Making Time for the Guitar
Everybody's busy. Job or no job, we all have a time crunch. What I've learned is that discipline and structure make the difference — setting aside time to practice, and being intentional about what I do with it. When I say, setting aside time - I mean having a time on my calendar (or at least in my head) about a period of time that I am going to play each day. And having a game plan (structure) for what I am going to do.
For me, that practice means three things: a drill, work on a song I've written, and new licks pulled from other players I can make my own.
I have been using Tony's Acoustic Challenge (tonypolecastro.com) for several years. I am a big fan and find it a great online course for drills, licks, and encouragement. I think Tony is a wonderful program and he builds each weeks lessons around learning a new song.
Once a week I take an in-person lesson that pushes me to do the things I wouldn't choose on my own.
Once a month, I bring a song to a songwriters circle for feedback.
This is all in addition to band practice and gigs. Add in vocal exercises, and some days that adds up to a couple of hours. I appreciate that I am blessed with having the time to do this. It wasn't always that way — back when I had a full-time job in California, I was lucky to grab 10 or 15 minutes a day. But even then, I made time almost every day.
Some days I don't get to all three things. That's fine. The real message is: something is better than nothing. Progress just takes regular effort — and for something I love this much, that's not a hard trade.
The payoff has been amazing.