Being an independent artist is hard. Really hard.
There are no guaranteed paychecks. No team ensuring you stay on track. No label support cushioning the difficult moments. No external structure forcing you to keep going when things get tough.
It’s just you—your talent, your discipline, your drive. And on the days when streams are low, engagement is quiet, opportunities seem distant, and doubt creeps in, motivation can disappear fast.
I’ve had those days. Plenty of them. Days where I questioned whether this was worth it. Days where I wondered if I should just get a regular job. Days where the gap between where I am and where I want to be felt impossibly wide.
But I’m still here. Still creating. Still pushing forward as Tray Millen. Not because I’m superhuman or immune to doubt, but because I’ve developed specific habits that keep me motivated even when external circumstances don’t.
These aren’t theoretical tips I read somewhere. These are the actual daily practices that have sustained me through the hardest moments of building an independent dancehall career.
This is personal. This is real. These are the 5 habits that keep me going.
Habit 1: Start Every Day with Intention and Gratitude
How you start your day determines how you experience everything that follows.
The Problem I Was Facing
My old morning routine:
- Wake up, immediately grab phone
- Scroll social media, see other artists’ success
- Compare myself, feel behind
- Check streaming numbers, often disappointed
- Start day from place of lack and inadequacy
The result: Already defeated before the day even started. Motivation drained before breakfast.
The Habit That Changed Everything
My current morning routine (first 30 minutes of every day):
Step 1: No phone (15 minutes)
I wake up and intentionally don’t touch my phone. Instead:
- Sit quietly or meditate
- Do light stretching or movement
- Drink water
- Center myself before engaging with external world
Why it matters: Starting without immediately consuming content or comparing myself creates mental space and peace.
Step 2: Gratitude practice (5 minutes)
I write or mentally acknowledge 3-5 things I’m grateful for:
- Specific, not generic (“I’m grateful for…”)
- Mix of big and small things
- Related to music career and life generally
Example:
- “Grateful that 100 people listened to my music yesterday”
- “Grateful for the message from a fan saying my track motivated them”
- “Grateful I have the ability to create and share my music”
- “Grateful for my health and energy today”
- “Grateful for this opportunity to pursue my passion”
Why it matters: Starting from abundance instead of lack shifts your entire perspective. You see what’s working instead of only what’s missing.
Step 3: Set daily intention (5 minutes)
I decide what today is about:
- What’s my primary focus?
- What defines success for today?
- What energy do I want to bring?
Example:
- “Today I’m focused on creating one quality track—everything else is bonus”
- “Today I’m going to engage authentically with my community”
- “Today I’m showing up consistently regardless of results”
Why it matters: Intention creates direction. Without it, you drift through the day reactive instead of purposeful.
Step 4: Quick movement (5 minutes)
Physical movement before starting work:
- Push-ups, jumping jacks, quick workout
- Dancing to music
- Yoga or stretching
- Walk around the block
Why it matters: Movement shifts energy and mood. Physical action creates mental momentum.
The Impact This Habit Has
Before this habit:
- Started days feeling behind
- Reactive and stressed
- Motivation dependent on external circumstances
After this habit:
- Start days feeling centered
- Proactive and intentional
- Motivation comes from internal state
The lesson: You can’t control what happens today, but you can control how you prepare to meet it.
Habit 2: Create Something Daily, No Matter What
Motivation follows action. Action doesn’t wait for motivation.
The Trap of Waiting for Inspiration
What I used to believe:
“I’ll create when inspiration strikes. I need to feel it to make good music.”
The result:
- Long periods without creating anything
- Skills deteriorating during gaps
- Inconsistent output
- Momentum constantly dying and needing to restart
The truth I learned: Professionals create on schedule. Amateurs create when inspired.
The Daily Creation Commitment
My non-negotiable:
Every single day, I create something related to my music career. Not consume. Not plan. Actually create.
What counts as daily creation:
- Write 16 bars (even if I don’t use them)
- Record a vocal idea or freestyle
- Create a social media post or video
- Work on a track in the studio
- Write blog content or captions
- Design artwork or visual content
- Practice a performance or delivery
What doesn’t count:
- Listening to music (consuming)
- Planning or thinking about creating
- Researching or learning (valuable but not creating)
- Engaging on social media (important but not creating)
The rule: Create first, before everything else. Even 15 minutes counts.
Why This Habit Works
1. Builds creative momentum:
Creating daily keeps creative muscles active. Each day builds on the previous day.
2. Removes pressure:
Not every creation needs to be perfect or publishable. Just practice. This removes perfectionism paralysis.
3. Compounds over time:
365 days of 30-minute creation sessions = 182.5 hours of creative work yearly. That’s massive output.
4. Generates motivation:
Action creates motivation. When you create something—even something imperfect—you feel accomplished, which motivates continued action.
