Now is a great time to commit to improving your DJing this year. Often we reach plateaus. And if we’re not careful, the years slip by, and we’re not registering any real improvements in our DJing.
What I’m going to share with you now is a simple five-step plan for stopping this if you feel it’s happening to you. This plan will deliver some solid results, which I’m convinced will make you very happy about the progress you’ve made when you look back on 2024 this time next year.
So let’s get started.
5 Steps To Becoming A Better DJ In 2024
Step 1: Look at your calendar and block off some time for DJing
I’m sure you already have a calendar that’s reasonably efficient for organising your work, family and so on. But your DJing is just as important – so you ought to make sure you block off time in that calendar for your DJing as well.
Of course, there are only so many hours in the day, so you might have to make hard decisions in order to find this time. But making those decisions in advance and blocking regular time off is the best way to ensure that you put in the required work to get where you want to be in your DJing.
Read this next: How To Find Time To Learn DJing (Proven Method For Busy People)
So block off some time, a few hours a week, little and often, and try to make it a habit by blocking off the same time on the same days every week. And then, treat your appointments with yourself for DJing just as seriously as you would treat any other appointment in your calendar.
You’d never miss a dental appointment, right? So don’t miss a DJing “appointment” with yourself!
Step 2: Write down how you want to feel about being a DJ this time next year
This step may feel a bit “woo woo”, but hear me out. One of the big things holding us back from getting what we want is the way we talk to ourselves about it. If you want to feel like you are a successful, natural, intuitive and enthusiastic DJ rather than a hesitant, worried DJ, then the first step to becoming that person is to admit how you feel now and what you want to change, write it down, and let the universe start to do its thing.
I have a little note attached to my email app with my version of this in my life, which I see every morning when I open the app – a reminder that this is important to me and I should strive to be the way I want to.
This isn’t the same as setting goals for your DJing (we’re getting onto those). It’s more about helping you build confidence in how you want to feel about your DJing. You also have the added bonus that this time next year, you can unfold that little bit of paper you wrote this on and realise – yes, you have made progress towards where you want to be.
Step 3: Set a main goal
So if you found step two a bit wishy-washy, you’ll be pleased that this step is something solid that you can either succeed or fail at.
Set a goal which is big enough to excite you, but not so big that it’s clearly impossible. There’s no point setting a goal of playing the main stage at Tomorrowland – unless you’re James Hype!
But it could be that you want to finally start making money from your DJing, or you want to play and record an hour set without any mistakes. Maybe you want to play your first gig or livestream…or want to switch from playing with records to playing with digital.
Whatever it is, pick it, commit to it, and choose a date when you’re going to do it – likely something towards the end of the year. This is your main goal, and this is what we’re going to work towards for the next 12 months, so choose wisely.
Step 4: Set mini-goals to bring you closer to your main goal
Your main goal might feel quite scary, and frankly, only 10% of you believes it’s possible. But that’s OK, because the goals you set here will be the ones that help your main goal come onto the horizon.
So for instance, if your main goal is to play your first gig and get paid for it, then your secondary goals could be to:
- Create your first DJ mix
- Play a charity gig for free
- Start and maintain a social media channel for your DJing
You can see how these sub-goals are going to bring you closer to the main goal, right? And actually, the main goal might just happen on its own because of them – for instance, your social media channel might lead to you being offered that main goal gig that you’re looking for.
Want help becoming a better DJ? Click here to check out The Complete DJ Course
While your main goal encompasses the whole year, 90 days is a good length of time to set to achieve your three or four smaller goals. This timeframe is long enough for the goal to be something meaningful, but not so long that you keep putting it off again and again. After all, 90 days is only 12 weeks, so if what you’ve chosen for your sub-goals is worth doing, then you haven’t got long to get started, right?
Step 5: Involve other people
This is probably the most important step of them all, because we’re social creatures and we’re far more likely to achieve things if other people are involved. Yes, DJing is ultimately a solo thing. You do it on your own, and a lot of pro DJs will tell you it’s quite a lonely job. But involving other people is nonetheless important.
There are three ways you should do this:
1. Get the buy in of your family and friends for what you’re doing
You need to tell them what you’re doing. They need to support you. They need to support the time you’ve put in your calendar. They’re going to be the people who are helping you through the dark times when you think this is all too much for you and you can’t do it. And they’re also going to hold you accountable, because frankly, you won’t want to be seen failing once you’ve told the people who matter the most what it is you’re doing.
2. Find people who are on the same journey as you
Other DJs trying to do the same thing as you are such a great source of inspiration and encouragement. Also, these like-minded folks can simply provide a space to talk about all of this, especially when those in your life aren’t as interested. Whether it’s other DJs where you live, or the fantastic online community that we have for all of our students here at Digital DJ Tips, having people you can talk to about this, who understand what it is to be trying to do what you’re doing, is essential.
3. Involve the world (or a tiny corner of it, at least)
The third group of people you should involve are people who maybe you don’t know yet. Of course, we do this through social media – just share your work and your progress. Sharing in social media posts, pics and videos what you’ve achieved, problems you’ve had, things you want help with, and just documenting your journey is a lovely way to make it all seem real, but can also open up opportunities that you don’t know exist yet.
Social media is a lot of things, not all of them good. But sharing your progress in public is as much for you as anyone else… and you’d be surprised what can come of it when you least expect it. Don’t chase the likes and shares, but it’ll come.
Finally…
So much of what we achieve in life is about confidence, belief, and the stories we tell ourselves. These five steps have been designed to give you the space in which to let all of this happen.
They’re about planning the time, committing to it and giving it the importance it deserves. They’ll give you clarity about where you want to be and how that’s going to feel. And they’ll force you to set the actual steps you’re going to take to get there. Finally, they also help you to understand that none of us do anything in life alone.
Learn to DJ with us: The Complete DJ Course
Part of the way we teach here at Digital DJ Tips is to coach our students as well as giving them the information that they need to succeed. So if you find this kind of teaching useful and you’re not yet a student of Digital DJ Tips, do take a look at our courses page and commit to doing something great for your DJing in 2024.
Phil Morse
