Sometimes in the rush of doing projects and generally being busy, it’s hard to have perspective about how you’ve set things up, and how you function in your studio. But over the Thanksgiving weekend, I had a little more time than normal to muse about those issues, and I realized that there were a number of things I was doing inefficiently.

For one, I was not using sequencer templates. Because of my job, I have to work in a number of different sequencers, and I was wasting a lot of time setting up tracks and auxes and so forth each time I started a project. I even had a couple of occasions where I accidentally started a project with my sequencer set to 16-bit rather than 24-bit resolution–a distressing thing to discover once you’ve already started recording. I know that using templates is a better way to go, and I used to have them setup for my various programs. But after having to trash preferences in one app, and reinstalling another, I no longer have my templates available, and haven’t found the time to set them up again.

I also took a closer look at how I had my outboard gear setup and saw some ways to improve things. (Yes, I still have some outboard gear, although mostly input-related devices like mic pres.) For one thing, my PODxt was sitting on a rack shelf where I couldn’t easily see its display, and it was too far from my patch bay. So I moved it to a more convenient location atop the back of my keyboard controller. In retrospect it was an obvious change to make, but in the heat of working I hadn’t thought of it.

Probably the most annoying part of my studio, though, is its constant state of clutter. Because it also functions as my office for my EM work, and it’s where I keep all my financial records and files, it’s an ongoing challenge to keep it from looking like a complete disaster. Cables are strewn about (despite what seems like a never-ending effort to coil them up and put them away), papers–especially the dreaded Post-it Notes–litter my desktop, my shelves are overflowing with books, and there are instruments all around.

Could I do a better job of organizing? Yes. Do I have time? No. I kind of feel like one of those old cartoon characters with the angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other. The angel is saying, “A clean and well set up studio is a more efficient place to work.” The devil is saying, “Screw that, just start recording. “

Well, at least I do think about it constantly, and try to improve things where possible. I will go on record with an early New Year’s resolution to try extra hard to make my studio a leaner, meaner, more efficient place to work. As the devil on my shoulder might say, “Yeah right.”