5. Develops discipline:
Waiting for inspiration is passive. Creating daily regardless of inspiration is active discipline.
How I Make It Happen
Scheduled time blocks:
- Morning: 1-2 hours in studio or writing
- If I miss morning, make up during lunch or evening
- Non-negotiable appointment with myself
Lower the bar:
- 15 minutes minimum counts
- Quality doesn’t matter for the daily practice
- The point is showing up, not perfection
Track the streak:
- Mark calendar for consecutive days
- Seeing the streak motivates maintaining it
- Breaking streak hurts enough to prevent it
The truth: On days I don’t feel motivated, I create anyway. And almost always, once I start creating, motivation shows up. Action precedes motivation, not the other way around.
Habit 3: Surround Myself with Inspiration and Positivity
Your environment shapes your mindset. Your mindset determines your motivation.
The Negativity Drain
What I noticed:
Certain people, content, and environments consistently drained my motivation:
- Negative people who complained constantly
- Social media accounts posting discouraging content
- Spaces or situations that made me feel small
- Comparison-triggering content
- Toxic or competitive environments
The realization: I can’t control everything in my environment, but I can be intentional about what I regularly expose myself to.
Curating Inspiration
1. Music I consume:
I’m intentional about what I listen to:
- Uplifting, energizing music that makes me want to create
- Artists who inspire me technically and artistically
- Music that reminds me why I love this
Avoid: Music that makes me feel inadequate or discourages me.
2. Content I consume:
I follow accounts and consume content that:
- Motivates and inspires
- Educates and teaches
- Shows successful independent artists’ journeys
- Provides positive energy and encouragement
I unfollow or mute:
- Accounts that make me feel bad about myself
- Negativity and complaint-focused content
- Comparison-triggering accounts
- Drama and toxic commentary
3. People I spend time with:
I prioritize time with:
- People who believe in my vision
- Other artists on similar journeys
- Positive, encouraging people
- Those who challenge me to grow
I limit time with:
- People who consistently discourage my music career
- Negative, energy-draining individuals
- Those who don’t respect my creative process
4. Physical spaces:
I create environments that inspire:
- Studio space that feels creative and positive
- Home workspace that’s organized and motivating
- Locations I visit that spark creativity
5. Daily affirmations and reminders:
I keep visible reminders of my “why”:
- Goals written and visible
- Fan messages saved and revisited
- Achievements documented
- Inspirational quotes that resonate
The Impact of Intentional Environment
What changed:
- Less comparison and discouragement
- More consistent positive energy
- Stronger belief in my path
- Better mental health overall
The lesson: You become what you consistently expose yourself to. Choose carefully.
Habit 4: Celebrate Small Wins and Track Progress
Progress is motivating. But you only see progress if you track and acknowledge it.
The Problem of Only Looking at the Destination
What I used to do:
- Focus only on big goals (10K monthly listeners, 100K streams, label deal)
- Ignore small daily or weekly progress
- Feel constantly behind because I wasn’t “there” yet
- Motivation died from perceived lack of progress
The reality: Big goals are achieved through thousands of small steps. If you only acknowledge the destination, you miss all the progress happening along the way.
The Tracking Habit
What I track weekly:
Numbers (objective data):
- Spotify monthly listeners
- Instagram/TikTok follower growth
- Engagement rates
- Email list size
- YouTube subscribers
- Streaming numbers
Actions (what I control):
- Days I created content
- Studio sessions completed
- Posts published
- Songs released
- Engagement given to others
Wins (qualitative progress):
- Positive fan messages
- New opportunities that emerged
- Skills improved
- Challenges overcome
- Personal growth moments
Format: Simple spreadsheet or journal. Takes 10 minutes weekly.
The Celebration Habit
I actively celebrate:
Micro-wins (daily/weekly):
- Completed a new song
- Got positive fan comment
- Hit posting streak milestone
- Improved a skill noticeably
Medium-wins (monthly):
- Released new music
- Hit follower milestone (even 100 new followers)
- Got playlist add
- Successful show performance
Major-wins (quarterly/yearly):
- Streaming milestones
- Major collaborations
- Significant opportunities
- Career-defining moments
How I celebrate:
- Acknowledge it genuinely (don’t minimize)
- Share with support system
- Document it
- Take moment to feel good about it
Why This Changes Everything
Before tracking and celebrating:
- Felt like nothing was happening
- Couldn’t see progress
- Motivation constantly low
- Easy to give up
After tracking and celebrating:
- Clear evidence of progress
- Motivation from seeing growth
- Compound confidence from documented wins
- Perspective during difficult moments
The psychological shift: When you track progress, you see that you ARE moving forward, even when it feels slow. That evidence sustains motivation.
The reminder: Progress isn’t linear. Some weeks are huge, some are quiet. But the overall trend line, when tracked, almost always points upward.
