Daily Workflow Tips

The most productive producers are not the ones who work the hardest — they are the ones who know what to work on. Producer Dashboard gives you the tools to stay organised. This guide shows you how to use them as part of a simple daily routine.

The 5-step daily check-in

This routine takes about 2 minutes and sets you up for a focused session. Do it every time you open Producer Dashboard.

Step 1: Open PD and scan the dashboard

The dashboard is your home screen. When you open the app, take 30 seconds to scan the widgets. You are looking for:

Featured projects — which projects have been active recently?
Badge counts — are there items needing attention?
Mini kanban — where do your tracks sit across the workflow?

Do not click anything yet. Just absorb the overview.

Step 2: Address notifications and warnings

Check for any high-priority notifications:

Overdue tracks (red highlights) — decide whether to push the deadline, finish the work, or remove the due date.
Upcoming deadlines (amber highlights) — make a mental note of what is due soon.
Pending collaboration items — if someone is waiting on you, handle it now or make a plan.

You do not need to resolve everything immediately. The goal is awareness. Know what is urgent, what is approaching, and what can wait.

Step 3: Review upcoming deadlines

Scan the Upcoming Deadlines widget more carefully:

How many items are due this week?
Are the deadlines realistic given your schedule?
Do any need to be pushed back?

If a deadline needs adjusting, click through to the track and update it now. It takes 10 seconds and prevents the stress of an artificial deadline hanging over you.

Step 4: Check abandoned tracks

Glance at the Abandoned Tracks widget:

Any tracks that spark interest?
Anything worth 5 minutes of listening?
Anything that should be archived?

You do not need to act on every abandoned track every day. But scanning the list regularly means forgotten ideas get periodic attention. Some weeks you will find something exciting. Other weeks you will skip it. Both are fine.

Step 5: Switch to the tracks page and start working

Based on what you saw on the dashboard, pick one thing to work on and click through to the tracks page. You now have context: you know what is urgent, what is in progress, and what needs attention.

Common starting points:

A track with an approaching deadline — get it to the next stage.
A featured project with momentum — keep the energy going.
An abandoned track that sounded promising — give it another listen.
A kanban column that is overstuffed — move tracks forward.

The point is to make a deliberate choice instead of randomly browsing your library.

Weekly habits

In addition to the daily check-in, set aside 15 minutes once a week for these tasks:

Abandoned track triage

Go through the full abandoned tracks list and make decisions:

Keep — update the stage or add a comment to reset the inactivity timer.
Archive — move tracks you are done with to the Archived stage.
Revisit — listen to tracks that might have potential and decide their next step.

This keeps your library clean and your abandoned list manageable.

Metadata cleanup

Check for tracks missing BPM, key, or tags. If you have the missing metadata notification enabled, the dashboard tells you how many tracks need attention.

Fill in what you can:

Run audio analysis on tracks without BPM/key data.
Add relevant tags to untagged tracks.
Assign unassigned tracks to projects.

Clean metadata makes filtering and searching dramatically more useful.

Project review

For each active project:

How many tracks are in it?
What stages are they at?
Is the project on track for its deadline (if it has one)?

The featured projects widget and mini kanban give you a quick overview. For deeper detail, filter the tracks page by project.

Staying organised throughout the day

Beyond the daily check-in, here are habits that keep your workflow smooth:

Update stages as you work

When you finish a recording session and a track moves from “Idea” to “Captured,” update the stage in PD right then. Do not let it pile up. The mini kanban and full kanban both support drag-and-drop for quick updates.

Add comments while things are fresh

If you have a thought about a track — a mixing note, an arrangement idea, a reference track to check — add a comment immediately. Comments are timestamped and tied to the track, so the context is preserved.

Set due dates when you make commitments

As soon as you commit to a delivery date, release date, or deadline of any kind, set it in PD. The dashboard will handle the rest, surfacing it when it approaches and flagging it if it passes.

Tag consistently

When you import new tracks, take 10 seconds to add a few tags. Genre, mood, instruments, collaborators — whatever makes sense for your workflow. This small upfront investment makes finding tracks later dramatically easier.

Adapting the routine to your style

The 5-step check-in is a starting point. Adapt it to how you work:

If you mainly work solo, you can skip collaboration-related checks. Focus on deadlines and the kanban.
If you manage many projects, spend more time on the featured projects widget and project review.
If you are deadline-driven, spend more time on the deadlines widget and less on abandoned tracks.
If you are exploratory, spend more time on abandoned tracks and less on deadlines. Your best ideas might come from rediscovery.

The routine should feel lightweight. If it starts to feel like a chore, simplify it. Even just scanning the dashboard for 15 seconds is better than skipping it entirely.

Common pitfalls

Not using the dashboard at all

Some producers skip the dashboard and go straight to the tracks page. This works, but you miss the proactive alerts that the dashboard provides. At minimum, check the dashboard once a day.

Ignoring abandoned tracks

It is easy to dismiss the abandoned tracks widget. But producers who regularly review it report finding ideas they are glad they revisited. Give it a chance.

Setting too many deadlines

Deadlines are powerful, but only if they are realistic. If everything is overdue, the urgency signal loses its meaning. Set deadlines for things that genuinely have time constraints and leave the rest flexible.

Not updating stages

The mini kanban and full kanban are only useful if stages are current. Make it a habit to update stages as work progresses, not in a big batch at the end of the week.

Tips

Consistency beats intensity. A 2-minute daily check-in is more valuable than an hour-long weekly review.
Use the dashboard as your starting point, not your workspace. Decide what to work on, then switch to the tracks page.
If you find yourself ignoring notifications, review your notification settings and turn off the ones that are not useful.
The best workflow is the one you actually follow. Start simple and add complexity only if it helps.

Dashboard Overview — the home screen and all its widgets
Dashboard vs Tracks Page — when to use each screen
Smart Notifications — proactive alerts that drive your routine
Notification Settings — configure what you see
The Activity Feed — track recent changes
Abandoned Tracks — resurface forgotten work
Upcoming Deadlines — manage time-sensitive work