The Importance of a Good Soundtrack

When I write from home, my commute is the ten purposeful strides from my room to my office; three, if I’m coming from the kitchen. Having grown up in an era where morning radio was the background for my routine, I missed the music of the commute.

The commute gets me ready, amps me up, makes me feel like I’m about to do good and important work. Sometimes it prepares me to deal with my inbox. For a time, my two commute songs were Nicki Minaj’s “Beez in the Trap,” and Cardi B’s “Get Up 10.” I needed the motivation of the former to go to where I make my money, and the grit of the latter to remind myself I could do hard things. There are other messages in the songs I willfully ignore.

I talked about the importance of motivation and miniaturizing work in the Myth Buster series from last year. This takes motivation to a different space. Soundtracks provide the music for your montage.

The montage in a movie occurs when the characters are in the midst of a long term, tedious goal that requires consistency. In the film, they show up to do the same thing in different outfits with various outcomes. I’ve been attuned to this since Sarah Michelle Gellar talked about wanting a montage for her studying in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The thing about the montage is that it generally has a motivational or jaunty soundtrack, you know, for the trouble it takes to be consistent.

The music motivates because consistency can be difficult. Let’s face it: consistency is the real champion. The problem is that you cannot get to consistency without its niblings: discipline and motivation. Discipline is the agony aunt you listen to because she is always right. Motivation lasts as long as the song and maybe a little longer. So, scoop a little motivation into your mind.

You got this!