90 minutes of efficient practice

here's another of those concepts that took me a long time to finally realize.
i didn't do it for years. i just didn't have the discipline. a pity - i could be in a completely different situation today if i'd started this a decade ago.

did you ever catch yourself thinking
"mm, i really don't feel like practicing today. But next week it'll be different.
Next week will be great - i'll be on vacation, i'll have the time to practice 6 hours a day! Yes! That's what i'm gonna do. next week i am going to practice real hard. It's going to feel great to practice again."

did you also realize that you somehow seemed to have missed out on "next week"?
oh yeah, there was vacation, but your friend john was calling. and there was this party. and the other day you went out with some friend you didn't see in a while. and all of a sudden "next week" was over.

you with me?
if you say to yourself "i'm gonna practive after ... or in a few days ... or when finally you get ... i GUARANTEE you in 98% of the time it's just not going to happen. ever.

so what's the answer to this dilemma?
it's really simple and very obvious. but it's also hard to do.

it's called practicing on a consistent basis.
every single day. for the rest of your days.
This will get you results, even if it's as little as 90 minutes per day.
(which is really not much at all when your goal is to master the instrument)
but you know what - the minutes are going to add up. even if it's as little as 90 minutes DAILY you will practice 630 minutes per week. and about 2700 minutes per month!

and now start thinking in bigger time frames. one year? three years? TEN years?
how different will your skillset as a musician be if you start with this TODAY after TEN years?
and what is it going to be like if you don't do it?
and remember time WILL pass inevitably and you're going to be ten years older no matter if you want to or not.
the question is how much better will you be as a musician when the time comes.
and believe there's no way you're going to radically improve as a musician and a jazz guitarist with the mindset of "i'll do it next week".
You will succeed on the other hand with the mindset of "90 minutes of efficient practice TODAY". and don't tell me you don't have the 90 minutes.
There is absolutely no subsitute for this. no amount of practicing REAL HARD when you're on vacation is going to match the massive amount of time you'll have spent over a bigger time frame - even if you practice as little as 90 minutes per day.

How much do you watch Television? 90 minutes per day? how much TV will you have watched ten years from now? do the math. and then tell me what you think you're going to benefit from doing that next week - or in ten years from now.

time is the most valuable resource we human beings have. far more valuable then money. use it wisely.

start using a small amount of your time on the long-time goal of mastering the instrument today, everyday and you will succeed.
plan on practicing next week, when everything is better - and you will fail.

decide which path you're going to choose.