So MUCH to play, so little time

 So MUCH to play, so little time

The problem:

I have no meaningful amount of time to practice.

The solution:

I redefined “meaningful amount of time” and reduced my desired practice time from 1 hour on days-when-I-could-maybe-get-the-time-to-practice to 15 minutes on weekdays. 

I recently organized my sheet music and etude books and finally created a dedicated practice space in my tiny, urban house. As I was alphabetizing my scores and etude books I thought about the literally thousands of hours I spent perfecting my craft of flute playing and suddenly felt angry - “Who the hell has the time to practice scales and arpeggios for hours on end?!?!” I screamed. Certainly no one with caring responsibilities. Definitely not a mother with two young kids.

I don’t have time to be a flute player, I thought. I felt defeated. I didn’t practice for a few days. Then I got an idea and I said to myself, "Put practice on your calendar: 15 minutes a day. You know you will do it." Anyone who knows me will tell you I am very punctual and I thrive under a strict schedule.

I did it. I created a calendar reminder and practiced only 15-minutes a day. After that, I started improving.

The 15-minute timeline has also made my practice more efficient. I pick one, maybe two things to work on and I have a 15-minute deadline to get it done. I actually love deadlines so the tight timeline is built-in motivation for me.

I think the most important part of this solution was redefining "meaningful amount of time". I used to brag about practicing 4 hours a day but that would be a ludicrous waste of time for the life I have now. Also back in my 4-hour-a-day practice days, I was under intense social pressure to be in the practice room as much as possible. I don't answer to anyone about my time anymore. I think freeing myself from irrelevant and old-fashioned practice standards has been my greatest accomplishment since picking up my flute again a few months ago.