5 Steps Towards Creating a Practice Habit

(from http://www.musicinpractice.com/2011/5-steps-towards-creating-a-practice-habit/)

Posted on September 30, 2011 by Sue Hunt

 

Many of us fail, when we try to create a daily practice habit. It wasn’t till I read “The Practice Code” by Dan Coyle, that I realized that the ability to make a habit is a skill and that making a skill require practice – a double whammy if you are creating a practice habit.  Poor planning and trying to accomplish too much at the beginning often leads to disaster, so we need to be gentle with ourselves.  After much trial and error, I find it easier to succeed by taking these 5 steps.

•1 Make a Plan. Forget about all those failures in the past.  Put them behind you where they belong.  Set a date for a clean start and write down a good solid plan and a timetable.  Aim to start your practice habit small.  You will have a much better chance of doing 5 minutes of smiley practice every day for a week, than leaping in with a goal of 5 hours for life.  If you have a goal of a performance after 100 days, this will be motivating.

•2 Find a Trigger – a daily event that sparks off practice.  Mine is checking and watering the houseplants, which I do every morning and always find energizing.  For some, it might be after a meal, every time the adds come on during a TV program you are watching, or when the children have had their after school snack.  If you practice immediately after your trigger event, it will become a very powerful initiator for your new practice habit.  If you wait only a few minutes before practicing, the only habit you create will be “Trigger – guilt.”  Personally, I can do without any extra reasons to beat myself up.

•3 Get Positive Feedback. Tell your friends and family about your plans for creating a practice habit and ask for their support.  Get others to join you.  You will be able to give each other praise and encouragement, if the going gets tough.  It’s much harder to give up when your friends are involved.

•4 Report on Your Habit to a Social Group. When you announce your intentions on Facebook, Twitter, or any of the other social media, you will find yourself accountable.  Keep posting regular progress with your practice habit.  Feedback can be very empowering.

•5 Reward Yourself. On the face of it, if it were that easy and compelling to create a practice habit, we would be surrounded by musical virtuosi.  Most of us find it easier to work if we see that there is something in it for us.  Little rewards along the way keep us going.  My favorite reward is little square of dark chilli chocolate which I eat very slowly, while basking feelings of success and luxuriating in the warmth of the chilli.  What do you and your child like?  Celebrate landmarks – your child’s favorite desert at supper after one week of daily practice, or a party after 100 days of your practice habit will go down very well.  Now that you have made one little habit, it will be much easier to create more.