You only need 5 minutes
I returned from my practice and I met a colleague. He saw me with a guitar and asked me: How long was my practice session? I answered that it was 30 minutes. Only 30 minutes he said with amusement. And added that if I want to achieve anything I should practice at least 4 hours a day. (Better said 40 hours a day). So you think I’m wasting my time? I asked. He surly said YES and added that this is why he doesn’t play an instrument.
I want to talk about that reasoning. When I started playing on a guitar it was hard. I started with acoustic guitar and those strings were tough. My teacher said to me that I don’t need to be a hero and practice 4 hours at once. Practice 5 minutes and continue with your day. Leave the guitar close by and each time you think about it, try to play for 5 minutes.
Those 5 minutes become hours long. But the mind, the settings were I’ll play only for 5 minutes.
The 5–30 minutes that I practice builds up.
In most cases, those 30 minutes of practice are more beneficial than 4-hour sessions. Because I know I have very limited time. I practice the precise thing, super focused. Don’t play. Don’t explore. Only practice a specific thing.
This makes the 30 minutes much more effective. I solve one thing and most of the time I don’t return to it. While with long sessions I don’t solve anything. I enjoy playing the things I know. Relearn the old repertoire that I forgot and most of the time I leave the session depressed of how much I forgot.
For me, the decision that at lunch I will play on a guitar. Not for long, only for 30 minutes, was the acceleration that I needed to move forward. I noticed that I’m getting better.
If you don’t start playing because you don’t have enough time. In my opinion, 5 minutes a day it’s all you need and if you will find 30 then you moving forward fast.
