓✓	Getting easier!
…	…	…	…

Adjusting Your Habits

It’s okay to adjust your habits if:

They’re too easy (increase difficulty)
They’re too hard (reduce scope, then rebuild)
Your goals have changed (refocus)

However, you should maintain the same two habits throughout the semester unless you discuss changes with the instructor. Consistency is more important than perfection.

The Two-Minute Rule

If you’re struggling to start, use the two-minute rule: scale your habit down to something that takes two minutes or less.

“Practice mixing” → “Open a project and solo one track”
“Compose music” → “Write one chord progression”
“Learn my DAW” → “Look up one keyboard shortcut”

The goal is to become the type of person who does this activity. Identity > Outcome.

Final Project Connection

Your Final Project will showcase the growth you’ve achieved through your habits. You’ll create an evidence portfolio that demonstrates:

Where you started (Week 1 baseline)
How you progressed (weekly documentation)
Where you ended up (final demonstration of skill)

See 00.05-Final-Project-Guide for complete details.

Resources

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” — Will Durant (summarizing Aristotle)