Creativity Through Productivity

What a songwriter taught me about prioritizing my workday.

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Mark Tremonti, as the Grammy Award-winning guitarist for alt-rock stars Creed in the 90s, Alter Bridge in the 2000’s and Tremonti (his solo project), has written some of my favorite songs, maintains a (stunningly beautiful) signature line of PRS guitars and, is now a science fiction author—with a television/movie offer in discussion.

Oh, and he’s also the father of two boys and tours nine months out of the year. So there’s that.

So yeah, he is one busy guy. Which makes the fact that Mark invests up to two hours before each concert to offer song writing clinics to his fans that much more incredible.

I recently jumped at the chance to take one of these clinics hosted by Mark, expecting to hear how he did it all—the powerful lyrics, the soaring melodies and the hyper-speed guitar solos. I went into the clinic wanting to ask him: How in the world do you make time for it all?

However, it was actually a series of answers he gave to other questions (asked by other fans) during the clinic that gave me the answer to how he does it all:

Time management.

So here it is, directly from my clinic notes…the ways that Mark Tremonti stays motivated, productive and (most of all) sane, without sacrificing creativity:

Try new things.

A heavy metal guitarist cruising YouTube for 80s-sounding, Miami Vice-esque synthesizer beats? Yup, it happened. Such was the case when Mark decided it’d be fun to try and play along to a completely different genre of music. The resulting song showed that we often find growth when we aren’t exactly looking for it. 

• Work Perspective: That’s why joining a company-sponsored event or even signing up for a potluck—just doing something out-of-the-ordinary—can result in meaningful connections, boost your creativity and enhance your ability to improvise.

“Improvise, or you’re not getting better.”

One of Mark’s favorite quotes (author unknown).

Prioritize your ideas. 

Because who hasn’t walked into work with a million things to do? In listing his to-do list on a spreadsheet, Mark assigns an icon next to each idea—“a flying saucer, if I think a certain idea is out of this world,” he quipped during the 90-minute clinic. He knows that with enough “out of this world” ideas…he may have enough momentum to carry those types of ideas forward into an actual song, riff or even a project—such as a book.

• Work Perspective: If think you have an especially good idea, trust your instincts (they’re good—after all, you survived this morning’s commute). Add that new idea to your to-do list. And then give yourself a couple days to look into it further. But, if it ends up not going anywhere…

Cut waste.

Know when to move on. To further boost productivity, Mark actively farms his list of priorities—deleting ideas that never managed to take flight within a day or two. In doing so, he keeps certain ideas from robbing precious time from “flying saucer” ideas that have, in fact, gained traction. 

• Work Perspective: Going down rabbit holes—to some extent—is inevitable. It’s all part of the creative process in your valiant quest to improve life on earth, or at a bare minimum—on your desk. So while you may have a propensity for going down rabbit holes (you brave & courageous soul, you), that doesn’t mean you have to remain stuck down there forever. 

After all, it does not do well for one to be late for tea. Or, just the drive home.

In fact, the more you are deeply invested in what you do—the more the lines between work-life balance begin to blur. But, that is a story for another day–and perhaps, a clinic all its own. 

Mark continues with songwriting clinics during Alter Bridge’s tour later this February, in support of the band’s #1-charting rock album “Walk The Sky.”

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