All articles, tagged with “plan”

Are you looking for ways to sharpen your strategies for a creative project or a new skill? We gave these ten powerful tips to our piano students this year. Give them a try!

1. Establish a consistent practice time each day

• a consistent daily time turns your practice into an automatic success mechanism
• it takes a minimum of 21 days to form a new habit

2. Prepare your mind before you begin

• breathing exercise: inhale slowly for 4 counts, hold breath for 7 and exhale for 8 (repeat this cycle three times)
• close your eyes and visualize putting your distractions on a rolling table that you can push out of the way while you practice
• read something that puts you in a good mood or look at relaxing images (this is why we created “Water Films”)

3. Write out your practice plans and goals in a notebook

• you may also use this notebook as a practice journal to keep track of your progress

4. Do it until you believe it

• with repetition comes confidence and clarity
• by strengthening your belief about the quality of your practice routine and your creative skills, you eliminate excuses (which are talking about or thinking about things you don’t want)

5. Transform distraction into focus

• use your practice time as an exercise to practice being fully in the present
• if you learn the skill of how to focus while distractions are present, you become more consistent (in the case of music, you become a better performer)

6. Prioritize your day

• plan your upcoming day the night before and include creative practice in your plans
• planning your day makes your goals easy to accomplish with minimal effort – the more you do this, the more effective you become

7. Silence the inner critic

• “easy” always wins out over “struggle”
• affirm: “I approve of myself, no matter what anyone else thinks” multiple times every day
• celebrate your victories and focus on your strengths
• overcome insecurity by making an effective practice routine habitual and by fully engaging in each task at hand before moving on to the next task (in practice and in life)

8. Detailed in practice, free and easy in performance

• develop such an effective practice routine that you “trust” your process
• during a performance, job review or evaluation, “there is no evaluating [yourself]. There is no judging. There is no anticipating the result. There is only trust and acceptance.&rdquo
– Bob Rotella, The Golfer’s Mind

9. Enjoy the process more than the product

• “perfection” is both unattainable and stress inducing
• you benefit more by improving your process than simply learning how to get through one creative task (i.e., a single piece of music) in an effort to be “finished”
• accept partial successes and remember that you are on a journey

10. Let go of Fear

• fear is simply your mind giving attention to something that creates anxiety, and you have no guarantee that this object of your focus will come to pass
• talk or think about your life as you want it to be
• focus completely on the task at hand to engage your mind constructively

“The state of your life is nothing more than a reflection of your state of mind.”
– Wayne Dyer

I’ve gotten a lot of questions about exercise, so I thought I would write about what has worked for me. Here’s some food for thought when it comes to either starting or varying your exercise routine.

I found an interesting quote from Carol Welch about movement (which I translated into exercise) today:

“Movement is a medicine for creating change in a person’s physical, emotional and mental states.”

Exercise is different for everyone, so there is no “catch-all” prescription for a successful routine. Choose what’s right for you.

Here’s what I do to keep it fresh since I exercise 5 to 6 days a week for 50 to 51 weeks out of the year (I take off a full week to let my body just BE).

Ten Tips To A Better Exercise Routine in 2010

1. As you do indoor cardiovascular training (i.e., running, elliptical training, rowing, etc.), become aware of sensations in your body and just observe them. Also, observe your breath at different times during the workout. This meditation in motion keeps your mind from focusing on how much longer you have to go.

2. Try doing cardio activities outside in an inspiring setting. It’s so much easier to enjoy the workout when you’re surrounded by beauty. In the winter, try cross country skiing.

3. When lifting weights or doing resistance training, focus on the muscle group that you are training as you lift. Feel that muscle as you perform the movement. Visualize that area receiving benefit from your work.

4. Find a training program online or in a magazine that gives you a fresh new approach while guiding you through a time period that is long enough to effortlessly form a new habit.

5. Find an exercise friend. This could be someone you exercise with or it could be a friend that you report your exercise activity to in a short e-mail. It’s fun to exercise with someone else or to embark on a new program with someone else. That accountability also helps you form a habit.

6. Write out some fitness goals. You could specify weight loss goals or you could write out your routine before you start. You can keep track of your reps and sets in a notebook with weightlifting, but you could also project some targets for the next week, month or three months. Check in with these goals once per week and revise whatever is necessary.

7. Try different forms of exercise. My fitness routine includes weight lifting, mountain biking, indoor cardio, Qigong, yoga, walking around the neighborhood, hiking in nature, cross country skiing, riding my bike to errands and whatever else helps me to stay in shape and have fun.

8. If you’re trying to get started, start by setting a time each day that you will begin to associate with movement. Writing down your plans will further solidify your intention. You could start by saying, “I will walk for 20 minutes after dinner,” or “I will walk up and down the steps a few times before breakfast.” As soon as you associate a certain time of day with planned exercise of some form, you end that struggle to get your routine started.

9. Do some form of stretching in the morning. This doesn’t have to be a formal practice, but I really benefit from yoga after I awaken and meditate. A morning stretching routine eases you into the day and energizes your body. It also makes it easier to exercise later in the day because the intention for good health is there and your increased flexibility makes exercise more effective.

10. Start today! The longer you wait, the more likely it is that you won’t start. If you’ve already started, congratulations! I hope some of the ideas above will help you to be more creative in your approach.

Let’s end today’s post with two more inspiring images from Sanibel Island, Florida at sunrise.