Today’s post is going to be short, sweet, and to the point. It’s something of great importance, yet is often overlooked. We’ve all been there. That late-night voice memo—the one with the chorus that actually felt like something—vanishes. Maybe your phone crashed. Maybe the file didn’t save. Maybe you just forgot to back it up. Either way, the hook’s gone—and with it, a little piece of your soul.
Let’s fix that.
In the digital age, your ideas are your currency. And just like money, they need to be protected. Whether you write lyrics on napkins or build full demos in a DAW, backing up your creative work isn’t optional—it’s part of the job.
Here’s how to start:
1. Don’t Rely on Just One Device
Redundancy is your best friend. If your ideas only live in one place, they’re at risk.
- Voice Memos: Set up iCloud or Google Drive backups. Once a week, export any “keepers” to a folder on your computer or cloud.
- DAW Sessions: Save your sessions locally and in the cloud. You don’t need anything fancy—Dropbox, Google Drive, or even a USB stick can save your future self from heartbreak.
- Lyrics & Notes: Google Docs, Apple Notes (with iCloud), or a dedicated app like Notion or Evernote will autosave your writing. Just make sure sync is turned on. And you’ve probably heard it since grade school but SAVE, SAVE, SAVE, SAVE when you are working. You never know when you’re going to have that crash that loses all your great ideas if you didn’t save properly.
2. Name Files Like a Pro
Resist the urge to title things “new idea 4” or “sad guitar maybe.”
Instead, try:
2025-05-03_Hummingbird_IntroChorus.wav
or
[Verse] What If the World Was Wrong.txt
Future you—especially the version frantically digging for that one idea from last summer—will be so grateful.
3. Pick a Backup Day and Stick to It
Choose one day a week (Sunday night? Monday morning?) to do a creative cleanup of anything you don’t have backing up automatically:
- Export your favorite voice memos
- Back up your latest lyric files
- Upload any key DAW sessions
It doesn’t have to be perfect—just consistent. Think of it like brushing your teeth, but for your creative health.
4. Don’t Let Your Notebook Be a Black Hole
If you still love pen and paper (many of us do), protect it like it’s priceless—because it is.
Here’s a hard-earned tip:
I once had a three-subject notebook packed with songs from years of writing. I can’t find it. It’s gone. And so are dozens—maybe hundreds—of ideas I’ll never get back.
Now, I make it a habit to either photograph or type up my handwritten lyrics every couple of weeks. You don’t have to digitize everything, but getting it into a searchable, backed-up format is how you preserve your legacy.
Coming Soon: Keeping Yourself Organized Digitally
If you’re the type who wants to stay creatively inspired and professionally organized, I’m working on something you’ll want to see.
I’m building a system in Obsidian to manage my song ideas, co-writer relationships, and the mess of modern music-making. It’s simple, flexible, and designed with songwriters in mind. More on that soon.