In an earlier post, we discussed the importance and benefits that routine practice can offer us. But knowing it’s important and making it a daily routine are two different things. So if you are having trouble making your practice routine consistent, here are a couple of tips that can help:

1. Aim for daily! You should have a daily practice routine! It’s non-negotiable. If you want to be a working musician and make a living wage off your performances, you must treat it like a job and practice daily. I know that life happens, and you may miss a day here or there. Still, if you try to practice every day and miss a day or two, that becomes, at worst, five days a week. A missed day or two when you only practice four times a week becomes a measly two times a week. This lack of consistency makes it harder to turn daily practice into a habit. When daily practice becomes a habit, we practice on auto-pilot and get to work sooner, allowing us to accomplish our weekly goals sooner. It will enable us to get ahead of them, which eventually turns into $$$ and new fantastic opportunities for our careers.
2. Do it first! Make it one of the first things you do in your day. Why? As I mentioned earlier, the whole “life thing” can derail us… So, by ensuring we practice at the beginning of the day, we get around any potential situations that could cause us to push off practicing. Perhaps you have a side job or other obligations that make it unrealistic to practice at the beginning of the day. No worries, just do it the first chance you get. What you don’t want to do is wait until the end of the day to try and practice. It doesn’t work because you’ll be too tired from life-ing to muster the motivation to practice. And after a long day, you should be aiming to wind down anyway, as that’s better for your mental health in the long run. Plus, you’ll feel waaayyy better about the rest of your day when you have already taken care of one of your most important tasks!
3. Minimize distractions! Practice time is time put aside specifically for you and your instrument and writing and NOT for anything else! I mean it! You shouldn’t be on Tik Tok, responding to messages, or binging music gear videos. You must make this time sacred if you want to reap maximum benefits and become a shredder in no time. Put your phone on silent or airplane mode, and only keep up with any computer apps or programs essential to your practice routine. Don’t worry! Life will still be there when you are done with your practice session… I promise!

Try implementing these tips if you haven’t done so already, and let me know how it goes(hyperlink contact)! If you have, let me know how a regular practice routine has helped you. Also, let us know what has worked best for you to maintain a steady practice schedule. Are there any tips missing in this article you can recommend? Have any questions about this article? Don’t be shy! I love talking about this stuff and would love to hear from you. Happy practicing!