One of the best pieces of advice that I got from you that ties in with this topic is to make it STUPIDLY EASY to start practicing. This could be done with automating your daw to open on startup, templates specifically for practice, keeping gear at the ready - in the same way that you would pick up a guitar just because you see it in front of you! This is why I'm so OCD about my setup...

But, Akash, you sweet cinnamon sparkly spoon of ginger curry, you can't call me out like that ! :')

The "It'll get worse before it gets better" really resonated with me. There was a time where I was disappointed because it felt like I was getting worse, but I was also studying a lot more theory during that time. This was a very motivating video. :)

Hey thanks for these tips, very motivational video! And thank you for addressing the benefits of shorter sessions over 6 hours sprits, it was a big problem for me and i was beginning to feel burnt out. I'm excited to try shorter trainings and see where it leads me

I've been doing about 3-6 hours daily for the last year and a half (as my day job allows), and it took me from literally zero knowledge to getting paid work pretty quickly. I have since slowed down knowing I can't keep that pace up forever, but I have my sights on a studio job and plan to continue doing at LEAST 1-2 hours a day until I get it. I can't even listen to my old work lol, but we all have to start with being bad :P

literally this hits so hard, I've been doing the 6 hr burn out session once or twice in a week for about a year now and getting nowhere near my goals. Thankyou Akash

Great advice as always. One tip I'd like to add for new sound designers: Stop apologizing for being new! So many times, I hear "Sorry I'm new to this. Can you help with...". Never be sorry about that. We were all new at one point and we're excited you've joined us in this world; you should be too.

The tastiest info around! Great message and solid delivery as always, brother! 🤙 Consistent, deliberate practice. It doesn't need to be world-changing, it just needs to be executed on. #4 - so, so incredibly important and something we need to be reminded of OFTEN. As someone who has run against this far more times than I'd ever admit in 34 short years, it always brings that Ira Glass quote top of mind; You all know the one. I need a poster of this above my monitor, and as my desktop, and mobile background, basically anywhere our eyes go: “Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.” ― Ira Glass

Thank you Akash, as a sound designer and martial artist as well I can totally relate with what you said about feeling stagnant and worthless (well maybe those are adjective that I would use lol). Pretty often, after training, I feel like there's an ocean to know and integrate and I've barely known a drop of it. This happened to me today too after studying a book about Yi Quan. Anyway, I just wanted to thank you, now I know that these sensation are physiological and most of all a good sign :) Cheers!

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 00:00 *🎻 Consistent practice is essential for success in sound design, akin to preparing for a critical audition.* 01:51 *🔄 Consistent, daily practice, even in short increments, is more effective than sporadic, lengthy sessions.* 03:14 *🎶 Seeking feedback from experienced professionals accelerates learning and improvement in sound design.* 05:05 *🚀 Focus on input rather than output during practice sessions to facilitate steady progress.* 06:42 *🥋 Expect that your skills may initially worsen as you explore new techniques, but improvement comes with consistent practice over time.* Made with HARPA AI

Thanks for this. Got me to start sound designing again, not just making music.

focusing more on the imput is a real thing. Thanks for sharing

That was really inspiring. Thank you! 🙏🏻

Great video man, I took your advice on doing game jams to build a portfolio and I start my first one soon : D

Oof this hits home from where I was starting. This is a good lesson for everyone

Thank you for this video :)

8:30 I'd also imagine, making a 100K in one months would be a matter of having a very well written contract with the company.

Maybe I am crazy but I am learning and creating sounds and making music like 36 hours weekly at minimum and I can't live without it. If I would be working daily in some company it would be my dream come true. 😎 I am just afraid that my wife and kids would never see me again, probably... 😂 Btw I am in the making of my first showreel but I am doing music and sfx for over 10 years now so here you have a point. Not laziness just being afraid if I am good enaugh. 😅

HEAVY GOOD video, every minute had great nuggets

haha the second I thought about the jiu jitsu parallell you mentioned it! caught me of guard! great video :)

Thanks! In the future would you consider doing a video showing exemples (2 or 3) of what a beginner Sound Designer should focus on?

i needed this

Hey Akash, would you be willing to share that Notion template with us? 🤩 I've burned myself out of sound design and music who knows how many times... And don't even ask about networking. Ugh. The ideas in this video really opened my eyes, so I wanna set up a schema to organize my practice consistently! Also, pretty cool to learn that you're into martial arts as well!

Sign me up!

This was very motivating. Do you have any suggestions on how to decide what to practice?

Hello Akash! Great video, helps a lot to settle down all the things in my head. Can you please tell me what app do you use for tracking Sound Design Practice? Thx in advance

word

Man, I hope you and Rich are returning for Breaker...

what's the device in your thumbnail? ha