“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” – Aristotle

That quote is all you need in order to understand the power of establishing a habit of practice in any creative discipline. This concept is also true in sports and business.

As teachers, we see that music students who enjoy playing the most are those who manage to turn their daily practice into a habit. I’m sure that’s no surprise to you.

Getting started is the hardest part for most people.

If you wish to be more creative, have more fun and experience greater focus, choose a time each day to commit to practicing and stick with it for 21 days. For a more powerful intention, write down your plan for practice and note the time of day in which you will install this new routine.

Once you hit that significant 21st day (without missing a single day), your habit will be in place. Distractions will be less likely to throw you off track and your subconscious mind will accept this activity as “normal.” Resistance will disappear and you will be more creative.

Think about it this way.

Many students put off starting to practice until a few days before the lesson. Sound familiar?

They try to “cram” their assignment into those few days, like many students who study for tests in school.

But, here’s the deal.

The information (or the music), doesn’t stick that well when you force it in quickly. How much do you chew your food when you eat? I chew my food 30 times for each bite because it helps me to digest my food and my body rewards me with great energy and health. That simple step can work miracles for your body.

Even if you practice 7 hours in one day, it isn’t nearly as effective as practicing one hour, every day for 7 days. You need to give your mind the time to absorb and process. It does its job beautifully when given the opportunity. Plus, everything feels easier.

Why?

Because your personal assistant, the subconscious mind, becomes a very effective ally when you feed it ideas regularly. In fact, if you feed it the idea that “cramming” is practicing, it becomes difficult not to cram!

I leave you with this…

Let’s say that you walk your dog 3 times each day and all three walks add up to one mile. If you do the math, the dog will get walked 7 miles in a week, 28 miles in a month and 336 miles per year. In an effort to save time and effort, you decide to walk him 336 miles in one day.

You might get far, but Fido’s health will suffer, you’ll miss the changing details of the outdoors with each day, you won’t bond in the same way with your best friend and you won’t have the chance to be creative with your routes.

If there’s something you want to improve and it’s important to you, start making your plan today by writing it down and committing to it for 21 days.

Fido will thank you!