How Social Media Was Killing My Creativity (And What I Did About It)
Hey friend,
Let me start this one with a personal story: I'm in my studio, ready to work on a new track. I open Ableton, load up my Push 3, and then... I grab my phone "just to check notifications real quick." Instagram reels of bedroom producers. TikTok tutorials I'll "watch later." Back to Instagram. Fifteen minutes gone, and I haven't played a single note. My brain feels scattered, my focus is shot, but somehow I do it again an hour later. Sound familiar?
This was my reality just a few weeks ago, and I had no idea how much it was destroying my creative process.
Hiking in Scotland with friends is what sparked thoughts about my social media consumption.
The Creative Killer We All Carry
As producers, we think we're "staying connected to the scene" by following gear accounts and tutorial channels. But what started as creative research became something darker: doomscrolling. And it's devastating our creativity.
Here's the truth: every minute spent mindlessly consuming content is a minute stolen from creating it. When we doomscroll, we're actively rewiring our brains to crave instant gratification over the deep, focused work that electronic music production demands.
My Wake-Up Call
A few weeks ago, everything hit at once. Sound pack creation, YouTube videos, new music, plus many personal things I needed to take care of and process. Feeling overwhelmed, I turned to my phone for "quick breaks."
Those five-minute Instagram breaks became 20-minute+ spirals. I'd sit at my Push 3 with a clear vision or start writing the concept for a new YouTube video, then three hours later... nothing but anxiety and brain fog.
Something had to change.
The Simple Solution
I started with one rule: no social media after 8 PM or before 9 AM. Phone in another room during sacred hours.
First few days were brutal – my brain kept reaching for that dopamine fix. But day by day I start to realize now that things are shifting. Longer studio sessions. Cleaner ideas. And less anxiety.
Things that worked for me
Sacred Creative Hours: Block out device-free time for deep work. Even short timespans make a difference.
Replace, Don't Remove: When you want to scroll, start to do something creative instead (make music, write, draw). I started to just gran my Ableton Move and play some simple melodies on it for 5-10 minutes. Lovely! :)
Micro-Meditation: I started to introduce 2 minute breathing exercises into my days. They help me to re-focus if my brain starts to get clustered and the impulse is to pull out the phone and scroll. Sometimes I also take longer breaks to do nothing and stare at a wall or the clouds (Mordio and I talked about this concept in the recent Signal Chain Stories episode). It really helps to bring some calm to your day!
Body Positivity: Besides your mental health, take care of your physical self. Making music is demanding work, especially for our back and hip region. I walk my dog every day at lunch break to get away from the studio and clear my mind outside. It really helps.
Your Creative Life Is Worth Protecting
Why should I do all this you might be asking? Well, you can't create from a place of constant consumption. Creativity requires space: mental, emotional, and digital.
Your unique voice doesn't come from absorbing everyone else's content. It comes from quiet moments between noise, from mistakes made when nobody's watching, from strange sounds discovered when your brain isn't buzzing with other people's highlights. That doesn’t mean that you should exclude social media completely from your (creative) life - it means, that you get back more control over what you consume and when you consume it.
What would you create if your mind was truly quiet and focused? There's only one way to find out.
Stay creative,
Miles
P.S.: Want to dive deeper into discussions about creative wellness and productivity? I'd love to hear your experiences with digital boundaries and their impact on your music-making. Join the Melodic Minds community and let’s discuss these and other topics together.
