I’ve taken a hard look at what is working and what isn’t in terms of my practice sessions. These days my time is limited by when I can practice, which is crazy early. Practicing after I get hoe from work has proven to just not be feasible and before work has proven time and time again to be realistically the only way to ensure it happens at all. Since moving to the day shift I need to get up at 4am to get to work on time, which means I need to get up earlier than that if I want to practice before work.
For months I’ve been getting up at 2:45 monday, thursday, and saturday to get my time in before work. For months I haven’t thought it was enough time. By the time I’m up and sitting down ready to work it’s already 3am, which leaves less than an hour to really work on stuff. If I was super focused maybe that could work, but in all reality, it doesn’t. But I’ve been doing it for 9 months or so anyway. It’s better than nothing but not by much. So I did some serious thinking on the subject and the answer is pretty simple, though not terribly pleasant to hear: I need to get up even earlier. It’s one of those things that quite obvious but I resisted even thinking about it because on those nights I’m already far behind on my sleep as is. But, if it’s important enough you figure out a way and so that’s what I’ve been doing. I’ve been getting up at 2:15 and that extra 30 or so minutes has been making a huge difference. It doesn’t sound like much but it definitely feels like a lot. When I sit down to work on stuff I don’t feel nearly as rushed. I can spend a reasonable amount of time on each thing to where I don’t feel cheated. It’s the right amount of time.
Also, I’ve gone back to paper notebooks and planners. I had been using a tablet to log everything but ultimately, it wasn’t as convenient. Having to go get it, turn it on, find the log, scribble some stuff down, forget what I wrote, etc., just wasn’t working. The classic paper notebook and printed-out planners are more effective for me because they’re right there in front of me while I work. I can just glance at them and see what’s next and I have my monthly and weekly goals visible so I can always be pointed in the right direction. It just works better.
So the lesson learned this month is to be objective about my practice. Take a good objective look at it and change what isn’t working. It’s not difficult but can be hard to get out of your own way. I feel better to have made these changes and can get back to work i can feel good about.
