Learning to budget our practice time is like learning to budget our money; We must constantly reevaluate our goal setting and habits. Last week I was "burning the candles" practicing during all times of the days. This is not inherently a bad thing, but my quality of practice was suffering because I was so tired (I tend hit the ground running a little bit too hard at the beginning of each semester). I realized that while I "could" practice during the wee hours of the day, I didn't have to. I have the luxury of this schedule in graduate school, and I decided it was worth it to re-investigate my practice quality so that I take care of my body, and therefore have better quality practice sessions.
It's similar to deciding that you don't have to spend all of the money you get as soon as you get it, or you decide to sacrifice a certain part of your old budget to buy healthier food. I think I was doing a little bit of both. I was practicing, I was writing daily goals, and I was sleeping, but the quality was suffering. Potential solution: I am writing more reasonable practice goals that I can most likely accomplish within a 3-3.5 hours a day of practice. I can reach the end of most days feeling like I had quality work within a reasonable budget of time.
Time to Keep Exploring,
Adam C White
