I've been producing on and off for a few years now and I've come across a few things that have my life easier when working in my DAW (currently Logic Pro X, but i've also used Studio One and Ableton extensively). I hope that someone just starting off can benefit from these points. If you have useful tips that have helped you in your journey, please add them....

- Track template: I have a template set with a basic kick, claps, and hats to serve as a starting point. In this template, there are a bunch of AUX tracks ready to be used for bussing (all set to 100% wet of course): 4 Reverbs (small, med, large, and XL tail) using different plugins, so they don't all sound the same. 5 delays (1/16, 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, and 3/16 (8th note triplet? not sure if that's called something else)), with decent feedback (round 75% worked best for me). All followed by an EQ to cut the low and high-shelve the highs. Through trial and error, this has been the most versatile for me to work with. This setup allows me to send audio to the busses as needed without having to worry about setting up delays & reverb on the fly.

- Automation: Instead of selecting from the list of parameters I want to automate (was it filter 1 cutoff? or filter 1 + 2? which setting am i looking for? ah fuck, back to the plugin), i set the automation option to Latch, press play, then wiggle the parameter in question. That'll write the correct parameter into the automation lane....just be sure you set the option back to Read right afterwards.

- Gain Automation: Although I try not to automate gain too much, i've found it easier to add a utility/gain plug-in and automating the gain on it instead of the channel strip. This allows me the freedom to still change the overall volume of that channel without conflicting with the automation.

- Master channel strip: I've added a utility plugin that allows me to switch from stereo to mono for the entire track; makes mixing & mastering in mono a LOT easier. I know some DAWs have a simple Mono/Stereo button instead. I also load a tuner and the voxengo SPAN plugin onto the master for easy reference.

- Keyboard shortcuts: After becoming more familiar with LPX's keyboard shortcuts, I've noticed my workflow has been a lot smoother. Zipping through the menus with the keyboard (instead of the mouse) may only shave off a few seconds here and there, but when creativity strikes, every little bit counts...

- Plugins: LPX gives the option to organize your plugins into folders/categories. Best. investment. ever. Having it all there in the categories that make sense to me (and removing most of the stock plugins) has made it so much easier to find what i'm looking for.

- Speaking of plugins, I used to hoard/collect all the, uhmmmm....."free" plugins i could find online. My thought process was that the more plugins/synths/effects i had, the better my music would (automagically) get. I know this doesn't make any logical sense, but I guess hoarding doesn't need to. I've found that the more plugins I got, the less I was able to make a choice as to which one to use. Analysis paralysis. I got rid of all the plugins I never used and focused on using a handful of them to their full potential. This has already paid of tremendously.

Anyway...season to taste / your mileage may vary / consult your doctor before switching DAWs....