Tips to improve motivation and productivity

Milk

Not sure if this is the right section of the forum so can move it if not.

I am sure at some point everyone gets into a slump and loses motivation to learn or practice. i struggle with this often as guitar is something i really enjoy but struggle to find time to practice for more than 5 or 10 mins a week which then affects learning.

What are some tips and tricks people do to help with situations like that.

for me i like to write down date and time of learning or practicing so then i can physically see how long iv done something. my mind then knows to to more if needed.

What are some others what people do?

octatonic

Power through it.

You don't need a strategy, or process for this- you either do the work or you don't.
Setting goals is a good and necessary thing though.

Milk

Thats the purpose of making notes on times so i can make mental goals.

I was curious what others do if in the same situation. i imagine for you its about time management which is a challenge?

Toms_Dad

One or two strategies I’ve found useful include:
1. Always leaving a guitar out, so that it’s not an effort to pick up and play. Even an impromptu 5 mins here and there helps.
2. Lack of motivation for me often is related to boredom with what I’m learning. Put down your current practice pieces and try something different for a bit.
3. Having a goal is great, but also enjoy the moment when practicing. For me it is the best time of day, I can’t think about the stresses of life when I’m trying to play the guitar!

Milk

Having the guitar out is a good point and something i have always done. but i like the second point you made.

Roland

Toms_Dad said:

1. Always leaving a guitar out!

2. Join a band, or at least play with other musicians

Milk

Ive only ever played on my own or in the house. but i get why it is a big help to people. maybe a group Skype session for the forums could help or a socially distanced place and time

CarpeDiem

Keep playing even if you hit a slump, and as @octatonic says, power through it.

Learn a song or technique that interests you.

Prioritise your time to play, away from other distractions. If time is short, play every day even if just for 15 minutes (preferably longer) instead of one long session a week.

Find another musician to play with, better still join a band. Playing with others is a great way of improving your playing and forces you to learn more.

Devil#20

Milk said:

Ive only ever played on my own or in the house. but i get why it is a big help to people. maybe a group Skype session for the forums could help or a socially distanced place and time

Get a book on guitar theory to just get a basic understanding down of how scales, keys and chord progressions work so you can understand the lingo. Maybe you already can so apologies if that's the case. Don't try to learn stuff from you tube. Enrol on an online course where you get some one to one. If you're shelling out for something it tends to concentrate the mind to make more effort rather than just seeing your money piss down the drain. I'm not that familiar with the online courses but things like Guitar Tricks, JamTracks or Fender Play might be a good starting place. I think they all do trial periods so you can try them out first. Justin Guitar is a good site and is free although he encourages donations but he does intermediate and advanced stuff too. I'm not sure where you are in your learning but there'll be something pitched at the right level for you. Like I said, if you're paying for it then that's motivation in itself. :-)

Jalapeno

Don't get a kid or a fracking puppy - no spare time to concentrate

BahHumbug

I find that it’s useful to have some structure, so that when I do pick up the guitar I have a choice of doing something structured......or noodling.  I know that I often find that noodling isn’t that rewarding, so the structured option is preferable.
What the structure is is up to you.  Mine has two strands at the moment:

1.  I’ve loved playing fingerstyle for many years, so I usually have at least one fingerstyle instrumental piece that I’m learning.  For a particularly difficult piece I break out the trickier sections and make exercises out of them.  I then make sure that I practice each exercise for a set time (usually 2 minutes) in each practice session.  I make notes about what I’ve practiced, how it went, and what I intend to do next time.  That way, the brain work is done and the next time I pick up the guitar I don’t need to think about what i am going to do.  I just sit down, look in my notebook and get on with it.

2.  I have to think even less for this one.  I use the David Mead Guitar Gym app.  As a self-taught player I realise that I taught myself some bad habits and illogical technique.  I’ve found that the exercises in this app have really helped to tidy up my plectrum playing.  So, if i can’t motivate myself to do anything else I fire up the app and randomly select an exercise from each of the nine categories.  Takes about 20 minutes to do a session.

octatonic

Milk said:

Thats the purpose of making notes on times so i can make mental goals.

I was curious what others do if in the same situation. i imagine for you its about time management which is a challenge?

I guess my point is that if enthusiasm to practice is fading then all the goal setting in the world won't work.
I think of it like exercise- you can have the best 'I am going to run a marathon in a year' plan but it is pointless if you hate running.

I have had times where I didn't want to practice.
I did it anyway, because I know where giving into wants (or don't wants) gets you.
It is really that simple- because a short term 'don't wanna' soon passes and if you do it enough you get into the habit.
It doesn't become a chore- it is just normal to do it.

Another analogy that works is cleaning teeth.
When I was a kid I didn't want to clean my teeth.... it was boooooring.
My parents made me, so I did it and I did it enough now that I don't think about whether I am going to be doing it or not.
It is just an automatic part of my day.
So is playing.

Time isn't so much of an issue- I don't have to leave the house to work and I'm disciplined.
I also don't do much else other than live in the studio.
I think those with day jobs and kids etc have a harder job keeping it balanced.

Carving up the time is really just down to what I feel like doing, what my playing goals are- after 30+ years of doing it I really only need an hour or so a day to keep my playing topped up on guitar and bass.

I don't actually advocate huge sessions- human brains learn better in 20-30 minute periods.
If I do 2-3 hours of playing a day I do it in 20-30 min lots interspersed with other stuff (domestic, studio maintenance, dicking around with synths etc).

My day looks a bit like this:

Play some guitar.
Go do something else
Play some bass,
Go do something else
Play some drums... etc
Eat something
Play piano for a while
etc...