Habit 5: Connect with Purpose Regularly
When motivation fades, purpose sustains you.
Remembering Why I Started
The dangerous moment:
When music becomes just work—tasks, metrics, algorithms, strategy—it’s easy to lose the magic that started it all.
The habit that reconnects me:
Regular practices that remind me WHY I create music in the first place.
Purpose Reconnection Practices
1. Read fan messages (weekly):
I save messages from people saying:
- My music motivated them
- A track helped them through something
- They connect with my message
- My music made them feel seen
The practice: Once weekly, I read through these. Reminds me that my music matters beyond numbers.
The impact: When I remember I’m creating for real people who are genuinely impacted, motivation returns.
2. Listen to my own music (monthly):
Not critically for improvement—just experiencing it as a fan would.
What happens: I remember why I loved creating it. I reconnect with the emotions and intentions behind the music.
3. Revisit my “why” statement (monthly):
I wrote out why I create music:
- To spread positive energy
- To motivate people to pursue their dreams
- To represent authentic Jamaican culture
- To prove independent artists can succeed
- To create music that moves people physically and emotionally
The practice: Read this when motivation is low. Reminds me this is bigger than just me.
4. Watch old videos/performances (quarterly):
Seeing how far I’ve come:
- Early performances vs. now
- First songs vs. current quality
- Small shows vs. current opportunities
The reminder: Progress is real, even when daily grind feels static.
5. Vision casting (quarterly):
I spend time imagining the future:
- Where I’m going with this career
- The impact I want to have
- The artist I’m becoming
- The legacy I’m building
Why it works: Connecting to compelling future vision pulls you forward when present moment is hard.
When Purpose Feels Distant
The hard truth:
Some days, even purpose doesn’t immediately motivate. And that’s okay.
What I do then:
- Trust the habits and do the work anyway
- Remember that feelings fluctuate but purpose remains
- Look at past moments when purpose felt clear
- Talk to people who remind me of my impact
- Take care of basic needs (sleep, food, exercise) that affect mood
The lesson: Purpose is your north star. You don’t always feel intensely connected to it, but it guides you even in fog.
How These Habits Work Together
These five habits create a system:
Morning intention (Habit 1) → starts day from positive, centered place
Daily creation (Habit 2) → builds momentum and skills regardless of feeling
Inspiring environment (Habit 3) → maintains positive mindset and reduces negativity
Progress tracking (Habit 4) → provides evidence that the work is paying off
Purpose connection (Habit 5) → sustains you when everything else falters
Together: They create motivation that doesn’t depend on external circumstances. When one habit isn’t enough on a given day, the others support you.
Building These Habits Yourself
You don’t need to adopt all five at once.
Start Here:
Week 1: Choose ONE habit that resonates most
Week 2: Practice it daily until it feels natural
Week 3-4: Continue first habit, add a second
Repeat: Gradually build all five over months
The key: Consistency over perfection. Better to do one habit imperfectly but consistently than all five perfectly but sporadically.
Adapt to Your Life
My habits are mine. Yours might look different:
Morning routine: Might be 10 minutes, not 30
Daily creation: Might be 5 minutes, not hours
Environment curation: Start with just social media follows/unfollows
Progress tracking: Simple notes app, not elaborate spreadsheet
Purpose connection: Whatever resonates with you personally
The principle matters more than the specific practice.
The Truth About Motivation
Here’s what I’ve learned after years of building an independent dancehall career:
Motivation isn’t constant. Some days it’s strong. Many days it’s weak. That’s normal and human.
Habits replace motivation. When you have strong habits, you don’t need constant motivation. You do the work whether you feel like it or not.
Action creates motivation. You don’t wait for motivation to act. You act, and motivation follows.
Purpose sustains through difficulty. When motivation and even habits falter, deep connection to purpose keeps you going.
Community supports the journey. Surrounding yourself with people who get it makes the hard days manageable.
My Commitment to You
I’m not sharing these habits from a place of having it all figured out. I’m sharing them from the trenches, as someone still building, still struggling some days, still learning.
But here’s what I know for certain:
These five habits have kept me creating when quitting seemed easier. They’ve sustained my independent career through challenges that would have stopped me earlier.
They work. Not magically, not instantly, but consistently over time.
And if they work for me, they can work for you.
The Invitation
Try them. Not all at once. Start with one. Practice it daily. See what changes.
Track your experience. Notice what shifts. Adjust what doesn’t fit your life.
And know this: Every successful independent artist has moments of doubt, discouragement, and difficulty. What separates those who make it from those who don’t isn’t talent or luck.
It’s habits. Systems. Daily practices that keep them going when motivation fades.
You can build those habits. Starting today.
I’m doing it. You can too. Let’s keep going together.
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Join the 90-Day Consistency Challenge: Build unshakable habits and transform your music career. Learn more at TrayMillen.com/challenge
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