Let’s be honest, every songwriter I know (myself included) has danced with procrastination more than once. You sit down to write, strum a few chords, scribble a line or two… and then suddenly you’re thinking about doing the dishes or diving deep into a YouTube rabbit hole. Sound familiar?
So when I came across this article from Speed Songwriting called Beat Songwriting Procrastination I knew it was worth sharing.
The Core Message: Procrastination Isn’t Laziness, It’s Protection
The article doesn’t wag a finger at you or throw around productivity clichés. Instead, it dives deeper into why we procrastinate as songwriters. Spoiler alert: it’s not because we’re lazy or unmotivated.
It’s fear.
- Fear of not being good enough.
- Fear of starting something we won’t finish.
- Fear of exposing something real.
According to Speed Songwriting, procrastination is often your creative brain’s defense mechanism, its way of shielding you from the discomfort of making something imperfect. And once you understand that, you can stop beating yourself up and start working with it.
My Take: Songwriting Is Emotional Weightlifting
To me, songwriting is like emotional weightlifting. Some days you lift heavy and feel strong. Other days, you barely make it through the warm-up. But here’s the thing: showing up matters more than the reps.
I love how the article re-frames procrastination as something that’s rooted in care. We care so much about what we’re trying to write that we stall. That’s a beautiful twist. It means there’s something worth saying, buried under all that hesitation.
What helped me the most, and this is echoed in the article, is letting go of the pressure to write “the song.” Just write a song. Give yourself permission to write badly, to write scraps, to write nonsense. It’s all part of the compost that eventually grows something real.
The Fix? Simple Actions Beat Big Ideas
Speed Songwriting offers practical steps too: break things down, make the next step easy, and build momentum through small wins. These aren’t just good songwriting strategies—they’re good life strategies.
And if you’ve been feeling stuck or staring down the blank page lately, trust me, you’re not alone. This article might be the nudge you need.
Go Read It
So if procrastination has been tapping you on the shoulder lately—or sitting right on your chest—I highly recommend reading the full article: Beat Songwriting Procrastination
Give it a read, let it settle, and then maybe… just maybe… open up that notebook again.
Let me know what you think, and as always, keep writing, even if it’s messy, even if it’s slow. A half-finished song is still one step closer than none at all.
