Work on the things you're not working on

A standard part of my work practice as I’m working on a mix is that I’m always fiddling with things a little bit that are outside of my current area of focus.

So, I might be working on the vocal for an hour or so; but on each pass the odds are good that I might quick pop into the kick drum channel strip to widen the Q on an EQ a hair. Or maybe I click on a reverb send and turn it down half a dB. Or maybe I nudge a couple channel faders a tiny bit here or there.

It’s never anything huge — because I’m not focusing there. And I’m keeping my focus on working on that vocal, or whatever it is; I know that if I allow myself, I’ll see the new shiny thing and get distracted and forget to finish the train of thought I was working on.

But if I make a lot of little incremental gestures toward things I’m hearing along the way as I see that train of thought to its conclusion, they accumulate! And at the end of working on the vocal, the whole song is a little better too.

Multitasking, but only a little — jamie