Goal-Setting Planner I Made To Make It Through Quarantine (Template Included)

With working musicians now in self-isolation, some are finding they can easily self-motivate and continue on in secluded productivity, while others find their sudden solo time a little harder to deal with. Here we look at a way struggling musicians can add a little structure to their day.

Guest post by Christine Elise Occhino of Soundfly’s Flypaper

The self-quarantine mandates brought on by the global COVID-19 pandemic has the working musician world split into two camps: those that can self-motivate to continue to be productive during their time in isolation, and those who can’t.

I’m fortunate to have been “built” genetically in the former camp, but I also completely relate with those in the latter. The days are all starting blend into each other, your commute now consists of starting in the bedroom and moving to the living room and back. And the lack of physical human interaction has become draining.

But instead of thinking about this as the “worst of times,” and now that we know this might be our new normal for a little while, I like to try to look at the upside of a circumstance like this. For every time in the past that you said you would do something “if you had the time,” or that you’ve “always wanted to try” something… well now you’ve got it!

If you play your cards right, you may even come out of this thing stronger, smarter, and with a better understanding of your personal creative practice. This is why so many musicians now are taking online courses to work on building their musical skills. But learning in isolation can still be extremely tough, so that’s why we here at Soundfly have created our free Guide to Learning Things Effectively Online — to help you avoid some of the pitfalls of learning alone.

But we’ve also created something else, and this comes directly from my own personal experience helping people set and achieve their goals. Here’s a goal-setting planner to help you get through quarantine, so you too can take it one day at a time and chip away at the things holding you back from moving your career in the right direction one-by-one.

Download the Daily Goal-Setting Planner here.

Christine Elise Occhino is a serial entrepreneur with a passion for the music business. In addition to being a vocalist herself, she is the CEO of Elise Music Group, Artistic Director of The Pop Music Academy, and owner of Stamford Recording Studio. She is also the proud Founder and Executive Director of Hope in Harmony, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that uses music to help and heal those in need. Christine is a member of the Grammy Recording Academy, the American Society of Composers, Authors, & Publishers, and the Berklee College of Music Alumni Association. She has spoken on many music industry panels, contributed writing for music business publications for over a decade, and currently hosts the music-based web series and podcast, Soundbytez.