How to Keep Practicing!!! PART 2
You don’t have to practice a huge amount to see fast results. If you look back over a whole week you’ll be amazed at what you’ve learned. But just like at the gym, don’t measure muscles each day after you work out… you won’t see results. Measure your weight or muscles every couple weeks. (Same with piano - measure your progress on songs every couple weeks).
The goal is to build a strong habit, there is a spanish proverb that says habits start off like cobwebs and grow into cables. *The Power Of Less - Page 147. You want to create good practice habits… so here are some guidelines I’ve learned from reading a great book called The Power of Less: The Fine Art of Limiting Yourself to the Essential…in Business and in Life
Start small and easy. focus only on building one habit for 30 days. if you stop get back on. make your habit the most important thing for that day. don’t schedule it at a time that will have other commitments encroaching on it. evenings are bad because you’ll cancel your practice time for social engagements. you want to build a habit of practicing, not build a habit of NOT practicing.
How to apply this:
I’ve added a picture of my fridge below. It has my practice goal on it with 30 circles. Each day I practice enough to meet my goal, I fill in one of the 30 circles. As soon as the whole page is filled up I’m buying myself a reward! Filling in the circles is a lot of incentive in itself, but to complete the entire page of 30 really helps give me the initial push I need to build a new habit of practicing… or whatever I want to make a habit of in my life. My previous goal was for exercise.
Good idea with circles… I will try it :-))
Yeah Michael!
It made it a lot more fun for me. The big motivation was the prize I set up for myself at the end…
And what was the reward? :)))
Hey Michael!
Completely varies!
For me, it was around the holiday season when I was using this strategy to build a habit for exercise. So my reward was to upgrade my phone.
A reward isn’t motivating if it’s something you get everyday like a cup of coffee from starbucks. It works better if its something unusual.
Thank you. This works!! I have no idea why. Not only did I meet my goal daily but I usually double it. Thank you for this great idea. I was so impressed that I just bought the book, the power of less. Rocket Piano has also been a blessing. This program is helping me learn at a much quicker rate than I did in many years of private lessons.
Wow that’s creative. I should try that with my young students.